You Aren’t Alone If You Don’t Understand Blockchain

For those that are new to the industry, blockchain and the cryptocurrency space might seem a bit daunting or like another Silicon Valley hype machine repeating itself over and over again.

After the select few that attempt to keep the hype train going and those with the technical knowledge to actually comprehend the system’s fundamentals, the question still stands as to how much meaning the space has for the mainstream audience. This doesn't include the value, impact, or quantifiable metrics that venture capitalists can take credit for during pitches.

In an article published by Hackernoon, Brea Salim counts herself among the mass audience that doesn’t fully understand crypto buzzwords, blockchain or crypto in general.

The founder of The Blockchain Agency, Jesse Ratner said “Blockchain is still a very much engineering-driven culture, which means the marketing is still focusing on the features, the bells and the whistles. But they often don’t get to, why should I care?” There are plenty of news articles out there which slate blockchain dubbing it as ‘dangerous’, ‘pointless’, ‘meaningless’ and everything else under the sun, which somewhat proves Ratner’s statement.

This is why Ratner decided to take control of the problem face first by founding a marketing agency that aims to help brand blockchain firms. Ratner saw a gap in the space, especially when it comes down to most of the marketing out there being highly technical - it’s basically just jargon that some people just won't understand. Even though there are blockchain companies out there discussing seemingly tangible use cases, he argues that if it isn’t done well then perhaps it isn’t the most realistically applicable.

Ratner said, “your crypto kitties app, your new messenger on the decentralized Web, or various forms of decentralized identification — are these the right use cases?” He goes on, saying that it’s “the marketer’s job to go beyond the technical and get to the tangible value. You don’t want to go to the store to buy flour and butter, you want to eat cake.”

One of the first steps towards that right now for Ratner is to create clear and easy-to-understand websites for blockchain firms. Speaking to Salim he says that his way of approaching writing isn’t any different to how it was when he was a Creative Lead at Google saying:

“You really don’t have to throw out the baby with the bathwater. But I do think it will take some time to crystallize what the story is to developers, to investors, to journalists, to early adopters, and finally, to the point that the technology is contributing really in a global way on an everyday basis.”

Zi Wang is the CEO of a company which is looking to actuate the service economy, Timeless. Wang is hoping that someone out there will crack the blockchain code within this next year, saying, “we must create some meaningful value, something people can bring home and say, Oh, I really enjoy this. Other than the investors and the crypto holders, you don’t get joy out of blockchain.”

What are your thoughts? Let us know what you think down below in the comments!