June 16th, 2008
Understanding Currency in the P2P Economy
Senior decision makers would be well-advised to start any transition planning program with a discussion of how influence currency works in the P2P Economy. Influence is the ability to get on-demand consumers to take action. Influence currency is the medium of exchange for payment during the acquisition of goods or services and repayment of debts in the P2P Economy.
Influence currency can be converted into or exchanged for monetary currency. Newcomers are encouraged to think of monetary currency as the kind of traditional currency that they currently use in their everyday life. Influence can be saved as trust. Influence is acquired through good deeds or influence investments. Just like any currency there is a holding cost which can diminish the value of the influence investment.
The P2P Economy uses a higher-order arithmetic because peers play a huge role in the ongoing user experience. This requires a different kind of currency like influence so steps can be taken not to alienate the interests of customers and other stakeholders. On-demand consumers and value chain partners must be willing to invest their infrastructure and/or assets to support the p2p application.
The IT Investment Architect®
Concepts: influence, influence-currency, influence-investment, P2P Economy, transition-planning, trust