Bitcoin needs to be simplified for the stupid.

[CanadianGuy]

One of the big barriers with Bitcoin is that the majority of its users and developers are, to put it bluntly, ignorant computer nerds.  They are extremely smart, yet completely ignorant to what the average person is capable of (no offense, its an impairment of social interaction and nothing to be ashamed of!) .  Even with a seemingly simple system, like bitcoinATM, it is dependent on the assumption that a user knows what the difference between a public key and a private key is.  The general public still finds the basics of this system confusing.  There should be a very big priority in ensuring that Grandma knows how to send bitcoins.  Wouldn't that be a HUGE step?  To be able to say "She can't open a e-mail, but she can send bitcoins!" would be evolution.  That's what bitcoin needs to be.  This simplification would magnify the potential by 1000 times.  

Not sure how this would be done.  It will take somebody who is not just technically smart, but extremely creative as well.  How can we make bitcoin as simple as pulling out your physical wallet?  And don't tell me "there's an iphone app for that!", because Grandma is still rotary dialing.  

I believe if you can make it simple enough that even Grandma can use it, then you are opening up some pretty big fucking doors for Bitcoin.

So what's next in the simplification of Bitcoin?

[Realpra]

Smart cards, see sig

[SilverandBitcoins]

Bitcoin really does need to be easier.  For God's sake - it's people's hard earned money.  Who would want to risk losing their money with the click of a mouse?  I agree with the OP on most things, although I do have to give credit to the geeks who have been very patient and nice (I'm somewhat ignorant with computers) on this board, the LTC, and the PpC boards over the past month.  Thanks to all of them.

[BitcoinBarrel]

If it was easier then that would allow more fraud to take place. If people can't go to a website and open a free Wallet then they shouldn't be handling finances on the internet anyway.

[davidspitzer]

Bitcoin really does need to be easier.  For God's sake - it's people's hard earned money.  Who would want to risk losing their money with the click of a mouse?  I agree with the OP on most things, although I do have to give credit to the geeks who have been very patient and nice (I'm somewhat ignorant with computers) on this board, the LTC, and the PpC boards over the past month.  Thanks to all of them.

I am preaching to the choir here but the exchange process from fiat to BTC and back again is so painfully complex and wrought with risk that it is no wonder that adoption is limited to the very technical right now. Wallet security is also complex and burdensome. I always rate consumer adoption ease based on a formula   - the amount of hours it would take to explain it to my mother in law * the amount of hours per week I would spend helping her after she started using it (the lower the number the better) eg and Iphone is about is about a 1 or a 2 - Bitcoin would be in the 100's

[Birdy]

Yes, we need way more of steps in the direction to simplify things.

Small suggestion:
I don't know if they exist yet, but I think there should also be "Payment-Request"-QR-Codes.
Like you scan them and get a prompt with a message "Pay 1.337 BTC?" (+value in $/€) and all you have to do is click yes or no.
Only for small amounts though, higher amounts should be typed in manually.

[CanadianGuy]

If it was easier then that would allow more fraud to take place. If people can't go to a website and open a free Wallet then they shouldn't be handling finances on the internet anyway.

I'm talking about something so easy, you virtually take the internet right out of it (or at least keep that part hidden from the user interface).  Just because we are making it easier doesn't mean we have to sacrifice security.  Last time I checked, grandma's safety deposit box was guarded pretty heavily.  

[CanadianGuy]

Smart cards, see sig

I like this idea.  It's too bad there has been such little development with that

[BitcoinBarrel]

I'm sure there will be companies offering Automated BitCards for withdrawals and purchases before too long. Sort of like pre-paid ATM cards.

[CanadianGuy]

I'm sure there will be companies offering Automated BitCards for withdrawals and purchases before too long. Sort of like pre-paid ATM cards.

that's when things will really take off I think..
they could be preloaded before being sold, like a gift card

[ewitte]

Keep it complicated it keeps the competition low - Actually make it MORE complicated

[molecular]

Yes, we need way more of steps in the direction to simplify things.

Small suggestion:
I don't know if they exist yet, but I think there should also be "Payment-Request"-QR-Codes.
Like you scan them and get a prompt with a message "Pay 1.337 BTC?" (+value in $/€) and all you have to do is click yes or no.
Only for small amounts though, higher amounts should be typed in manually.

it's already part of the uri scheme (https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/URI_Scheme). You can put an amount into a bitcoin payment uri.

edit: needless to say you can make a qr-code representing such uri.

side-note: try blockchain.info wallet "create payment request". It allows to enter an amount and produces a qr-code.

[westkybitcoins]

If it was easier then that would allow more fraud to take place. If people can't go to a website and open a free Wallet then they shouldn't be handling finances on the internet anyway.

This. OP's expectation for ease of use is entirely unreasonable.

If grandma is truly too stupid (which usually translates into too willfully ignorant and stubborn) to even use friggin' web-based email, she shouldn't be using bitcoin in the first place.

That's a little like complaining that purchasing, maintaining and driving a car is too difficult for a 4-year-old. Good, it should be. He can enjoy the perks of such a tool when he's mature enough to handle all that, and to worry in the meantime that cars may be too complex for the general public based on his lack of ability is unwarranted.

[ewitte]

Exactly you should be driving until your at least 8   that was a j/k but an 8 year old may be less dangerous than an 80+ yo that has a license

[SgtSpike]

Grandma will never be able to use Bitcoin directly.  However, she may be able to use services built on top of Bitcoin that are purposefully built to be extremely easy to use and extremely secure/forgiving.  For instance, those services might only pay verified vendors, so that grandma can't accidentally pay a scammer.

Now, if you're saying that grandma can't even use a computer (which, let's face it, if she can't use email, she can't use a computer), then you'd be looking at physical services built on top of Bitcoin that are easy to use and extremely secure/forgiving.  But this will be a long time coming, because it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure to build and maintain.  You'd be looking at the VISA equivalent of Bitcoin.  And actually, it might look a lot like the current VISA system, with swipable cards with pin numbers or signatures required, and the payment network on the hook for cases of merchant fraud.  Problem is, the payment network wouldn't have any way to reverse the fraud in the case of Bitcoin, so they might not actually send payment until the merchant does some basic verifications with them, etc.

Anyway, just some thoughts.  Building a better Bitcoin isn't the problem, it's just a matter of building a system on top of Bitcoin that can do what is necessary to make Bitcoin accessible to grandma.  Or altering the existing system to be compatible with Bitcoin (which might honestly be much easier, if Bitcoin is looked at just like cash from a banking perspective).

[superduh]

someone needs to make a really really good INFOGRAPHIC
someone should commission theoatmeal

[Surpbitcoin]

https://www.udemy.com/


I send all my "simple minded" friends here. Seems to work for them!

[porcupine87]

Same for the Internet! No one understands how it works and so noone uses this technology. How do you say: "I think the break through of 'the internet' will never come, because it's to complicated".

The main issues are the usability of the clients and the credibility of the "experts". If you can trust these experts that Bitcoin is no fraud, then everything is ok.

[marcus_of_augustus]

Bitcoin is complicated, get used to it ... it is way easier to use now than it was in mid-2010 ... it will be way easier to use in 2015.

If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem. All this "someone should" BS ... just go and do it already!!! Is this the entitled mob showing up?

tl;dr stop whinging if you are not creating solutions.

[Abdussamad]

I agree with SgtSpike. Bitcoin is just a protocol. It is not meant to be used directly by people. Organizations will use bitcoin as the basis for their offerings just like how banks use SWIFT to move money around. So bitcoin won't take off until people start building on top of it. The real money is in doing that - making it accessible to ordinary people.

Another thing I'd like to point out is that bitcoin has a long way to go yet. If you take a look at the leading Internet based payment systems you get Paypal and then the rest. Despite trying for all these years paypal alternatives have still not captured a large share of the market. I thing it would be a major milestone if bitcoin got as large as skrill or payza.