The Virtual Bazaar Manifesto

We are tired of the profit motive. Business should be motivated by providing value to society, not by making profit for a few. People are far more motivated to work when they know their work is helping their friends and neighbors, and harming no-one; we can out-enthuse and out-create the plutonomy. It's time to overturn some paradigms, and create a business model to accomplish this. ...and then take the world back from the big-box, big-profit, next-quarter-projections model. Here's the plan: Create the business model: Businesses should be owned and directed by everyone who has made them successful, regardless of official role. A business's primary responsibility should be that of benefiting its community. Any profit should be used for those ends. Replicate the model: Make lots and lots of right-sized businesses that follow these rules. Network and swarm: Use open-source software to allow these businesses to interoperate, gaining the clout of a much larger business without losing small-business flexibility and accountability. Acquire & emancipate: Use profits to acquire other businesses on the market, and "set them free" by reworking them to be self-directed.

a few details

• We are starting by rebuilding vbz.net into a swarm pilot node; your assistance would be welcomed.
• We are also looking for other businesses of any size who are interested in joining the network.

The Plan (under construction)

1. Get VBZ back online as a traditional centralized e-commerce site. ← WE ARE HERE
2. Decentralization -- one of the following should probably be done first:
   • Make it possible for outside vendors to sell things through VBZ, like Amazon Marketplace or Ebay (with or without auction capability)
   • Create data formats for interoperability of e-commerce sites, starting with cross-site searching and adding features in each major revision
     • Offer locally-owned shops free integration services (i.e. the development necessary to at least provide their catalog in read-only mode)
       • possibilities: bookstores, toy stores...?