A crash course in changing the world.
Got a Becbuck, mate?
I have been putting off this mission for a while. Why? Money turns me off.
I've been working full time for about 9 years now and I am starting to acc**ulate quite a bit.
A couple of years ago, seeing the figures mount up on our bank statement, my husband and I panicked, thought we ought to do what other adults did, and saw a financial advisor. Two rushed decisions were made that day. One resulted in us losing a wh*** lot of cash for a couple of years (thanks to the icelandic mayhem- we didn't even realize our new bank was iceland-affiliated!) and the other means that we are now tied into a 15 year plan where we are essentially throwing cash into an anonymous financial institution that is gobbling it up to fill its abyss of a stomach. All the while, our hard earned cash is disappearing deeper into that wh*** and our figures are dwindling. I do recognize, however, how unbelievably fortunate I am to be one of the top tiny percentile of people in the world in this position. And I try not to take this position of privilege for granted.
Anyway, enough of the back story. What have I learnt from perusing Alchemy's offerings on the future of money?
The idea that appeals to me the most is DIY CURRENCIES.
Come on, if Donald Rushkoff "famously predicted the rise of social media" then why isn't Craig Newmark listening? Craigbucks need to be tested out and craigslist.org seems a perfect place to do it.
I hadn't heard of either of these gentlemen before reading and researching the article. They both seem pretty successful to me. And totally tuned into social evolution. I particularly respect Newmark's ethos "We cannot and will not police Craigslist. It’s an open community made to be shared by everyone... it’s not our place to decide what people can and can’t do… we just provide the place for them to do it."
It seems there has been a certain amount of controversy surrounding actions on his list at times, but I appreciate what seems to be a commitment to the right values.
This is why I think he is the perfect person to try out this DIY currency; money that can only be used in transactions on his list. Seems like a great idea to me! Do it Craig! Please...
If I were to have my own currency, it would be called a becbuck.
Here is the price list for some everyday transactions in the world of becbucks.
Emptying the compost bin- 3 BB
Grading a class of Lit. essays- 8 BB
Watering the vegetables in our community garden- 1 BB
Doing the washing up- 4 BB
Making a bloody Mary- 3 BB
What would your price list look like?...
Views: 1
Tags: LEARN5
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Comment by Mita Williams on April 12, 2010 at 6:40pm -
I like the idea of creating an alternative reward system for all the things that do good but don't involve money. Ah, but how does one spend becbucks?
They same time is money. Maybe becbucks could also be translated into time? What comes to mind is this project in which folks give money for all the time that they 'waste'.
It's got me thinking. Thanks for this!
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Comment by Turil Cronburg on April 12, 2010 at 6:56pm -
Personally, I predict people will move beyond wasting time quantifying the value of things, and "keeping score". In the future I envision us returning to the more natural economy of simply giving what you have extra of, and taking what you need to be healthy from what is available in the shared environment.
Having said that, I find the idea of Craigbucks amusing. Though I'd heard that Craigslist got bought out by some big company (Yahoo? Amazon?).
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