Thank you Androidicus and Tiffen both for leading the conversation in this direction.
I will try to explain the best I can, what makes Bitmark distinct.The Block Chain and Quality Assurance are Bitcoin's main technical strengths. Bitmark builds on these strengths.
Many alternative currencies have forgotten the Quality Assurance focussing on the Block Chain part instead, both are required, code must be kept up to date.
You will see that almost every service which uses BTC has to rely on another service to provide integration, from stores to alternative clients. Think about this: Stores use third party APIs and integrators. Clients like hive and electrum use custom APIs like electrum-server and bitcoinj. Why?
Bitcoin is very good at securing the blockchain, and not so good at providing access to it. Bitcoin's technical barrier is the architecture of the API, how other things access and use the functions and data available. This is a major block on adoption that has had to be covered by
(sometimes untrustworthy) third parties.
Bitmark will address this by creating a second API. New services and clients will integrate with the new API, either of their own Bitmark Node or the Public API of Nodes on the Bitmark Network. Existing cryptographic currency services and clients will still be supported by the old API.
If we ensure people can integrate with Bitmark easily and directly, or the Bitmark Network of nodes without running one, document it, provide Software Development Kits (SDKs) in major languages, example code, and example applications and clients, then developers will create wonderful things which use Bitmark.
By taking this approach we can offer the best user experience possible, by allowing people to specialize and compete to offer users a better experience.
Why have one wallet which offers utility when we can have 500 alternative wallets?
Why force stores and business adopters to use fee based third party integrators when we can give them everything they need to use the Bitmark Network easily?
This is Bitmark's value proposition:We recognise that others can do far more for users than we can alone, and offer users many choices instead of just one thing, so we will enable them to do this easily.
We recognise that the Bitcoin Core team and those supporting it can create a safer more stable core than we can, so we will trust them to do that.
We recognise that the Alternative Coins can offer innovation and compete to find solutions to common issues, so we will trust them to do this and adopt the solutions they prove.
We recognise that all of these points apply to every business sector, if people already
micro trust certain services in every day life, then we will also respect and trust them to do this, and help them to ease the flow of money between them and others.
Bitmarks goal is not to dominate or replace what exists, our goal is to fit in with what exists. It is part of a world full of things, let it be used with as many of them as possible.
With that in mind, let us cover where we are with a simple plan.
Foundation1. Engage people who are knowledgeable in the crypto currency community and are 'fair' players.
Constant.
2. Provide a code base that is safe and acknowledged as being 'good' by peers in the cryptographic currency arena.
Complete, maintain this.
3. Establish long term funding for Bitmark which does not rely on investment.
Initiated, Bitmark Foundation.
4. Ensure the network is safe and stable by having a minimum of three major pools.
In progress... miningpool.co, IPM Pool, we need more
Each of the following items progress independently on their own timeline. I will start each area, others will join.
Easing (Technical) Adoption1. Demonstrate backward compatibility with existing crypto currency services and tools.
Pending... tools, electrum, bitmarkj, multibit, hive wallet, adoption by existing crypto currency services
2. Improve the Architecture.
Pending... data first, improved api, thin clients which use full nodes as their distributed servers.
3. Developer support.
Pending... SDKs, code libraries, documentation, examples.
4. Informative Data Powered Services
Pending... Consider blockchain.info, brainwallet, these can be created quickly and easily.
Ease of Use1. Multiple Alternative User Interfaces (Many Wallets)
By 'Improving the Architecture' we can demonstrate how user interfaces can be built on top of the API, others can take our work and create alternative or more specific user interfaces for Bitmark.
Specialization with many competing clients offers the user more than we can.
To create this is not simple, we need to select responsible service providers and see what they need, look at the integrators and see what they offer, find what they have in common and offer that directly through Bitmark.
Our simple plan does not cover every detail, it is a simple plan to show us where to start, others will join and continue on this work.
If one was preparing a presentation to a group of 'laypeople' from a broad cross section of society and commerce, to extol the virtues of adopting Bitmark as a useable currency 'of value', can we find half a dozen or hopefully more salient points that would form the bones of such a presentation?
Far better to show them some useful things which use Bitmark, things they can use themselves, or already do.
It's all about the security and utility of the wallet ..
If you build it .. They will come ..
Let's have many wallets built on Bitmark and competing with each other to offer utility.
If they build things on Bitmark, they will bring others.
Already we are on the fourth step of our foundation. Bitmark is very young, it is becoming strong. We have made good progress and we will continue to do so if we remain fair and reasonable with each other and share a common vision of what is ahead.
