Making Money in Digital Money

[John Kelsey]

At 10:30 PM 4/28/03 +0200, Nomen Nescio wrote:
...
>Well, here's a clue, folks: information goods are free today.  You can't
>build a digital money system on paying for information goods, in a world
>where people expect to get their information goods for free.

Just a nitpick: Information goods are generally free when they've already 
been produced, because the second copy costs approximately $0.00 to 
make.  But getting the initial information produced can cost quite a 
bit.  I have worked for many years as a consultant, doing work remotely, 
and I certainly don't give the information away.  Similarly, when I go to 
the doctor, or have my taxes done, all I'm really paying for is 
information, but my doctor and accountant expect to be paid. (Alas, the 
cost of *duplicating* my medical or financial records is very low, which is 
why there are big privacy issues there, but they weren't so cheap to 
produce in the first place....)

Whether any of that will really ever be worth doing anonymously is an open 
question. Most of the time, I'd be pretty scared to do business with a 
doctor that dared not show his face or have his name known to the world, 
for example.  On the other hand, I chose my accountant based on reputation, 
and generally do business with him remotely.

--John Kelsey, kelsey.j at ix.netcom.com
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