I think NEM can become a huge success, and even challenge bitcoin. Here is where I base my argument on and what should be done in order to do so in my opinion:
When you think about how bitcoin moved to the position it is today I'd say it moved through 3 phases:
1. It brought a new technological innovation which allowed it to gain attention in the tech-circles (later to be the crypto-circles).
2. It gained public attention via media (silkroad, news, shops starting to accept it, etc. Basically it became existing in relation to the "real-world")
3. It has begun building an real ecosystem around it, which include payment apps, internet exchanges, bitcoin withdraw and deposit ATM's, bitcoin payment systems to shops (just like credit cards), salary payments in bitcoins available now, etc. Basically it is not only just in relation to the "real-world", but it has become a part of the "real-world" and its economy.
Now when moving a cryptocurrency to the public I think NEM has beat the first challenge which is to make it known in the cryto-world. In addition to this NEM has gathered a large community even before the coin launch.
The second phase challenge will be to make it known to people outside the crypto world. This is what Auroracoin has managed to do by distributing to Icelandic people and dogecoin by charity and great PR. But those two coins don't have anything technologically new, but instead NEM has advanced technology compared to bitcoin. Nevertheless the technology is not solely enough to make NEM known to the greater public (which is a must if we want NEM to success).
So we are now in the second phase and we must figure out ways to get NEM to be recognized in the greater public. This is where for example the village project in Bhutan would be a killer. We need something unique and never seen before in the crypto-scene so that we can make NEM stand out. I think that unfortunately a basic charity campaign is just not enough, but we need a real mind-blower here. So keep the second-lifes and villages-using-NEM -ideas coming because those are the ideas that we need right now!
