PM/DM Industry Development/Advocacy Outline

Rough outline of proposed action items for Prediction/Decision markets industry developers and advocates. Feel free to suggest changes, volunteer to take on certain actions, etc. This page needs to be moved to the below-mentioned document repository as soon as we get that launched; in the meantime feel free to either send me edits and I'll include them, or join the incubator, which will let you edit this page directly. -- Steve Traugott, stevegt@terraluna.org

• Create an open document repository for PM/DM standards and guidelines; these provide industry member guidance, technical interoperability standards, and a self-regulating function. These documents provide a library of generally accepted practices and procedures, similar to the purpose GAAP serves in the States; legislation refers to GAAP rather than including it. A wildly successful model to follow might be the Internet RFC standards series. (I'd be willing and interested in getting this started. -- Steve)
• Create an open, volunteer-based organization for maintenance of the above standards and guidelines, convening of conferences, journals, speakers bureau, etc. In the case of the Internet, this organization has been the IETF, with help from the Internet Society. (I think I see an easy way to do this and would be interested in tackling it as well, since it sort of goes with the repository. -- Steve)
• Create one or more political action groups for the purpose of lobbying for the changes in legislation needed to enable public markets -- these build on the above standards and guidelines. In the U.S., these political action groups might take the form of a registered Political Action Committee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_action_committee PAC). (Out of my league. Meeting with someone late Feb 2006 who might be interested in this angle -- Steve)
• Create one or more non-profit membership-supported organizations for exchange operators/officers. These serve roughly the same role as a bar association; again a self-regulating measure. This differs from the above IETF-like standards body item; the standards body casts a wider net, has no barriers to membership, and is primarily working-level participation by technical, legal, and administrative folks. Membership in the "bar associations" would require exams and certifications (building on the above standards), and in some localities membership might become compulsory for exchange officers. (In the U.S. at least, this is the best insurance against regulatory oversight.)
• Books, pamphlets, how-to guides for startups and existing businesses for internal market development. (Have my eye on some how-to's. -- Steve)
• This one's slightly longer-term: Education initiatives, both post-graduate continuing education as well as secondary and undergraduate work. (E.g. Tom Malone might have some ideas here.)
• This one's much longer-term: Political party work to field "marketocracy" candidates; either reform of existing parties or formation of new. In the States, a PAC is not a party, so this action item is distinct from the PAC item above. Tom Malone's book is a good description of what this item is about, when he talks about the progression from monarchy to democracy to market-based governance. (Surprisingly, I know someone who might be interested in doing some of this party work already; will know more shortly. -- Steve)

I'm sure this is less than half of what needs to be done. Let me know what's wrong/missing,

Steve