If your mum doesn’t understand it, Blockchain won’t change the world.
A few days ago I came across a post on Linkedin pointing out the current obsession of the tech industry for everything that had the word Blockchain attached to it. The post, continued by highlighting the importance for companies to sort out basic elements of their functioning before focusing on the implementation of a new and highly experimental technology. The author believed that sorting out issues in such fundamental areas, like customer support, were a priority much higher than any new shining trend.
At that point, I felt it opportune to reply by sharing a situation I had just experienced. An international transfer I made got lost somewhere between the broker and the recipient’s bank. After a whole morning lost on the phone and on the chat with both institutions customer support, I realized something. No amount of good customer service, decent design and basic usability of the apps of either financial institutions could have solved the fact that my money was in limbo. But you know what could have made a difference? If my transaction had been registered in the blockchain. Then the time spent by me and the customer support would have been reduced to 0. I think we can all agree on the fact that the best customer support is not having to use one.
The fact that some industry leaders have yet to understand the potential of Blockchain, not as a tech aggregate but as a new horizontal innovation, capable to change how data and transactions are recorded and managed across all industries, is a reality. It is true that the word blockchain might have been used in “vain” by many, and that the recent mass speculation with cryptocurrency hasn’t helped to cement the true potential of this technology. But, we should expect from these leaders to go beyond a uniformed devaluation of the technology and to really start a learning and research process.
While we highlight the importance of this evolution on the business side, it is key that we start looking on ways to make sure the general population understands all the potential and implications of the blockchain before we hand them the tools to use it. In other words, how do approach blockchain technology to the people outside of LinkedIn or tech conferences, when even our business leaders are having a hard time understanding it?
The apps and services we are developing need to prioritize customer journeys and current use cases and benefits instead of building themselves upon blind optimism for the new tech. Even if we can see all the potential and uses of the technology as crystal clear, we need to make sure our products are more user-focused than ever. That they are clearly tailored for the people who will benefit from them so they can understand their journey’s implications and purpose. Otherwise, we will just be asking them to take a leap of faith.
Similar to the first generation of the internet, the technology is there. Now it’s time to make it usable so we can continue advancing.
In a society where data has been so compromised, the first step is to simplify the journey towards a shift of data ownership to the point that it’s almost transparent. People already understand that big corporations like Facebook, Google or 23andme have been plundering their data, now we need to clearly and unequivocally state how we are going to grant them their rightful data, back.
Nevertheless, how do we achieve this with someone with a limited or null understanding of the technology? How do we explain to someone who doesn’t understand what a distributed ledger is that they are now going to retain full control of their data?
Educated UX and product design professionals are essential to this process. They are going to be in charge of translating blockchain to your mum and clearly showing her how it can provide a meaningful improvement to her life. Therefore, user experience should be in the core of any blockchain maturation process. Companies should invest less in attending the almost weekly “blockchain conferences and panels” and look into hiring more UX and Design Thinking professionals.
Designing user-centered experiences focusing in smoothly connecting the dots for those who may be new to the technology should be the main objective. What needs to unequivocally be said:
“THIS is your current (even if until now unknown) problem and THIS is the journey we propose so you can solve it.”
Just like with the internet, mass adoption will come with the simplification of processes on the user side. Trust, accessibility and traceability of data throughout the user journey are the sole basic concepts anyone needs to understand about the blockchain. The challenge is lifting the veil that cryptocurrencies have cast upon the blockchain technology itself and show how these principles are gonna solve user’s everyday problems. Not just the ones of a bunch of geeks (no offense) investing and speculating online.
The real challenge is, for example, helping your father understand why and how he can use the blockchain to exchange his medical history for a reduced premium in his insurance.
Simplifying and reinforcing these concepts can go a long way to bring down the barriers of tech mass adoption.
If we want blockchain to succeed we need to make sure that the people whose lives are gonna be changed for the better understand it. In other words, only when people like my mum and yours understand and therefore use the chain, we will be in the position to claim we are powering a revolution.
