Okay, WTF Is Ethereum?
Ethereum is often touted as a "world computer."
What that fancy language really means is that ethereum is a platform for the creation of decentralized applications (dapps), using what are known as smart contracts. Smart contracts are bits of code that automatically execute an action after certain requirements have been met—say, sending a slice of an app's profits to investors after a predetermined date has passed. Bitcoin has smart contracts, too, but ethereum makes them really easy to use since they're baked into the system's design.
All of this takes place on a blockchain, which bitcoin uses, too. All a blockchain does is act as a public ledger that lists everything that goes on in the network in real-time. It's the tool that makes the whole thing possible. The blockchain, and thus the ethereum network, is distributed across thousands of computers (or "nodes") around the world. It's also "Turing complete," which means that smart contracts on the blockchain can handle most computational functions, allowing them to be pretty sophisticated.
Read more here: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/okay-wtf-is-ethereum
Don't forget about competitors: UBQ ETC
Although usually associated with Bitcoin, blockchain technology contains numerous applications, which go way past digital currencies. In actual fact, Bitcoin is just one of the many applications that utilize blockchain technology nowadays.
I'll be honest. I think Ethereum is a big fish they caught. Continuing to be honest i think we all should also have a leg inside Akasha too, for the same reason.