Quote from: DNotes on June 13, 2017, 03:38:04 PM

Quote from: TimMarsh on June 13, 2017, 05:06:17 AM

Quote from: DNotes on June 12, 2017, 03:42:13 PM

That is a good point Tim, we have setup several programs to help get people easily started in DNotes and begin learning about it. It would be great to come up with a way to get a small amount of DNotes into the hands of people that are interested in getting started and learning more. The challenge is being able to do with in such a way that cannot be exploited and also does not require a lot of manual intervention.

I believe the trick is to know your customer, and really understand their process. I don't think there is any value in giving away introductory DNotes because there's no reason to believe that less than $5USD is a deterrent. I would consider the learning curve, and the time taken to get through enough of the learning curve to be confident, is the biggest deterrent for new investors.

With this in mind I would suggest a highly structured introduction with a focus on not wasting the customer's time. We've seen software 'wizards' used for more than a decade to step people through a complex process. This wizard should not stop at the investment point, but go all the way through to a withdrawal.

For example, the customer clicks the "I'm interested, but don't know enough to be confident investing" button to get into the wizard. They have summaries of the important points with hover text over industry terms and on-screen or side panel pop-ups for more detailed information. By the end of it, they use a well known and familiar payment gateway like Paypal to buy $5 worth of DNotes. Then they get an email when their $5 DNotes quantity is worth $6. This email encourages them to cash in 1$ worth of DNotes so that they get money back in their hand and see the whole process end to end.

This final 'money back out' stage could be incredibly powerful in enabling them to recognise the full power of DNotes as a financial tool.

Then, once this has been developed, set up in a public space, hire a stall in the shopping centre, and pay some people $5 to invest $5 in DNotes. Watch over their shoulder and note down all of their question and complaints. Re-build your wizard based on what you learn and do it all again.

It is incredibly hard for someone capable of putting something like DNotes together to meaningfully relate to the thoughts and feeling of an off the street customer. The knowledge gap between the developer and the user is so incredibly vast. Experiencing this gap is the only way to bridge it.

Appreciate it Tim! Your points are well received. I can absolutely see using some of the methods you've outlined above being very effective at identifying the users needs.

To expand a bit on this conversation: As we grow and the regulations become less of an issue, we intend to streamline the entire process to the point of complete simplicity and convenience while also offering options to utilize DNotes in any way you would like. Having the tools available to buy, sell, save, and use your DNotes will be no more difficult and potentially even easier than using PayPal, or your traditional bank account.

Also having advanced features tucked away and slowly fed to the mainstream by asking customers if they have used xyz feature yet after some time of using the services, as they begin to use it, it will prompt other users to use it as well, until it becomes mainstream. It's important to recognize who the leaders are in your industry and study them. As Alan would say so that one day we can be equal to or better than them. I have been watching PayPal feed PayPal.me into the mainstream for what, 2 years now, and I believe a significant amount of people will be using it in the future. It allows people to simply send a link to someone in order to pay them. Brilliantly simple feature, very well introduced and executed, without 'forcing' it on the public.

Simplicity will no doubt be the driving factor that brings forward crypto adoption by mainstream users. Nearly everything will need to be processed in the back-end of any applications we develop - like auto exchange as one such feature. Making our payment network much more advanced than traditional banking, yet every bit as simple as using traditional online banking would seem like a realistic medium term goal.

Not forcing customers to use new features, and discover it for themselves is a great way to test actual consumer opinion of a new product. If they don't use it for whatever reason, even after being made aware - it may signify that changes to that feature need to be made. Success is always in the planning.