Cybertroc: A barter system for the information society

Abstract

Barter - or troc in French - is the exchange of goods or services for other goods or services. It is the oldest form of commerce and continues to have an important role in even the most highly developed societies. Not least it is highly valuable for developing social capital among a community. The Information Society brings to barter both a new meaning for "community" and new mechanisms for exchange. In particular it may be a key motivator for bridging the digital divide, but providing a tangible, understandable purpose for joining the Information Society. The goal of CyberTroc - or Internet-based barter - is to connect people with needs to other capable of satisfying these needs. The Internet is an ideal means for facilitating barter, since it can provide a transactional capability at extremely low cost and since it can bring together communities that may be highly localized or may be very scattered. © 2005 by International Federation for Information Processing.