Is Facebook Becoming a Central Bank? 232
wasimkadak sends this quote from an article at Forbes:
"Facebook's 27-year-old founder, Mark Zuckerberg, isn't usually mentioned in the same breath as Ben Bernanke, the 58-year-old head of the Federal Reserve. But Facebook's early adventures in the money-creating business are going well enough that the central-bank comparison gets tempting. ... Initially, the Credits-based economy was confined to the virtual world’s trifles. Credits could be spent to buy imaginary gold bars for aficionados of Mafia Wars, or bouquets of virtual flowers for birthday postings on friends’ Facebook accounts. This new form of digital money was cute but essentially useless for mainstream activities. Lately Credits have become more intriguing. Warner Brothers this summer offered movie-goers a chance to watch Harry Potter and The Dark Knight for 30 Credits apiece. Miramax and Paramount countered with film-viewing offers, too. In a provocative post this week on Inside Facebook, guest blogger Peter Vogel argues that Credits in the next few years will become more of a true currency. Facebook's 800 million worldwide users represent a lot of buying power. He figures Credits could evolve into commercial mainstays for digital movies and music."
Cash out early (Score:5, Informative)
The history of the web is filled with play-online games for points that could be used for other things... but all crash in an inflationary spiral. Points are free, but the prizes offered are not and eventually the value falls below the "par value" the site originally had. Has anybody recently cashed out with GSN Oodles or Moola.com's Moola points?
Not a true currency. (Score:5, Informative)
The mark of a true currency is that it can be used to pay U.S tax liabilities. For Americans at least, anything else is just, at best, a commodity subject to capital gains taxes. For example, if you buy gold coins, or facebook credits, and then sell them after their value has doubled you'll have to pay capital gains tax on the amount they appreciated against the dollar. if you barter the gold coins, or facebook credits, for services or goods you will have to pay taxes on that barter transaction in dollars. If the dollar appreciates in value against other currencies though, there is no capital gains tax to pay, even though your dollar might buy more.
Re:This guy is flogging his own product (Score:5, Informative)
BitCoin is not a pyramid scheme, technically it is a pump and dump.
Re:Cash out early (Score:4, Informative)
I actually cashed out $10 worth of cybergold, back in 1998. That was the minimum amount you could cash in, never got more than 10 cybergold cents after that. Originally they offered points for surveys and adviews, but after I cashed out it was changed to more of a rewards program for shopping at certain sites and incentive to apply for credit cards.
Re:Cash out early (Score:5, Informative)
Re:And, with perfect investing prowess... (Score:4, Informative)
Because they don't live forever? Because they have problems that have to solved now, not 10 years later. Because they want to be entertained now, not 10 years later. Why buy a concert ticket for tomorrow, if I have no use for it the day after tomorrow?