As I mentioned in Part One, I was daydreaming what kinds of systems people will use in a monetary collapse. You could even say the thing I daydream about most these days is what life will look like after a collapse like that.
Just like Robinson Crusoe, people will be reduced to a primitive way of life. There are lots of questions: Will we be able to afford electricity? What about heating our homes during the winter? Will we continue to drive around in automobiles? I take it for granted, there will be no Walmart Super Center with 64 varieties of canned soup. Or will there be?
I suppose theoretically, everything will still be available post-collapse. But for what price? It doesn't matter if it is denominated in dollars, silver, or Yuan because I will no longer be able to afford anything but the most essential of products. If you take the difficulty I already have today making ends meet in spite of a full-time job and low expenses, extrapolate that many times over, you begin to see a picture of post-collapse life. It looks like me going broke, then more broke, and then utterly BROKE. It's a financial desert.
Let us assume the Internet will still be available. Okay, okay. I can't be the only person taking a long pause. For a FACT the Internet will still be available. I am certain of that. Most of us will not be able to afford a connection in our homes anymore. But in town at the public library, after a long wait, it will be available and uncensored for the most part. (The bureaucrats will have other priorities besides spying on a few of us bartering things).
Barter411.com is ready-made for this kind of barter transaction:
- It is designed to facilitate LOCAL barter transactions.
- It is designed to protect your identity.
- It has some unique features that help.
Local Barter Transactions
Some barter websites let you filter for the nearest large city. Barter411.com lets you specify a distance away from anywhere on a Google map. So if you are willing to travel five miles for butter, or 100 miles for a milking machine, you can find any matches that are out there. You can also browse and see what's around your local community.
Protect Your Identity
Your full name and address information are not even stored on the website. You only have to give an approximate location like a town or zip code. Communication can be handled through the website. You never have to expose your full name, address, or email address to strangers. There is no seller feedback like there is on eBay, so you determine for yourself if a seller is legitimate and trustworthy. Use common sense. Trust your gut. Meet strangers at public places until you get to know them.
Unique Features
A downside of posting your (goods/services) that are (available/wanted) is the time and effort it requires. Barter411.com is designed to make the process very simple.
- One option is to post a "billboard" page that lists all of your keywords on one page. Anyone searching for things that interest them will see your billboard. That is when they can inquire and you can invest the additional time to describe or post photos. Only things that are of interest to people will require the time investment.
- Another option is posting pictures automatically through any MMS enabled cell-phone. I used my old Tracfone and a free service called Treemo.com to post a nice photo album. Now I can add pictures to my billboard page instantly any time from anywhere.
Secret Weapon
Perhaps the most unique feature of all is the Barter411.com networking card. It is a business card that you can order to help build your barter economy.
The dilemma of any new website getting off the ground is traffic. Unless you have plenty of posts, people are not going to stay for long. Somebody has to be a pioneer. It is pretty obvious that early adopters must be willing to go out in their communities and spread the word about Barter411.com. This is essential to having success bartering on a local level.
So my gamble is that people will be willing to make that investment in their own local barter economy, and that by following a prescribed method, they can be successful at it. That is why I urge visitors to "take the barter challenge". I plan to demonstrate myself that the formula can be successful. I'm going to apply the formula personally in my area, Syracuse, New York. If one person can be successful growing a barter economy in one geographic area, there is no reason anyone else cannot be successful in their area.
My Thoughts for Alt-Market Users
Ben Franklin is one of my heros. Did you know he never held any patents for all of his wonderful ideas? About the Ben Franklin stove he invented, he said...
"In order of time, I should have mentioned before, that having, in 1742, invented an open stove for the better warming of rooms, and at the same time saving fuel, as the fresh air admitted was warmed in entering, I made a present of the model to Mr. Robert Grace, one of my early friends, who, having an iron-furnace, found the casting of the plates for these stoves a profitable thing, as they were growing in demand. To promote that demand, I wrote and published a pamphlet, entitled “An Account of the new-invented Pennsylvania Fireplaces; wherein their Construction and Manner of Operation is particularly explained; their Advantages above every other Method of warming Rooms demonstrated; and all Objections that have been raised against the Use of them answered and obviated,” etc. This pamphlet had a good effect. Gov’r. Thomas was so pleas’d with the construction of this stove, as described in it, that he offered to give me a patent for the sole vending of them for a term of years; but I declin’d it from a principle which has ever weighed with me on such occasions...
...that, as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously."
In that spirit, I invite you to take the website, Barter411.com and if you feel so inclined, download the source code available at the bottom of the page. Make your own improvements and start a barter website for yourself.
Naturally, I prefer to enlist participants to promote the www.barter411.com name. I welcome talented people to discuss ways to replicate the website so it's more robust in the event someone tries to shut it down. For instance, we could make it more of a peer-to-peer website hosted on everyone's server simultaneously. That would be wonderful, but I don't know how to do that. Also, my finances are limited and before you get much further, I have a list of improvements that I'm planning to make so the website works better.
written by barter411 , October 24, 2011
Suppose martial law shuts down our internet connections? Perhaps somebody with a local barter software application can set up a kiosk where people can come and make barter connections with one another. Perhaps some kind of wi-fi application would be helpful as well? I'm determined to bring some kind of technology into the otherwise harsh and primitive new world.
written by barter411 , October 24, 2011
Anyone smart enough to be visiting alt-market already knows this one. When placing classified ads for valuables, you don't ever want to list your home telephone number. There are plenty of websites where anyone can reverse-lookup your phone number and find out your home address. Knowing what you have and where to go get it is just too much information for a would-be crook.
Whenever I have valuables to put on Craigslist, I list my cell phone number and then I require calls only. I haven't seen any cell phone directories yet. But if you really want to be anonymous, you could buy a Tracfone just for this purpose.
