Bitmoons as social currency
I enjoy behavioral economics and its applications. The works of Dan Ariely, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Steven D. Levitt, Malcolm Gladwell, and Herb Simon have been excellent places for me to start. One of my interests is social currency. I'd like to share some thoughts about social investment and its proposed currency.
Market norms and Social norms
Our reactions, decision-making, and behaviors depend on our context. Let me take two situations: One regulated by market norms and the other influenced by scenarios immersed in social norms.
When we’re in a world regulated by market norms, we count, measure, tally, and transact. Money is king, and the minute is queen. For example, your consultant charges you by the hour and your lawyer by the 15-minute increment. You buy, you pay.
It started with the barter system. Traders gave goods and services in exchange for other goods and services. 1500-500 BC, the Phoenicians traded with wood, glass, and Tyrian purple. Silver, bronze, and gold coins developed to become a standard currency. Later, paper currency was invented and was backed by gold (and most often not). Today, another form is the bitcoin, the decentralized digital currency that works without a central bank. Bitcoins evolved from an experiment to become very real. And even that is questionable.
On the other hand, in a world of social norms, we exchange goodwill, favors, time, talent, and effort with friends and strangers. We help the woman cross the street with her kids, feed a hungry person, pay a visit, or rebuild someone’s damaged home. With social norms, we don’t count. We give and don’t wait for anything in return. In that world, some of us believe that the universe, God, or our favorite guardian angel will somehow work things out, and maybe, just maybe, we get something back :-). In the world of social norms, bitcoins don’t exist. Bitmoons do.
Bitmoons, the social currency
It’s nothing to do with the moon. In colloquial Lebanese, Bitmoon cannot be directly translated into English. Bitmoon is a one-person state related to another.
When two people develop such a solid and unique relationship, one can commit the other to almost anything in their absence, knowing that the other will fully comply, no matter what.
If one of your friends needs help, you can commit the people in your inner circle to come to his aid. If one of your military buddies calls for something, even over a decade later, you show up; that’s that. When you’re traveling to a faraway city and don’t know anyone except that one person with whom you have Bitmoons, you show up at their doorstep.
One reaches this relation level over time, with service, by giving, without counting. Those little actions accumulate to our social equity. Bitmoons self-count. They do it for you, hassle-free. They dispense towards you when it’s time and when you least expect it. They lift you, move you forward, and carry you on when you mostly need it.
A Bitmoon is a social currency generated through your actions. It is deposited with people you directly or indirectly engage with. It has built-in social intelligence to dispense in your favor when you most need it.
Bitcoins and Bitmoons live in two worlds
There are only 21 million bitcoins, of which 19.5 million are in circulation, and the rest are waiting to be mined. The limited supply with the high demand causes the price increase. One accumulates bitcoins to trade with them. Bitcoins are countable, just like money.
Bitmoons, on the other hand, are infinitely abundant. With 7.5 billion of us, when we reach out and give a helping hand to a fellow neighbor, a stranger, or a close friend, we dispense of Bitmoons. If we keep them, they dwindle and become of no use.
When you set them free, you stand at getting multiples back when you mostly need them. Just sayin :-)
Can we leverage the two worlds?
I argue that happy people are the ones who can contribute to and manage their Bitcoin (money) and Bitmoon (social) balances. It works best when one bridges and dances in both worlds.
In a business engagement, what happens when you intentionally “forget” a contractual clause detrimental to the other party? How does it feel when you give someone a “break”? In other words, what happens when you use Bitmoons in a Bitcoin environment?
It’s an art and a science to know when and how to use Bitcoins and dispense Bitmoons. Not knowing the difference may cause confusion, unmatched expectations, ambiguity, and disagreement. Understanding the difference can benefit both worlds.
The best outcome is when we take advantage of our bitcoins to support our Bitmoon actions and when the Bitmoon spirit helps strike a Bitcoin transaction.
Have you dispensed your Bitmoon today?