How do you explain BTC to a friend or family member that has no idea?

[5thStreetResearch]

pull out your iphone and pull up a youtube video of someone who actually can explain it

[rhj12345]

I have spent the last 18 years as a computer consultant doing work for all kinds of companies. Here is one thing I find to be the most frustrating thing about my job, there is no hope for some people when it comes to technology. The fact is; there are some people (mostly women) who just don't get it or can't grasp it for whatever reason.

These are the same people who when I am helping them over the phone or even at their desk say things like "When you say click, is that a left click or right click" or "Turning the computer off is this button right here on the monitor right?" or "I love having this coffee cup holder (DVD drive) in my desktop computer".

You will NEVER explain it to these people and they will never get it. Just a fact of life.

Just tell them to find a financial adviser, invest in gold and pay of there debt, and move on, you will find less stress if you do.

Rob

[Beliathon]

On a serious note , the way I convince most of my friends to join it is by telling them how they can reap profits from the system rather than convincing them that Bitcoin is a better financial system xD

I disagree strongly with this view, I think educating them on WHY Bitcoin is a better way to do money is MUCH more important than telling them "you'll make lots of profit!", especially given Bitcoin's volatility.

Otherwise they may end up buying in right before a big crash, and then they'll resent you because they have no understanding of how irrelevant fiat price fluctuations are, at this early stage.

[MCXI]

"Bitcoin, the currency outside the grasp of the evil oligarchy banking cartels". Bitcoin represents an idea, that idea is a zero ruling authority.

[pungopete468]

You could always say, "let me borrow a $20." Then tell them that you can move away or travel anywhere in the world and repay your debt in BTC nearly instantly for only a few pennies using a device connected to the internet. Explain that BTC is superior when compared with driving to the nearest bank and paying for an international wire, mailing a check, or any other current method... Also explain that it can't be counterfeit, and it's safer to use than any other financial system.

Then explain that it's easy to use, merchants profit from it, it's better for small business because a few % added to the bottom line could go a long way, and you don't risk your identity online by using it as an online payment.

[bananas]

I would not, they don't pay attention or think it is bullshit. However i was suprised that i met two friends yesterday that know nothing about computing, and they were excited about having a few satoshis in their smarphone wallet they earned in a faucet.

[Roger_Murdock]

Best solution is a video, such as these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7opj5-32hw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx9zgZCMqXE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um63OQz3bjo

I'd recommend having them start with this video instead (Erik Voorhees' "Bitcoin as Money" talk). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2YllvbJo6g

It's much more important to understand the why of Bitcoin (i.e., why a decentralized, digital currency is useful) than it is to understand  how bitcoin achieves that result.  People use technology all the time without understanding how it works, but they can usually appreciate why it's useful / valuable. 

I've also gotten some pretty good feedback on my standard explanation:

The reason it's so hard for most people to understand Bitcoin is that most people don't really understand money. Money isn't wealth. It's an accounting system used to facilitate the exchange of wealth. (The paradox of money is that while everyone wants it, no one actually wants it - they want the stuff they can buy with it!) Many people are put off by the fact that bitcoins are "just data." But that's what ALL money is, information! More precisely, money is a means for credibly conveying information about value given but not yet received (or at least not yet received in a form in which it can directly satisfy a person's wants or needs).

To put it yet another way, money is a ledger. With fiat currencies like the dollar, that ledger is centralized. And that gives the central authority responsible for maintaining that ledger tremendous power -- power that history has proven will inevitably be abused. With Bitcoin, the ledger is decentralized. And that means that no one individual or entity has the power to arbitrarily create new units (thereby causing inflation), freeze (or seize) your account, or block a particular payment from being processed. We've had decentralized money before. After all, no one can simply print new gold into existence. And the "ledger" of gold is distributed because the physical gold itself (the "accounting entries" in the metaphor) is distributed. But with gold, that decentralization comes at a heavy price (literally). The physical nature of gold makes it hugely inefficient from a transactional perspective.

Enter Bitcoin.

It is the first currency in the world that is BOTH decentralized AND digital. It is more reliably scarce than gold (it is mathematically-guaranteed that no more than 21 million bitcoins will ever be created), more transactionally efficient than "modern" digital banking (Bitcoin enables nearly-instantaneous, nearly-free transfers of value to anyone, anywhere in the world) and enables greater financial privacy than cash. It could certainly still fail for one reason or another, but if it doesn't, it has the potential to be very, VERY disruptive.

[E.exchanger]

Well that's the hardest thing to do and I haven't veen able to do that successfully yet. My parents thinks its a kind of buying and selling of shares I do and my friends think I doing something wrong and I might get caught one day 

[seafarer124]

What I find difficult to grasp is people believe what they are fed by the TV news reports and newspapers.  In most cases the media does not have an ounce of truth.  

Many don't believe in themselves and want to be controlled by the state.  Freedom is something we should all want, sadly, it is not the case.

Strangely, humans will believe a politician or banksters before they believe in their own family.

Just because somebody has multiple degrees does not make them smarter, just proves they can study.

There are many educated fools around.

Bitcoin has given new hope, we don't need the fools.

[predic]

you must be patient with people, not all people accept new ideas in 5 minutes.
just give them information from time to time, after 2-3 months they can try to use it.