Virtual economies like that found in Second Life have shown that there is an intangible equity that can be monetized.
“But we’re not a video game company.” You say.
This is a lesson for every industry and every company.
We all have virtual equity and operate in some sort of virtual economy. Some call it customer community, customer evangelism, or word of mouth marketing. I would simply say it is your brand… and some brands are basically bankrupt.
Let me ask you this way – can you create an exchange of value which is practically void of tangible currency? Like collecting and trading baseball cards, the social value of scrapbooking, or the water cooler equity of watching the “big game” over the weekend.
Like Jason says in the above comic, “Don’t think of it as pretend money.” This is currency and it is traded every day. It’s as valuable as the credit cards or bank statements we think of as real money.