QotW4: Internet Economies And You

Sharing The Gift

Gift economies. What are they? Seriously, I only heard of this phrase for the first time in class on Monday.

Introduction:

Ever since the mid 1990s, the internet started off, serving its primary function of imparting knowledge. However, 10 years down the road, and the internet has transformed itself into a mixed economy; where you either pay for things or get it free. “The commercialization of the internet has been marked by a constant rise in e-commerce enterprises and fee-based content and services along side traditionally free varieties.” (Veale, 2003).

“A gift economy is an economic system in which the prevalent mode of exchange is for goods and services to be given without explicit agreement” and “this occurs in a cultural context where there is an expectation either of reciprocation—in the form of goods or services of comparable value, or of political support, general loyalty, honor to the giver, etc.—or of the gift being passed on in some other manner.” (Gift Economy, 2007).

Gifts:

A gift exchange usually engages a feeling of compulsion felt by one party towards another; most of the time, the need to repay the gift. “Gift exchanges should not involve explicit bargaining or demands that the gift be reciprocated, but a relationship in which there is only giving and no receiving is unlikely to last. The contrast to a gift exchange is a commodity transaction, in which no obligation exists after the exchange is consummated – the bottle of water purchased at a convenience store does not create an obligation to buy something there again. A gift is also tied in an inalienable way to the giver. This is to say that gifts are unique.” (Kollack, 1999). In gift economies, people gain most, by boosting the span and diversity of their social networks.

Motivations for contributing:

One of main reasons that propel people to contribute towards the gift economy is the fact that they expect something, and will be given something rather useful and beneficial in return. This form of motivation is known as anticipated reciprocity.

Another motivation that is very important is reputation or recognition. One of the key ingredients of encouraging a reputation is to allow contributors to be known or not to be anonymous. "The following example, from Meyers (1989) study of the computer underground illustrates the power of reputation. When involved in illegal activities, computer hackers must protect their personal identities with pseudonyms. If hackers use the same nicknames repeatedly, this can help the authorities to trace them. Nevertheless, hackers are reluctant to change their pseudonyms regularly because the status associated with a particular nickname would be lost. "(Virtual Community, 2007).

A third motivation is that a person willingly contributes a useful piece of information because the act results in a sense of efficacy; a sense that they have some effect on the environment. "There is well-developed research literature that has shown how important a sense of efficacy is (e.g. Bandura 1995), and making regular and high quality contributions to the group can help individuals believe that they have an impact on the group and support their own self-image as an efficacious person. Wikipedia is a prime example of an online community that gives contributors a sense of efficacy. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia which uses online software to enable anyone to create new articles and change any article in the encyclopedia. The changes you make are immediate, obvious, and available to the world." (Virtual Community, 2007).

More generally, an additional possible motivation is the attachment or commitment one can have to the group. In other words, the good of the group enters one's utility equation. (Kollack, 1999). These days, people generally tend to respond or commend on the works of others, proving the contributors with a sense of belonging and motivation. For instance, blogs allow readers to leave their comments behind thus, sharing their views about a particular posting. At the same time, Amazon.com also allows other users to rate their product reviews, enabling future buyers to better understand what they are about to purchase.
Although all four motivations come under different headings, it is possible to say that they do overlap one another in certain aspects.

Criticisms of the “Gift”:

As selfishness become prevalent in the world today, one of the main concerns of the gift economy is that people would tend to “take” more than they “give”. This serves as a losing end to those who actively contribute to the economy because then their work would be “made use of” by the free-riders.

For example…

As for myself, I am a member of ‘ShoppingLifestyle Singapore’. This is a forum where girls actively participate; posting questions regarding any girl-related issues and the others would reply or comment back. In this forum, the more you participate, the higher your rank will be and hence, the more credible you will be deemed to be.

Apart from the forums, the site also provides tips ranging from fashion and style, to hair and makeup, skin and body, health and wellness, and even love and family. I found it to be really useful because you will tend to get not only information form your age group women but those who are senior and more experienced than you.

Conclusion:

I believe that in this internet age, the only way we can help others improve and at the same time improve ourselves is through sharing, and what better way to share than to do it online; through the gift economy!

References:

1. Raymond, E. S. “Gift Economy” (October 17, 2003) From FuturePositive. Retrieved February 9, 2007 from http://futurepositive.synearth.net/stories/storyReader$223

2. “Gift Economy” (February 4, 2007) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 15:24, January 9, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economies

3. Veale, K. J. “Internet Gift Economies: Voluntary Payment Schemes As Tangible Reciprocity” (November 11, 2003) From First Monday. Retrieved February 9, 2007 from http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_12/veale/

4. Kollock, P. (1999). 'The Economies of Online Cooperation; Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace" Retrieved February 9, 2007 from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm

5. “Virtual Community” (February 8, 2007) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 16:10, January 9, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_community#Anticipated_Reciprocity

6. Pinchot, Gifford (1995). "The Gift Economy" Retrieved February 9, 2007 from http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC41/PinchotG.htm