Between the bans on online gambling in the USA, and AllOfMP3.com under attack, I can safely predict one thing: alternative forms of value storage and transmission are about to get a big boost. And the American government is going to get a nasty shock, in that there are other sovereign countries who will be the beneficiaries. A whole bunch of tech and business models from the bust need a dust-off.
As for telcos, this is unwelcome news. The prepay industry has been expanding into payments for all sorts of digital and physical services, and this in the long run means there’s now competition on the horizon. They’ll do OK, and each will find its own distribution niche.
The Internet is going to have a much deeper impact on society and institutions than we think. It just takes time.
Posted by Martin Geddes at 11:08 PMTrackBack URL for this entry:
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Fatastic point Martin! The prepaid card industry in Canada is as seedy as it can get - adding the flexibility of being able to use a prepaid card for your gambling pleasure would be so very easy.
cheers,
jules
Will Starbucks eventually hold the crown for the uber-pre-paid card system? If its world-dominating approach to coffee is any indication, then this press release certainly sounds like the start of something: "From late November Starbucks Coffee Company (UK) will be making things easier for its customers with the introduction of the Starbucks Card, a quick and convenient way to purchase your favourite coffee in participating stores across the UK, United States, Canada, Australia and Thailand."
Given the company's penchant for dipping its fingers into other business models (rare Bob Dylan tracks anyone?) and its enthusiasm for in-store wifi access early on, how much longer will it be before you can top up your phone, download tracks and buy that non-fat-skinny-no-foam-latte at the same time, all on the same card?
Posted by: at October 20, 2006 01:36 PMSpeaking of digital cash: I recently reestablished contact with one of the founders of the Financial Cryptography conference, who pointed me to an new open source digital mint.
http://www.freedmoney.org/
Digital bearer certificates are not a new idea, but nor are they something you hear a lot about these days. But with an increasing domestication and settlement of virtual spaces, I think we will begin to hear more. It's interesting to see a persistent few doing this type of work --- and wondering why.