Lies My Teacher Told Me -
Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
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Wednesday, 3 January 2018
quote [ Everyone says the blockchain, the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, is going to change EVERYTHING. And yet, after years of tireless effort and billions of dollars invested, nobody has actually come up with a use for the blockchain—besides currency speculation and illegal transactions. ]
To be fair, the blockchain has become an excellent demonstration for how and why the value of a "currency" is dependent on the healthy and stable infrastructure of that currency's "society." Sadly, that lesson seems to be completely lost on the people who are typically gungho about the blockchain.
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Kama-Kiri said @ 2:33am GMT on 4th January
"It turns out that for the person paying for a product, the key feature of a new payment system — think of PayPal in its early days — is the confidence that if the goods aren’t as described you’ll get your money back. "
This is false. I have had a Paypal account since a couple of months after it started in 1998. It was initially popular because was it was free (as in beer) to send and receive money for (primarily ebay) purchases, in a world where postal money orders, writing checks, and going to the bank to transfer money were still common activities. At the time Paypal offered no dispute resolution services, and was not linked to ebay (which was itself new). Paypal fees were added quickly afterwards, ebay integration next, and the various levels of buyer protection much, much later.
/old
Kama-Kiri said @ 2:35am GMT on 4th January
"It turns out that for the person paying for a product, the key feature of a new payment system — think of PayPal in its early days — is the confidence that if the goods aren’t as described you’ll get your money back. "
This is false. I have had a Paypal account since a couple of months after it started in 1998. It was initially popular because was it was free (as in beer) to send and receive money for (primarily ebay) purchases, in a world where sending postal money orders, writing checks, and going to the bank to transfer money were still common activities. At the time Paypal offered no dispute resolution services, and was not linked to ebay (which was itself new). Paypal fees were added quickly afterwards, ebay integration next, and the various levels of buyer protection much, much later.
/old
<-- Entry / Current Comment
Kama-Kiri said @ 2:33am GMT on 4th January [Score:1 Underrated]
"It turns out that for the person paying for a product, the key feature of a new payment system — think of PayPal in its early days — is the confidence that if the goods aren’t as described you’ll get your money back. "
This is false. I have had a Paypal account since a couple of months after it started in 1998. It was initially popular because was it was free (as in beer) to send and receive money for (primarily ebay) purchases, in a world where sending postal money orders, writing checks, and going to the bank to transfer money were still common activities. At the time Paypal offered no dispute resolution services, and was not linked to ebay (which was itself new). Paypal fees were added quickly afterwards, ebay integration next, and the various levels of buyer protection much, much later.
/old
