For the last several months I've been working to develop patterns for using keys with cross-platform applications like Flotilla in a way that doesn't scare people off. This is crucial for achieving my stated goal of creating software that serves the kind of people who do not know what a public key is.

There has been plenty of work in this area by other people which has brought this goal slightly nearer for me. In particular, I think`ncryptsec` for backups and good mobile signers like Amber are the cleanest solutions out there so far, and multi-sig key storage protocols like bifrost and promenade promise to substantially strengthen security without increasing the burden of new concepts on users.

Unfortunately, none of these solutions remove the need for users to learn what keys are. Users are going to have to be able to use keys, and in order to do that they will need to develop a mental model for what they are and why they matter. If they don't understand what makes keys important, they won't understand why traditional custodial account management is a problem.

To that end, this blog post is my best attempt (so far) at explaining Why Keys Matter.