I have enjoyed reading the excellent discourse on this thread. I have three general observations.
First:
I recently came across this monograph on the web:
millicent.digital.com
I believe (hope?) that MilliCent is merely an electronic payment solution, like CyberCash, and that Wave's system based on the Wavemeter stands alone as a chip-based, media-independent solution for secure microtransactions in electronic content. Although there are some competitors on the software solution -- for example, Softbank Net Solutions might compare to Wave's web-based micropublishing solution -- I believe the Wavemeter stands alone as a solution that works even when the user is untethered to the web.
Second:
Some wonder whether Wave will have a tough time getting people to use the Wavemeter. That misses the point. People will go after the content they want. Wave wants to provide a distribution mechanism that produces microtransactions that are so efficient that everybody -- content seller, platform seller, and end user -- benefits. As Peter Sprague has said, people don't drive around looking for parking meters. They look for good parking spaces. Build a fair and efficient parking meter at each good parking space and it will get used by people acting in their own interests.
Many other analogies are possible. None is perfect. But a comparison to electricity and its metering is a useful start. When alternating current became the standard for commercial electric service, Edison initially felt that utilities would have to charge flat rates for its delivery. Why? Because he despaired of developing a fair, efficient, economical meter. (I am hoping that the guy who perfected ConEd's first working meter made a bundle.)
The Wavemeter represents a fair, efficient, and economical meter for the distribution of digital intellectual property. A direct analogy to the metering of electricity is not perfect. For example, using digital information does not "consume" it the way using electricity consumes energy. Thus, "conservation" does not represent the same inherent good with respect to information that it represents with respect to electric power. Still, the attractiveness of being able to effect accurate microtransactions in digital content -- so you can buy the piece of a database that you need and not pay an economic rent on the rest of that database -- is compelling.
Third:
Wave's chip-based solution creates a win-win-win-win for content provider, platform builder, end user, and Wave. The value of the efficiency it brings to the distribution process can be divvied up among all sides of an e.commerce transaction.
The key is getting a couple of million Wavemeters out in the marketplace. The IBM announcement portends that. Other OEMs soon will see the Wave solution as a bandwagon they should be on.
Best wishes to all.
John. |
