The information marketplace: Achieving success in commercial applications

Abstract

The approach taken in this work, when deployed, will facilitate a free-market environment for the creation and distribution of information and problem-solving services. The result will be a continual evolution of profitable, consumer-oriented services, in which the winners are determined by free market forces.

This approach enables the creation of layered wholesale and retail services, which in turn promotes the development of higher-level, value-added problem-solving services. Over time, both providers and consumers should have access to services that are significantly more useful and less expensive than those available under other deployment scenarios. Furthermore, this approach creates new entrepreneurial opportunities for a variety of new kinds of layered facilitation and problem-solving services.

From the provider's perspective, this approach meets several critical needs, including the foundational notions of local ownership and control of services — facilitators can effectively operate without either dictating or controlling the services.

Experience with laboratory prototypes and customer marketing for several related applications indicates that what we propose is practically achievable and can be made to support real-world commercial interactions.