We’ve been exploring what happens when you strip price out of an exchange system entirely, when value is defined by attention or effort instead of currency. The results have been surprisingly unpredictable.
How do you measure fairness when there’s no price signal? Some people give more than they get, others act more generously because there’s no transaction history to optimize against. It feels like reputation, not ROI, becomes the governing logic.
We started with a simple idea where people could exchange exposure, participation or experiences instead of money. A café might offer free meals in return for content, a gym might trade sessions for Google reviews, all voluntary, no fixed value.
When you remove money, people negotiate differently. They’re less defensive, but also less predictable. Interactions feel more genuine.
Has anyone else noticed similar behavioral shifts when incentives stop being financial?
If all that happens is floods of insta princesses consume chai latte at the cafes expense for shit reviews, you poisoned the well.
And a real world cost in milk and spice was consumed. This is not a money free situation, you just ignored some externalities to your model.
"Content is the new Currency"
The traded asset is narrative. A party gives something tangible and in return gets visibility, context and social proof.
You're right in asking the evidence of value in such transactions and we're exploring just that.
In our case, the exchange stays simple, social media content in return for experiences or services. A business describes what they want to offer and people apply if they're interested. The business then chooses whom to invite. No matching algorithm or enforced pairing, entirely self-selected.
The café still spends milk and spice, but now the transaction feedback loop runs through social proofing, not accounting.
If visibility offsets material cost, is it measurable? Or just disguise it under a different incentive structure?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wealth_of_Nations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barter
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEconomics/comments/1czj78p/debt_...