Comments on: Current currencies

Question: Current currencies

Soliloquy — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:56:50 -0800

Was there a recent book comparing scrip and local currencies to e-cash/online points systems, or am I imagining it?

I could have sworn I heard about a book that compared systems of scrip to website based points systems like Linden Dollars, but I'm having trouble finding such a book. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

By: JJ86

JJ86 — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:22:05 -0800

Edward Castronova is an academic expert on the economics of virtual worlds. He has written two books and many papers on this topic. I don't know if he has written what you mention but it is a good possibility.

By: gemmy

gemmy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:36:10 -0800

I was also going to suggest Edward Castronova, and that you might have been thinking about his Exodus to the Virtual World: How Online Fun Is Changing Reality from November of last year.
There is also Play Money: Or, How I Quit My Day Job and Made Millions Trading Virtual Loot by Julian Dibbell from 2007.

By: mmw

mmw — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:40:07 -0800

And a little older but on similar topic, Castronova's Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games (2005)