Explaining Bitcoin To The Average Person (How?)

[Ares]

I'd like this thread to be a discussion on creating a sort of script on how to go about briefly explaining Bitcoins to the average person. Word of mouth has played, and will continue to play, a huge role in Bitcoin's adoption, and so it makes sense that we're all prepared to explain it efficiently and effectively.

If you had 45 seconds, through an informal conversation with a friend, how would you explain it?


Some of the common responses i've received are:

1. I can already buy stuff electronically with a credit card.

2. WTF does cryptocurrency mean?

3. Can't I just get hacked?

4. Can't someone just hack the bitcoin code?

5. So it's just electronic gold?

6. Why can't someone just make fake coins?

7. Blockchain? Hashes? Confirmations? This is all too technical for me, I don't even understand what code is. I'll just stick with the paper dollar in my hand, can't hack that.

8. So would a retail store have a separate price for Bitcoins since it cuts out the cost of "middle men"?


Add your own.

[Mike Christ]

"You know how the banks are always screwing us over?"

"No" -->  Talk about how the banks are always screwing us over

"Yes" --> "Well, using Bitcoin is like crucifying the bank."  And then I'd probably get into conversation about how our taxes are going toward wealthy politicians and how we're still in a war, and how we can now opt-out of helping such social blemishes by using another form of money instead, namely Bitcoin.  If they're with you on this point, there's not a lot of explaining you need to do

[justusranvier]

I just got back from giving what was supposed to be a 30 minute Introduction to Bitcoin talk but ended up lasting three times as long because of level of interest in the audience.

One thing I've learnt when it comes to educating people, is if people keep throwing out a series of objection it means they aren't interested and are just trying to make you go away. Don't waste your time with those people. Those who are interested and want to know more are insatiable with their questions. That's who you should spend your time talking to.

If you're going around pushing people to buy Bitcoins you're doing everyone a disservice. Explain the benefits of Bitcoin, and if they are convinced they'll ask you how to buy them. Otherwise you look like somebody push a pump and dump.

[Ares]

"You know how the banks are always screwing us over?"

"No" -->  Talk about how the banks are always screwing us over

"Yes" --> "Well, using Bitcoin is like crucifying the bank."  And then I'd probably get into conversation about how our taxes are going toward wealthy politicians and how we're still in a war, and how we can now opt-out of helping such social blemishes by using another form of money instead, namely Bitcoin.  If they're with you on this point, there's not a lot of explaining you need to do

Thanks for the reply, it's definitely a good way to spark the interest. But most of the responses I listed in the OP would still apply. Also, relying on political activism from your average American won't get you too far unfortunately.

[CurbsideProphet]

All people learn differently, sometimes you need to change your approach.  Generally an individual's learning style will fall into a certain category such as visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.

If you're not getting through to someone, try a different angle.  It sounds like you're an auditory learner but your audience may not be.  Perhaps they're visual.  You could use a prop, say for instance, a $100 trillion Zimbabwe bill to demonstrate the "value" of fiat money.  As Mr. Miyagi would say, "no such thing bad student, only bad teacher."

I struggle at times teaching people about Bitcoin but ultimately I know that's my shortcoming.  Just keep trying to think of new ways to reach people, different analogies, different "props", etc.  The Zimbabwe one has worked rather well for me.  Maybe others can share what has and hasn't worked for them.

[Ares]

I just got back from giving what was supposed to be a 30 minute Introduction to Bitcoin talk but ended up lasting three times as long because of level of interest in the audience.

One thing I've learnt when it comes to educating people, is if people keep throwing out a series of objection it means they aren't interested and are just trying to make you go away. Don't waste your time with those people. Those who are interested and want to know more are insatiable with their questions. That's who you should spend your time talking to.

If you're going around pushing people to buy Bitcoins you're doing everyone a disservice. Explain the benefits of Bitcoin, and if they are convinced they'll ask you how to buy them. Otherwise you look like somebody push a pump and dump.

I agree with not trying to push it on anyone, but let's assume it's an appropriate setting and conversation. For the sake of this thread, I actually just asked a family member whom i've spoken with about bitcoin what their reason is for not getting one yet. The response was: "I just don't understand how code works and so I don't trust it."

As for the part I bolded, that's exactly what i'm looking for opinions on in this thread. It would take a long time to truly explain bitcoin, so what is the optimal string of sentences for a casual conversation.

Thank you for the reply.

[BTC Books]

It's soooo much easier than any of that.

The average person has an android phone these days.

Have ten bucks on your phone in Bridgewalker:  https://www.bridgewalkerapp.com/

Install it on their phone - which literally takes 45 seconds.

Send them a couple of bucks.

Done.

[gogxmagog]

say this "Bitcoin is a pretteh cool guy and doesn't afraid of anything"

nah, seriously, I send them here.

[BIGMERVE]

Sometimes just a few quick sentences is enough to spark interest. They'll learn more by looking it up themselves. I'm assuming that's how most of us found out. I know I hear it mentioned very briefly on a podcast and It caused me to look it up for myself. Sometimes it's better that way then trying to spend an hour giving a planned speech.

[justusranvier]

For the sake of this thread, I actually just asked a family member whom i've spoken with about bitcoin what their reason is for not getting one yet. The response was: "I just don't understand how code works and so I don't trust it."

If you ever work in sales you'll learn there's an enormous difference between an objection and a reason. What you just described is an objection.

The way I know it's an objection instead of a reason is because you didn't tell me that your family member called you up and asked you to explain the code.

Someone who wants to do something will find a way. Somebody who doesn't want to do something will find an excuse.

Your family member either doesn't understand how Bitcoin will benefit them or else understands and doesn't want.

What you have to do is find out what the person wants and, assuming it's something Bitcoin can do for them, show them how Bitcoin can enable it. Once their interest is provoked, they will take initiative to seek out any missing knowledge you aren't able to provide.

That being said, I have an audio recording of the presentation and if it came out ok I might be able to edit into something that could be useful for other people.

[Elwar]

1. I can already buy stuff electronically with a credit card.

And the store is charged 2-4% for that charge. Bitcoin allows for paying without that charge making products cheaper.

2. WTF does cryptocurrency mean?

A currency backed by the security of cryptography instead of paying for large vaults and armed guards.

3. Can't I just get hacked?

You can get hacked in the same way that someone can hack your password for your bank account online. There is a lot of software and services out there that will help you secure your funds with more options popping up all of the time.

4. Can't someone just hack the bitcoin code?

The inherent value of Bitcoin is its security safeguarded by more computing power than any other computer system in the world. It is built upon a cryptography (SHA256) which is used by businesses and governments to safeguard their data. It would take more energy and more time than the universe possesses to crack SHA256 and if that unlikely event ever happened, there would be a lot more to worry about than your money. And with the open source nature of Bitcoin, the cryptography can always be upgraded.

5. So it's just electronic gold?

Most electronic gold requires a central repository of the gold which requires payment for guarding and securing that gold. Being centralized, it can also be confiscated or regulated by the government. Bitcoin is peer to peer and thus has no central location which can be attacked.

6. Why can't someone just make fake coins?

The built in protocol of Bitcoin only allows for 21 million bitcoins to ever exist. There is no way to ever create any coins beyond that.

7. Blockchain? Hashes? Confirmations? This is all too technical for me, I don't even understand what code is. I'll just stick with the paper dollar in my hand, can't hack that.

That is fine, I am just trying to educate you on the basics of Bitcoin. There are a lot of smart people out there who understand more than I could ever explain about Bitcoin and they are building infrastructures around it. It will likely be the case at some point where you will be using Bitcoin and do not even know it. Those who understand it early are able to benefit from a little bit of research and a little bit of knowledge. I just hope that when you do end up using Bitcoin, you will have a basic understanding of what it is you are using.

8. So would a retail store have a separate price for Bitcoins since it cuts out the cost of "middle men"?

Some stores may and have offered discounts for using Bitcoins since they save money on the transaction fees. Or it may give a business that accepts Bitcoin a market advantage against their competitors. Either way, it is up to the retail store to decide for themselves.

[franky1]

explanation.

the royal mint.
they take in used notes and coins that have been in circulation and reject the forged ones and only accept in the proper genuine coins. they then mint new verified coins once all of the checks are done plus they mint an amount of fresh coin or notes increasing the amount of coins/notes in circulation.

the only difference is.

in bitcoin. YOU are the bank its in your possession under your lock and key, no trust required by governments/corporations.
in bitcoin. YOU own, control, govern and decide what you do with your coins.
in bitcoin. YOU can be the minter too. but its called mining.
in bitcoin. YOU can give it away, hoard it, spend it without other people arguing with you about laws.
in bitcoin. YOU can send it across the world in seconds and they can get it verified by miners within a couple hours if you want to double check what they received is not forged.
in bitcoin. there a set amount of new coins being produced, its not just endless supply of new coins produced uncontrolably at the whim of governments causing issues to the economy.

[GideonGono]

I just got back from giving what was supposed to be a 30 minute Introduction to Bitcoin talk but ended up lasting three times as long because of level of interest in the audience.

One thing I've learnt when it comes to educating people, is if people keep throwing out a series of objection it means they aren't interested and are just trying to make you go away. Don't waste your time with those people. Those who are interested and want to know more are insatiable with their questions. That's who you should spend your time talking to.

If you're going around pushing people to buy Bitcoins you're doing everyone a disservice. Explain the benefits of Bitcoin, and if they are convinced they'll ask you how to buy them. Otherwise you look like somebody push a pump and dump.

This. +1

Those who talk shit about bitcoin, like the recent Bloomberg piece on it are only doing themselves a disservice, no need to waste your time on them

[koquillion]

I'd like this thread to be a discussion on creating a sort of script on how to go about briefly explaining Bitcoins to the average person. Word of mouth has played, and will continue to play, a huge role in Bitcoin's adoption, and so it makes sense that we're all prepared to explain it efficiently and effectively.

If you had 45 seconds, through an informal conversation with a friend, how would you explain it, it's benefits, and why the person should consider buying some?


Some of the common responses i've received are:

1. I can already buy stuff electronically with a credit card.

2. WTF does cryptocurrency mean?

3. Can't I just get hacked?

4. Can't someone just hack the bitcoin code?

5. So it's just electronic gold?

6. Why can't someone just make fake coins?

7. Blockchain? Hashes? Confirmations? This is all too technical for me, I don't even understand what code is. I'll just stick with the paper dollar in my hand, can't hack that.

8. So would a retail store have a separate price for Bitcoins since it cuts out the cost of "middle men"?


Add your own.

If you get those kinds of reactions, then you're explaining it wrong. Even more so if you only had the 45 seconds you suggest. Unless the person you are speaking with already knows a lot about a very related subject, there is no reason whatsoever to mention anything about the blockchain or confirmations in your introduction of bitcoin. Keep it as simple as possible, comparing it to things they already know about (even if that is not 100% factually correct). And work from there in future conversations about the subject. There is no need for them to know everything instantly. Attempting to convince them to buy some is waywaywayway to early at this stage.
When you introduce someone, for example, to online banking, why would you even begin to explain what steps the banks take to technically get the money from one account to another? They don't need that information at first (and may never need it).

Also, for such subjects, there is no 'average person'. You can't use a list of prepared oneliners to throw at them, you need to know who you are talking to, because otherwise, you're talking about two totally different things. You might think you're telling them about 'a new kind of money',  but all they hear is 'something nerdy to do with computers'.

[the founder]

You can't explain it to someone in 45 seconds.

What you can explain is this.

"In 2010 a guy bought a pizza for 10,000 bitcoins,  that Pizza today would cost roughly 1 million dollars."

at that point the guy would start asking you questions.

[BorderBits]

You can't explain it to someone in 45 seconds.

What you can explain is this.

"In 2010 a guy bought a pizza for 10,000 bitcoins,  that Pizza today would cost roughly 1 million dollars."

at that point the guy would start asking you questions.

Questions like, "Why do you treat a supposed currency as if it was an investment commodity?" Or, "Who would ever consider using a currency that is so volatile?"

Seeking easy answers to: 

"Why does one successful business (Satoshi Dice) threaten the entire currency?  What would happen if more and more high volume transaction successful businesses came online?" 

"Why on Earth would anyone use a currency that can take up to one hour to confirm a transaction?"

"Why do you claim no central authority, yet a team of developers in cahoots with the largest mining pool operators made the decision to roll back the client?" 

"Why does the white paper on Bitcoin explicitly state that BTC is a proof of concept only, yet the community believes that the whole world will be using BTC in the not too distant future?  Further, and related to the previous question, if the community is working to eliminate transactions from the successful business of Satoshi Dice, what would be the criteria in the future -- when BTC is the world's most prominent currency -- for deciding which successful businesses are able to exist and which are not?"   

[coretechs]

To explain bitcoin to the average person, I've found that it helps to start with a scenario that people are familiar with - how a bank functions with a typical transaction between account holders.  When one writes a check to the other, the bank maintains a master ledger of all account and updates it accordingly by changing the numbers in both accounts to reflect the transaction.  Account holders at the bank trust the bank to update the ledger properly.

Then I ask if the same process can be done without the bank.  I explain how it can if all the account holders in the bank decide instead to maintain their own identical copy of the ledger and keep each other informed of every transaction.

This way, the first concept you give them is that of the shared ledger - the blockchain - which is a good baseline framework to start with that isn't overly confusing to the average person.  From there you can get into the details of how the bitcoin protocol works and solves the problem of updating the shared ledger securely through the use of various cryptographic methods.

[Gabi]

Tell them to ask these things to a cyprus citizen instead of you.

[DataPlumber]

I posted something like this ~last week:

http://dataplumber.blogspot.com/2013/03/bitcoin-elevator-pitch.html

[addi]

Most of the time I just point them to weusecoins.org and show them the youtube video, then if they are interested they'll find the rest out for themselves, happy to answer their follow-up questions. If not, just saved me some time