My mother literally did not know how to turn on a computer until a few years ago, but was able to use Signal on her iPhone after almost no explanation. My mother looked at me funny when I tried to explain GPG to her after the Snowden revelations started. But ever since I installed Signal on my mother's iPhone, I have been able to have private phone conversations with my mother. The significance of these types of distinctions between gpg and Signal are hard to underestimate when you extrapolate them to a societal level. My partner uses TextSecure/RedPhone with ease, and most of my friends use WhatsApp. I've only been able to convert a few of my non-technical friends, in contrast, into gpg users. Another way to think about this in terms of strategy: the means actually are the ends.
Almost as important as his crypto expertise, moxie's deep understanding of UX and especially barriers to entry and the network effect have concretely made the world a better place, and not just for people like us...but also (and especially) for people like my mom, my partner, and my (mostly non-programmer) friends. Thank you for understanding that their privacy is important and that their human dignity matters--and especially for meeting them where they are.
As a result, now it's not just my colleagues "in tech"--but also essentially all of my friends and family--who are with you!
It usually goes something like "mom, what are the two words (short authentication strings) you see on your phone?" Sometimes she even asks me--we make jokes about the combinations.
And yeah, it's true that some of the Snowden docs reference ZRTP attacks & spoofing voice so it's not necessarily foolproof (or her phone could be owned etc.), but another one of the things my mother told me when I was a kid was "the key is to begin." And that's what moxie's done...
Almost as important as his crypto expertise, moxie's deep understanding of UX and especially barriers to entry and the network effect have concretely made the world a better place, and not just for people like us...but also (and especially) for people like my mom, my partner, and my (mostly non-programmer) friends. Thank you for understanding that their privacy is important and that their human dignity matters--and especially for meeting them where they are.
As a result, now it's not just my colleagues "in tech"--but also essentially all of my friends and family--who are with you!