Come up with a non-technical minimalistic Blockchain definition [community engagement]

crzndx (51)in #blockchain • 8 years ago (edited)

Hi Steemit Community,

everybody is talking about it and if you have a technical background, you will have no problem in understanding what a Blockchain really is. I am trying to come up with a minimalistic definition of the "Blockchain" term that everybody is able to understand - my non-technical grandparents as well as anybody that hasn't ever heard of Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies, distributed databases, hashing, merkle trees, etc. But all my efforts resulted in a minute-long explanation of the datastructures, what digital currencies are and the different aspects of using a blockchain.

Blockchain cartoon

Tech-savy short definition:

For people with a technical background I'm using a very short definiton that sums it up pretty well, although you most likely will need to outline the term trustable afterwards. But that is a good entry point for further discussions in a real life setting.

The Blockchain is a trustable distributed database

[Task] Non-technical short definition:

You can find a vast amount of newspaper articles that deal about the Blockchain, but all of them fail to deliver the core message, what a Blockchain is in a few words. Can you do better?

Can you come up with a Blockchain defintion (as short as possible) so that also your grandma would be able to understand it?

I am aware that a short definition is by far not as accurate as a blog article or even a whole book about this topic. But that is not the goal. Keep in mind, to communicate the underlying idea efficiently and do not fall into the habit of being over-precise here.

Thanks for your kind support and ideas on this topic!

#definition #bitcoin #cryptocurrency

8 years ago in #blockchain by crzndx (51)

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krnel (78) 8 years ago

"The blockchain consists of a decentralized distributed database of blocks of data. In the case of bitcoin, the data is that of transactions people make between each other. Transactions are represented by data of person A, sending to person B, amount X. The transaction request between person A and B are linked through a hash of characters in one block, that references a hash in another block. These blocks are then linked in a network to chain them together as one larger ledger of all the data."

from What is the Blockchain, Blockchain 2.0, and Steemit? Building the Future!

Simpler?

The blockchain is a record of data, such as transactions between people, that can't be tampered with or changed, because the data is distributed in many areas unlike current companies that store data in one place. It's really safe and secure.

I guess that's the simplest?

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