I dont get this whole bitcoin thing..

Can someone explain this in a shorter way?

 

In short:

You can use BTC to purchase good's or services online and receive payments through it like paypal however BTC rates change so one day you have 0.1 BTC and it could be valued at 30$ the next day that 0.1 BTC could be worth 31$ or 29$ depending on rate changes. Bitcoin is a irreversible payment once you send it, you can never get it back. So be sure to use a MM or escrow payments if you don't trust the person your trading with.

 

See www.weusecoins.com for a general overview.

 

http://money.cnn.com/infographic/technology/what-is-bitcoin/

pretty much you got it here.

 

Bitcoin is a digital currency that addresses the issues that most currency faces.

It is secure, semi-anonymous, you don't need an account to use it, decentralized so it can't be shut down, it isn't susceptible to inflation as they're are a set amount of coins, it is irreversible so there are no chargebacks, and it is pretty much instant.

It is easily divisible so even if a coin is say $300, you can send a fraction of that bitcoin.

The issues with it at the moment are volatility in the price and it isn't as regularly accepted as most currencies (Although a few major companies accept it and the number of people accepting it is growing rapidly).

To get started you need to download a wallet (quick google search, also search how to keep it secure and backed up). And buy/trade for them.

I hope that's easy enough to understand and get you started off.

 

It's decentralized, anonymous (if you know what you're doing) and it's pretty well safeguarded (as far as no centralized banking or inflation). In a nut shell, its a virtual currency that's difficult to manipulate that can be used essentially like the USD, EURO or any other currency, with the exception that it doesn't physically exist.