[joshhepworth]

This article really speaks to some of the ideas presented by Paul Graham in his essay about the future of startups[1]. Combining ideas from them paints a particularly optimistic picture for the future of the individual. When a student can create and run a business in his spare time, it sort of marks the potential for a shift in the way value is measured. The emphasis on the utility or engagement of a service over strict monetary value could enable our growth going forward to be in quality of experiences rather than GDP (as Nick Szabo pointed out already isn't growing that much in developed nations anyway).

Going forward we could see applications that make it really easy for individuals without direct knowledge of HTML, CSS and a server scripting language to create valuable tools (they do exist know, but not really in a way that enable the right audience to create the right things). These, along with the existing social tools, are the things that could change the way an economy works by cutting out large corporations and creating an entire market of "externalities."

[1] http://www.paulgraham.com/webstartups.html

[borism]

"externalities" don't put the food on the table, let alone buy the table.

or will the future economy be "click on this really cool web app and send its' creator a loaf of bread!"?