A36
Public Record
Excerpt from memoirs: Red Parker: The man who invented Frē.

Chapter Four: The birth of Pay Attention

[…] So there I was, stuck in a stopped train with eighty-two other angry passengers, all waiting for some indefinite amount of time before we start moving again. In total, we were stopped for six hours, with nothing to do but stare at one of twelve screens that played nothing but infomercials. Sometimes it gave some information about the local weather, but other than that, long-form commercials. “What an interesting predicament,” I thought. I watched the other passengers’ reactions to the screens. At first all of them avoided watching, but slowly their eyes all drifted to them, their voices quieted. As I watched them I thought, “Consumers are the ones doing the work, but advertisers receive the benefit.” They are the ones spending their time and attention to watch and interact with commercials. Then I asked myself, “What if consumers could be paid for their passive work?”

Later, I asked myself the question, “Could a company incentivize its customers non-monetarily, but with something that still felt like they were earning something of real value, to that point that would people would voluntarily sit through advertisements?” To which I responded, “I believe so.” And those were the first thoughts about what would eventually become Frē. […]

Red Parker