Following his TED talk, the co-author of Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Business, and the World says that what Blockchain needs now for its potential to be maximized isn’t publicity but clarity.

Don Tapscott, who along with his son, Alex, wrote about the Blockchain and how it might change the world, thinks the confusion surrounding the technology needs explanation.

He tells Cointelegraph:

“It reminds me of 25 years ago when similar confusion existed about the Web. There was no language to talk about things, let alone clear taxonomies, frameworks, strong use cases and tools to go forward. I played a role then de-obfuscating the first year of the Internet and lots of good concepts came out of our work — The Digital Economy, The Digital Divide, The Net Generation, The Business Web, The Extended Enterprise, and many more. It is my intention to be helpful this time around as well.”

Blockchain mythbusters

Alex Tapscott added that clarity is necessary because there are too many myths about the technology that need to be busted.

He states:

“For example – people assume this will only impact financial services, or that governments are hostile towards it, or that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are only used by criminals. It turns out that not only are those notions completely false, often the inverse is true. Getting hung up on these misconceptions prevents people from seeing the awesome power of this technology.”

The authors say they believe Blockchain represents nothing short of the second generation of the internet of value that gives the world another kick to transform the economic power grid and the old order of human affairs for the better. This is particularly important because the world is moving from an internet of information to an internet of value and that holds vast promise.  

TED Talk about Blockchain

Don Tapscott’s recent 18-minute TED talk, which he says took him and Alex a couple of years to prepare for, has been viewed by over 200,000 people in less than a week.

The number of views indicate quite a large interest from people outside the industry to better understand what the technology might mean to their jobs, lives etc. The message has started generating helpful discussions and action among the audience who comprise business executives, government leaders and a wider audience who have “a stake in the future of civilization – i.e. 7.5 billion people” as the Tapscotts put it.

Interest in Blockchain is spreading like wildfire

Don Tapscott says to Cointelegraph that there has been a huge change in 2016 alone. Unlike last year when about 10% of an audience would say they have heard about Blockchain, a large majority of most audiences now do.  

“That’s the progress,” he says. “But when you reflect on the diffusion of the first era of the Internet and its ubiquity, today that’s just a beginning.”

Alex Tapscott adds that excitement and interest in this subject is spreading like wildfire beyond the world of technology and banking to the media, government, civil society, and every other institution in society.

Can Bitcoin bask in the reflected glory of its tech?

Fact-based and educational information about the Blockchain is sure to be helpful in moving the ball forward.

Alex Tapscott concludes:

“Lots of companies such as Blockstream, Paycase, and others are leveraging the Bitcoin network to do much more with the underlying Blockchain, for example. If you mean will the Blockchain publicity affect the value of the token – Bitcoin – then probably yes, but I wouldn’t overstate the impact.”