Clay Shirky: Broadcast Institutions, Community Values
Brief, but right on. eBay has clearly created a community: participants communicate directly with one another, unfiltered by a central entity. eBay doesn't "own" the community, yet it continues to create value for eBay. And "shallow" describes well the eBay technology that enables the community.
Payment providers like Billpoint or Paypal don't naturally create communities. While individuals can engage in direct payment transactions with one another, the payment provider is a mandatory intermediary. I think this is true for financial institutions in general. "Digital cash" could possibly cause a community to develop, but all the attempts to get this working have failed.
11:45:56 PM 
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