Alan, I've enjoyed reading your blog - and wo...

2009-12-24T15:37:36.761-08:00

Alan,

I've enjoyed reading your blog - and would appreciate feedback on the personal currency ideas that Douglas Rushkoff introduced in his recent "Radical Abundance" talk.

Below are early stage ideas on how new mobile apps or mashups could support exchanges of (time-based) personal currencies.

In short, growth of Augmented Reality functions on cameraphones will enable individuals to size up opportunities for exchange of personal currencies with interested parties. Taking a photo with an AR-enabled phone can trigger essentially immediate popups of related information about the person in focus.

Individuals can upload personal profiles that would be visible (if desired) to AR-enabled cell phones. These public or semi-public profiles can include a listing of their wants - and of personal offers to make specific kinds of time/skill donations or trades.

When a conversation with another person led to a decision to explore a transaction of time-based services, an AR app or mashup for personal currency exchange would make the related profile information from both parties mutually visible.

Each popup profile could include links to a trusted third party site where one can review or drill into summaries of prior work done and explore feedback ratings earned from past services.

With this information, the parties might agree an exchange rate (e.g. Doug Rushkoff’s 1 hour = Mark’s 3.5 hours) and commit to give one another personal time donation vouchers for the agreed number of hours and types of service.

The time-based vouchers could be converted into services by the agreeing parties, or (upon mutual consent before the voucher was given) by transfers to third parties for projects fitting criteria set out by the issuer of the voucher on his or her AR-linked profile site.

2. If the parties disagreed over the “exchange rate” for their respective time donation offers, the AR personal currencies app would offer a potential solution. It would give the parties the option to hold a real-time auction for a given number of pledged time donation vouchers hours on eBay or on a dedicated spot auction site.

This spot auction – if successful – would set the market value of the individual’s time vouchers in terms of preferred currencies that other party was seeking.

I’m sure that there are a number of issues (secure data sharing, online dispute resolution, digital notarization, etc) that would have to be rigorously developed in an operational AR-enabled personal currency app. But it seems likely that many of the components are within reach to create a mashup of a working prototype.

Look forward to your ideas on how we might proceed on developing a spec for such a prototype - and on allies who may be interested in seeing it move ahead.

Best,

Mark Frazier
Openworld.com
@openworld

Right on, Alan. We need a system where anyone any...

2009-11-21T23:00:04.988-08:00

Right on, Alan.

We need a system where anyone anywhere can do a POS transaction and trade currencies

I agree that an open system is inevitable. While a lot can be provided by creating apps from private POS providers(example, www.points.com), we shouldn't beat around the bush, and get to the point. Once this happens, and especially when people can do more ubiquitous POS LETS-type transactions, this will absolutely explode.

We need to approach this from all angles - design and development, funding, and marketing

I see that you and some groups approached the City of Portland about funding... What kind of funding is needed? What kind of time and effort is needed for the people who are going to do the majority of the work for the basic development? How did the group plan on structuring the effort and delegating the resources?

Perhaps we should start by creating an open, central site for the project. It can have wiki pages for groups and partners, and forums for collaboration.
Perhaps we can also have some sort of log of the activity (time, points, etc) that can serve as a model of the project, for the project itself, that we could maybe even match it with funding :)

Do you think that your site (www.metacurrency.org) will suffice?

As we develop the idea, we can simultaneously approach people that can help with development, funding, and buying in to the idea and using it. I'm sure that there are countless people who would be able and willing to help with all aspects of the project. All sorts of NGOs and nonprofits, programmers, and currency groups and advocates.

We should just start with what you already have, and just discuss it centrally.

I would love to do all I can to help form this and create connections. Currently I am a part of the communications and collaboration efforts of the recently formed United States Fab Lab Network (USFLN). This is a decentralized group around micro/personal fabrication, for which we are creating a similar kind of site for introducing and promoting the concept, having member pages, and a collaboration space.

... what do you think?

Comments on New Currency Frontiers: Open POS

Alan, I've enjoyed reading your blog - and wo...

Right on, Alan. We need a system where anyone any...