Shares in a new economy, yes - just been there, done that. Let me explain and "share" my story.
At the time of this writing, the Symbionomics project by Alan Rosenblith and Jay Standish shows following statistics on Kickstarter:
Yes, I am part of this Symbionomics project now, proud to say. And this means I hold shares in the making of a story about this new economy.
Immediately, two questions arise:
- How can we know it is true? Anyone can doctor a screen shot.
- Now that you own shares, you may hope they appreciate, that is your risk, but how on Earth do you ever cash them in?
1. Social Vetting
Give it a bit of time and unmistakeable signs will become evident that tell the story whether my claim here is fake or true. It could be comments, retweets, links from blogs, social media references, or ultimately credits in the film if it gets fully funded and made. In a very open way, it is entirely up to you. See the real-time statistic and
...decide whether your help is needed and do you wish to support this?
Why does it matter? Surprise: it doesn't, at least not for you, until you can imagine ripple effects of supporting a cause like this. If you disagree, ignore and move on. No hard feelings. If you agree, join in, pledge what you are comfortable with and enjoy the feeling of moving this world a little closer to the way you imagine it should be. Why else are you reading this?
OK. What's that worth, compared to all the other things you could buy or invest your money in and expect a fair return if there ever is one?
To answer the original question: it is true for you according to your own belief system. You can read the signs, you can tell what's fake. And if not sure now, and if it matters to you what we build here, come back later to revisit your decision. So that you know.
2. Before there is anything to cash in, we had better create social value
At this time, I have no idea how that share or this blogpost may contribute to social value, appreciate in value or even be appreciated. I feel in good company with you and all, because no one has the faintest idea what the emergent outcomes will be. Best guesses, yes, and yours are as good as mine. And I am sure the value does not accrue to me alone. There is no sole propriertorship.
Hey, it's a gift. Doh-nay-shun, you know? I have no expectation of a monetary return. Even though there is a (fiat) money equivalent behind it, this is not equivalent to the true, sorry, the social value of the gift. Is it more valuable to be among the early funders? We can not really express such value in conventional currency units. It has been tried before. Enter the gift economy and santa math.
All my claims and self-declarations aside, it will be up to society, or whoever is / wants to be near me in a social network, to assess, account for and authenticate the value. Systems for this are new and early atempts appear crude. I have yet to see anything stable or widely trusted. You know better? Share, please, in the comments. Thanks.
What is the value for the share (a bid for bragging rights?) and for this blog post (number of comments, links, ad revenue?) Oh, almost forgot, no ads on this blog except my own.
Create social value... hmmm, where have I seen this before? Ah, the Ingenesist Project.
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