Good read on wired

[BTCisthefuture]

Good read. I agree/believe very strongly that for bitcoin to succeed we need some serious and legitimate companies/services. So far in the short history of bitcoin the services and companies related to bitcoin have been pretty bad to down right horrible  (or scams) for the most part. Secure online wallet services like blockchain are to complicated for the average person, exchanges are a mess (IMO) , transferring money/bitcoins around is a headache for a lot of people and companies that deal with this seem to come and go all the time.  etc etc etc.

I hate to say it, but I also agree with the article that the concept of a p2p cryptocurrency is really what people seem to support. That doesn't mean though that bitcoin will come out the winner. Bitcoin was just the first to get into the spotlight, something "better" than bitcoin could certainly come along in the near future and win over the masses in a way Bitcoin has yet been unable to do.


http://www.wired.com/business/2013/04/whats-riskier-than-bitcoins-bitcoin-companies/

[empoweoqwj]

blockchain wallet too complicated? Seriously?  You don't have to do anything to get it working. No installation, just user name + password. How easy does stuff have to be for an "average" person to use?

If you said online wallets weren't secure, I'd have to agree, but not easy enough for the average person to use?

Totally agree about the current service level in the industry though. Exchanges + scams come and go with the tides, they are often run by a single person, and sometimes not even any form of business entity. Its a joke, and seriously holding back the industry. But I firmly believe this is just the result of a very new industry, current exchanges will just be wiped away in the next 12-18 months, and a good thing too.

p2p crypto? Hard to say at the moment what people "support" unless you define "people"? You certainly don't want to ask what the "average person" wants if they can't operate an online wallet 

[cupronickel]

blockchain wallet too complicated? Seriously?  You don't have to do anything to get it working. No installation, just user name + password. How easy does stuff have to be for an "average" person to use?

Unfamiliar is probably a better word than complicated. You're right, Blockchain is not at all complicated. But it is certainly unfamiliar.

It's easy to forget that online banking took time to both become familiar and easy to use.

A consumer Bitcoin application that follows the same ethos and consumer journey as online banking will have a headstart. Blockchain isn't it - it interfaces Bitcoin from the cryptography angle, not the consumer angle.

[BTCisthefuture]

blockchain wallet too complicated? Seriously?  You don't have to do anything to get it working. No installation, just user name + password. How easy does stuff have to be for an "average" person to use?

Unfamiliar is probably a better word than complicated. You're right, Blockchain is not at all complicated. But it is certainly unfamiliar.

It's easy to forget that online banking took time to both become familiar and easy to use.

A consumer Bitcoin application that follows the same ethos and consumer journey as online banking will have a headstart. Blockchain isn't it - it interfaces Bitcoin from the cryptography angle, not the consumer angle.

Yeah maybe I didn't use the correct word. Unfamiliar is a much better way to describe it.  Even for me though I had to read the tutorial at blockchain on how to properly set up a secure one. I wouldn't say it's just pick a user name and password, it's a little bit more if you want it to be more secure.  I feel like the average person doesn't want to have read something to learn how to keep their money safe in an account. Not when they have the option of simply going to an ATM or a Bank and just handing the money over without having to learn anything new. Just my opinion though.

[BTCisthefuture]

blockchain wallet too complicated? Seriously?  You don't have to do anything to get it working. No installation, just user name + password. How easy does stuff have to be for an "average" person to use?

If you said online wallets weren't secure, I'd have to agree, but not easy enough for the average person to use?

Totally agree about the current service level in the industry though. Exchanges + scams come and go with the tides, they are often run by a single person, and sometimes not even any form of business entity. Its a joke, and seriously holding back the industry. But I firmly believe this is just the result of a very new industry, current exchanges will just be wiped away in the next 12-18 months, and a good thing too.

p2p crypto? Hard to say at the moment what people "support" unless you define "people"? You certainly don't want to ask what the "average person" wants if they can't operate an online wallet  

What I was thinking about in regards to other virtual currencies (p2p crypto for example) was what if a big player like Google decided to make their own version of bitcoin and due to their large stuff full of smart people they were able to make it very easy and painless for the average person who never even uses computers.  If something like that would happen I have to think that "bitcoin" would fade away pretty quick.  They would certainly have the financial backing and credibility of an already established company to win over the hearts of most people imo.

[cupronickel]

What I was thinking about in regards to other virtual currencies (p2p crypto for example) was what if a big player like Google decided to make their own version of bitcoin

Really excellent point. I'm sure they have a team on it even now. They would proclaim it open source like Android but in reality they'd control the beast. Consumer acceptance would be rapid as they have a degree of trust and they have the resources to build the right interfaces.

However, Google et al are entirely in the pocket of traditional businesses. They earn huge advertising dollars. That is their market. They would not want to upset that model but rather integrate with it. So, for example, I can see them paying Adsense in a virtual currency they had set up. And then accepting the same currency for Adwords. Hopefully Bitcoin will step in as an offering before they make their own.

[ChristianK]

What I was thinking about in regards to other virtual currencies (p2p crypto for example) was what if a big player like Google decided to make their own version of bitcoin and due to their large stuff full of smart people they were able to make it very easy and painless for the average person who never even uses computers. 

Google is a company that tried to get money transfer to websites that support copyright infringement stopped.

They have no intent at all to provide a service that support annonymous transaction.

However, Google et al are entirely in the pocket of traditional businesses. They earn huge advertising dollars. That is their market.

Google is trying to sell content with Google Play. They want to get good deal with major labols to sell music and films.

[cupronickel]

Google is a company that tried to get money transfer to websites that support copyright infringement stopped.

They have no intent at all to provide a service that support annonymous transaction.

No doubt. But that is not the point. Not being anonymous is in no way a barrier to mass adoption. You've got to look beyond that to understand the competitive set Bitcoin faces.

Amazon Coin is set for release in May. That's another potential competitor to Bitcoin getting mass adoption. You might list a large number of areas where Amazon Coin is not the same as Bitcoin. Yo'd be right. But the mass consumer won't really care. They want an easy life. They want to transact easily and don't worry at all about anonymity and paper trails.