What follows is a list of ideas for various services, that could make tag trading more of a pleasure to use.
Improving ease of use
- Databases. They offer information extracted from tags, and provide data mining services.
- Templates. They allowing users to easily generate tags, e.g. by filling out web based forms.
- Hubs, Portals. They help people get going with tag trading and may provide various of the services listed on this page.
For example a portal may provide a user interface for creation of tagged and signed messages (using a PGP key pair stored with a user account). Also, a portal could make it simple to access mailing lists via the web (see e.g. Gmane), adding additional value for users.
What a portal could look like is demonstrated by the experimental portal on TagTrade.org.
- Software extensions. Extensions to communication software packages could make tag trading less cumbersome. Candidates include INN, Mailman, phpBB, and Bugzilla.
Other extensions could allow people to add information about their involvement with Tag Trade e.g. to their blog. This information may show some statistics such as what tasks they've pursued, how they've been rated, what they're currenty pursueing, or what they would pursue for waht amount of pay.
- Consultance for solution seekers. People willing to pay for tasks targeted at the tag trade community may not necessarily be adept in using Internet services, or they don't trust them. They may prefer to contact local consultants.
- Consultance for potential solution providers. There are a number of potential solution providers (e.g. developers) that don't have access to the Internet or that benefit from guidance by mentors. For example, one could imagine a mentoring service in a developing coutry: Young people are offered the chance to gain knowledge e.g. in software development and apply it right away to earn a little money.
Risk reduction
- Insurance: In order to geauge risk, an insurance
may use sophisticated methods not easily available to the ordinary participant in tag
based trade. Insurance fees (per task/transaction) may be based on the result of analysis
of past rating of trade partners and the analysis of trustworthyness.
- Escrow
- Certification. There already are many certificates that people can acquire, ranging from high school diplomas to more specialized certificates such as those issued by the LINUX Professional Institute (LPI). In many areas certificates can help ensure quality when trading services. For example, people looking for a solution and willing to pay for it may - by using appropriate tags - require solution providers to have a certain certification. If the solution provider doesn't have the certification, the solution seeker may not pay him.
- Consultance - see above.
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