Idea marketplace reality

In our times can get a better sense of product reality and why people pay money for a particular thing than in the past. For instance was surprised when music industry at first refused to sell digital copies of music over the web, as they relied much on its distribution through physical copies, like with CD's. There was a lot of distribution money that went away when people like me could just download a song we liked.

But why would anyone assume I'd just steal the song rather than pay for it?

Some people DID assume that ALL humans are thieves and took Steve Jobs to even let people legally buy and download when he pioneered with iTunes. Today of course it should seem silly to think no one would pay for a digital song regardless of how distributed simply because LOTS of people do.

There was a delusion that physical security which is good is key to profits, as if no human can be trusted not to steal if that is not there. That really messed up lots and slowed web business development tremendously.

Our world is slowly figuring out idea marketplace reality. Web enables much, MUCH more.

(The actual flow of money in general is the easy part.)

Physical products are of course important but now also is the software that can keep them running properly where you can have operating system costs buried in the cost of the device or free like with those that use open source software. The cost of developing the software when free is born by an open source community.

Global community provides the basic framework for the web with open source or nothing else would be working now, but more focus is on the people making money various ways.

The most basic workable model in that it can be broadly replicated globally for an idea transaction is when a consumer comes across an idea product, and pays through an intermediary, who distributes the product over the web, on behalf of an idea producer.

Talk that with: Abstracting the payment intermediary

You might think that the most basic workable model is simply paying the producer direct. But have a ready analogy which will use throughout this post, which is paying for a ride. So paying direct is like if you just go find someone you pay to drive you around. (Good luck with that one.) Rideshare companies are actually simply payment intermediaries.

The point of a payment intermediary is--business trust.

The payment intermediary can determine if a person is a legitimate customer which includes ability to pay and also can include a tendency to behave. And can handle receipt of funds from customers.

While for a potential customer the payment intermediary should also ensure a safe environment as well as reception of the desired good or service--like a safe, comfortable ride to the desired destination.

Oh yeah, also the payment intermediary is an important source of information needed for all parties. Where must be objective as well but why wouldn't be?

Like yeah with rideshare is brilliant to collect ratings for both the driver and the rider.

Dropping of the distribution costs is where you find the HUGE web difference. Like I can write a book, and the cost of distribution of the digital version can be a pittance in comparison to the costs for a physical version.

A complete marketplace of ideas would be a place on the web where potential customers could go to payment intermediaries who would connect them with producers of desired product or service.

Like with a physical marketplace where there is a concentration of goods and services at a physical location for the convenience of customers and businesses.

We just had SOME things that distributed in established marketplaces through physical products where there was natural focus, as started talking music industry and CD's. But the web doesn't care about such things really.

So? Was something information distributed in a physical product before, but now can move across the web freed of its physical carrier.

Web can open things up vastly and yes, include products for sale around things like with music and video, and also go beyond.

When am looking at gaps with the current models on the web, am thinking is with payment intermediaries who can help someone like me with an idea product. Maybe should just create such a company myself, eh?

Covered a lot of ground though. Like say you LOVE driving people around but rideshare companies didn't exist! What could you do?

Maybe you could start some business convincing people to let you drive them.

Oh, or become a taxi driver, right? But what if didn't want to jump through their hoops? Which may be part of why taxi companies have been fighting so hard.

Reality is: most folks are funneled into established systems which can actually be VERY dysfunctional for work.

Web has the potential to vastly disrupt those prior systems by giving more options based simply on ability to do a job.

Is like the business part can be separated, like with a rideshare company as I run that analogy into the ground. But seems so useful! Is readily familiar. So yeah, most of the business part of driving? Rideshare companies handle, so the driver can just, be polite and drive.


James Harris

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