Judith Zissman alerted me to a fascinating series of blog posts and interviews about "The Future of Money" at writer Stowe Boyd's website. Boyd is interested in types of value exchange that go beyond traditional exchanges of government-issued currencies. Some of the subjects Boyd has covered so far:
- An electronic magazine called Community Currency magazine, which examines the ways communities can boost local economies by issuing scrip, or "hometown money," which residents and local businesses can exchange with each other.
- A video interview (above) with science fiction writer and futurist Bruce Sterling, who presents a firehose of wild ideas about "paracurrencies," making money in virtual worlds, the possibility of a "return to a feudal honor society," and replacing personal income tax with a tax on personal environmental impact. Sterling never ceases to be a source of exotic food for thought.
- New perspectives on money: Sterling told Boyd that Mark Vanderbeeken and Irene Cassarino of the Italian experience design company Experientia taught him everything he knows about money. So Boyd interviewed Vanderbeeken and Cassarino about their website Kashklash, which explores alternative methods of exchanging value. Vodaphone hired Experientia to create Kashklash project, because Vodaphone is in the business of exchanging information, which is similar in many ways to exchanging money, especially now that money is mainly ones and zeroes on computer hard drives.
- Examples of beautiful alternative designs for currency at The Dollar ReDe$ign Project.
With the global economy in such sorry shape, it's good to think about the future of money. Stowe's site is a great place to start.
Mark Frauenfelder – Editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine and the founder of the popular Boing Boing weblog, Mark was an editor at Wired from 1993-1998 and is the founding editor of Wired Online.
Mark Frauenfelder Credit.com contributor, editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine and the founder of the popular site Boing Boing, Mark was an editor at Wired from 1993-1998 and is the founding editor of Wired Online. He covers creative DIY projects and how-tos that will help you make the most of your money.
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