:: The Park Paradigm ::

Markets for the Digital Generation

Another Economist article that does a good job of explaining the rise and rise of algorithmic trading in financial markets (especially equity markets) and ends with the following observation:

“For whenever robots are being discussed - even if they are merely the software-based, share-trading variety - the idea that humans will lose their jobs and the robots will take over the world always seems to be lurking in the background.”

Which is too bad…I guess it makes for good copy, ’sells newspapers’ as they say, but detracts from an otherwise good treatment. Why? It is obvious that people will lose their current jobs - just as sure as farmhands who cut wheat by hand lost theirs with the invention of the combine harvester. But many new more interesting jobs will be created at the same time. This semi-sensationalist treatment of a serious topic - rather than the: who will it impact? how? what are their options? etc. - is a bit of a disappointment.

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This article from The Economist reviews Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games, and in particular looks at the very real economies developing in these online worlds.

The assets in these worlds are no less real that many of the trillions of dollars and euros of derivative assets traded daily in the world’s financial markets. Who is to say that the exchange rate for Everquest money vs USD or EUR is any less real than the EUR/USD rate? The opportunities to facilitate trading in and management of these assets are significant and will certainly only grow going forward.

Full disclosure: I’ve never played one of these online games (my real life is already virtual enough!) but I fully understand why they might enjoy such popularity and it doesn’t limit my ability to appreciate the realness of these places.

In my view however, the semantic bias and frames of most people do not allow them to make this philosophical leap.

Games are games. Business is business. Etc.

I don’t agree.

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