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More about Superstructures

  • The Exchange

    Creating new gift economies through social networking.
  • Founder: PlatonicJensen

    social networking, Mesh Networking, Trade, Skill bank, Gift economy,

  • Who We Need
    Anyone could belong to an exchange, but to create The Exchange, we need game and system designers and programmers. Anyone who can help flesh out the way in which these gift economy networks shoudl function, and/or anyone who can help create the application that runs them.
  • How to join

    Simple. The description page is currently an outline of what the exchange might be. There are improvements to be made. We need to figure out how to aviod scamming, how to keep the system stable and useful, what possible exploits, holes, and terrible scenarios need to be solved. Also, I'm not a programmer, I have no idea how to start coding such a thing. I want to hear your Idea for making the exchange work, improving it's usefulness or security, or even just possible applications for such a tool. I really want to hear what your ideas are. I would consider it a favor.

    I've turned off moderation. Join up and start sharing!

  • Mission

    The Idea of the Exchange is a social networking applicaiton which allows people to request favors, and to perform favors that others request in exchagne for Karma, a type of reputation score.

    The premise is, A user would join an exchange and create a profile. This would have all the standard social networking stuff, but in addition, they would list the resources and services they are willing to offer to others. Then they could request favors, and these favors would be dispalyed on their profile as well as being listed on a "community board" where others could see them. Their profile will also show their all important Karma score.

    Karma is earned in two ways. The first is straitforward, you do a favor for someone. Either you browse the available favors on the community board or in people's specific profiles, or perhaps a favor request is sent to you specifically because of what you offered in your profile. If you feel you can do a favor, you contact the requester through the exchange. After you hash out the details, you then perform the favor, and the requester confirms you have done so. When the favor is confirmed performed, you gain a point of Karma. This Karma does not come out of the requesters Karma score, it is created.

     THe other method of creating Karma is to facilitate a favor. If you can't do a favor yourself, but you know someone in your network that can, you can forward the the request onto that person, acting as a kind of middleman. If the person you connect with the requester goes on to perform the favor, you will gain the same amount of Karma they gain, as a reward for facilitating the exchange.

     Karma serves two purposes. First is is a reputation score. A person with a high Karma has done many favors for other people. They will be more respected within their networks and people will be more likely to help them out when they need something. The second use is to "sweeten the deal". If you really want a favor done, you can add extra Karma from your pool to the favor, and anyone who does the favor will get that Karma in addition to the point all favors grant.

     The exchange is not supposed to be a specific gift economy, but an application that helps people to build social network gift economies. There would be many, many exchanges, some limited in scope to specific interests, or locals, or groups. Each exchange would be it's own little network, but all would run in a similar way and on the same application. When you open the exchagne, it would keep track of all the exchanges you belong to.

     The application would also work best in conjunction with mech networking and Geo-tagging. People who were part of the exchange could be notified when they were within range of each other, and their profiles would automatically be brought up for each other. Favors which are location specific, like a delivery location, might be tagged. 

     The goal is to help people create gift economies. We want to give people the means to exchange goods and services without needing money, and to have those exchanges help build relationships. This could be useful in integrating people into new communities, and in helping people with little access to stable currency a means of trade.

  • What we can accomplish

    • We can provide people with the tools to find out what others need, and to fill those needs for them. By doing so, people would increase their social standing, and the likelyhood that they can meet their own needs through the same system.

       For example, you might need seeds to start your garden, and maybe some help preparing your soil. Someone else out there has seeds, and someone else has the free time and energy to help you dig your bed. This system would not only help you find them, but provide the incentive for them to help you. 

      Or maybe you are a migrant, and you don\\\'t know the new area. There are no jobs available to do, but you can join the local exchange. You find that a family up the road needs help digging their garden bed: you can help them out, and in the process form a relationship with those people. Where you were previously the scary migrant, you are now the nice man who did them a favor, and as you gain more reputation the system vetts you to your new community. 

      Of course, you also belong to the migrant exchange. Your friend went to a different town and is having a tough go of it. You know he knows how to install wind generators, and there are a few outstanging favors in town that need that skill. You invite him to join the new exchange, and then you forward the wind requests to him, helping your friend and your adopted town out at the same time, and gaining in status as well. 

      Then of course, you need a place to stay and food to eat. At first it\\\'s rough, but as you accumulate Karma the people in the exchange see that you have made yourself a valuable member of the community, and they become more willing to do favors for you. That nice family up the street gives you vegetables from the garden you helped dig. The local constabulary choose to ignore the tent you\\\'ve set up in the park, as do your new neighbors. 

       But the big favor you really want is a new roof over your head, and it stays listed on your profile. You promise every last bit of karma you\\\'ve earned to anyone who will help you out. Well, when your Karma score topped 100, Someone took you up on the offer. They got you an "unplugged" style pre-fab and signed over a tiny lot to your name. You don\\\'t know if they bought it, or if they got it through a different exchange they were part off. It\\\'s nothing like the house you used to have on the coast, but it\\\'s cozy and better than your tent. And You also have a steady new stream of Karma because there are two beds, and other migrants passing through always need a place to stay. 

       These are the kinds of things I envision happening with this superstruct. 

       

      Input: Client side, a mobile computer capable of running the program, a user profile, a willingness to do things for others, and the time and resources to do so. 

       Provider side, good programmers, maybe a main server, unless it can be distributed like Bittorrent. 

       

      Output: Met needs or desires. New human connections. 

  • How this superstruct works

    • This is currently a copy of the description above, but as the idea gets fleshed out, we will build on this to a full description of the system and how it functions.

       A user would join an exchange and create a profile. This would have all the standard social networking stuff, but in addition, they would list the resources and services they are willing to offer to others. Then they could request favors, and these favors would be dispalyed on their profile as well as being listed on a "community board" where others could see them. Their profile will also show their all important Karma score.

      Karma is earned in two ways. The first is straitforward, you do a favor for someone. Either you browse the available favors on the community board or in people\\\\\\\'s specific profiles, or perhaps a favor request is sent to you specifically because of what you offered in your profile. If you feel you can do a favor, you contact the requester through the exchange. After you hash out the details, you then perform the favor, and the requester confirms you have done so. When the favor is confirmed performed, you gain a point of Karma. This Karma does not come out of the requesters Karma score, it is created.

       THe other method of creating Karma is to facilitate a favor. If you can\\\\\\\'t do a favor yourself, but you know someone in your network that can, you can forward the the request onto that person, acting as a kind of middleman. If the person you connect with the requester goes on to perform the favor, you will gain the same amount of Karma they gain, as a reward for facilitating the exchange.

       Karma serves two purposes. First is is a reputation score. A person with a high Karma has done many favors for other people. They will be more respected within their networks and people will be more likely to help them out when they need something. The second use is to "sweeten the deal". If you really want a favor done, you can add extra Karma from your pool to the favor, and anyone who does the favor will get that Karma in addition to the point all favors grant.

       

       To prevent fraud, you can only do one favor per person per day. This, along with sophisticated analytical software designed to track suspicious patterns, will help keep fraud to a manageable level. 

  • Other information
  • Discuss this superstructure

    • I'd like to suggest that because this is in many ways a face to face p2p concept that as members join they start up satellite regional groups that are realistic geographic spaces - for instance I am willing to start a Nova Scotia Exchange and a KingsCountyNS Exchange - mudmama 

      The exchange has the potential to grow beyond 2019! --2019Beverly

      I like the idea of rewarding altruism rather than product 'usefullness.' I am going to try to connect eXarxa to this. Excellent work!

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