What exactly is a gift economy? When we think of the word "economy" we typically have a certain type in mind: one that is driven by money. This particular economy is considered a commodity economy, however, it is just one of many different kinds. A gift economy is something completely different and has nothing to do with money. Instead, Wikipedia explains it as a "social theory in which goods and services are given without any explicit agreement for immediate or future quid pro quo." That is, when a giver sends a good or service to a receiver, there is no promise that the receiver will choose to reciprocate that action back to the giver. The online community can be explained as a gift economy. However, in this particular type of gift economy instead of tangible goods and services being exchanged, it is information and advice that is being sent from giver to receiver (Economies of Online Cooperation).
In the online community, it is particularly confusing why so many people are willing to offer their own, valuable information so freely. Online, people are anonymous so it is therefore, impossible to assume that a particular person benefiting from the advice will reciprocate the favor back to the original giver. So then why do people do it? Peter Kollock has the answer when he explains, "While a balanced reciprocity with a particular individual may not be possible, there is a sense in which a balance might occur within a group as a whole." In saying this, he means that by giving out information not to one person, but to an entire group in the internet community, the giver is likely to receive help from some other member of the group in the future (Economies of Online Cooperation).
Thanks to Com 125 class, I participate in a certain type of an online gift economy called blogging. Each week, I provide information, as well as my beliefs on a particular topic that is posted online for the world to see. My "gift" is then reciprocated back to me when I find useful information in other people's blogs that I can benefit from. In the discussion of online gift economies, the term "public goods" is often used to describe the benefits resulting from information exchange in cyberspace. A blog can be considered a public good because anyone can benefit from it, regardless if they contributed to it or not. Also like public goods, blogs are indivisible, meaning that one person reading a blog does not mean that the amount of information will be reduced when the next person reads it. Finally, blogs can be considered public goods because they are non-excludable. Therefore, anyone that is online can benefit from blogs, no one is excluded simply because they don't have an account with blogger.com (Economies of Online Cooperation).
The other day when I was watching the Today Show, I came across a perfect example of how blogs represent online gift economies. There was a story about a woman named Stephanie Nielson who was a frequent blogger. Her blog was called Nienie, and it contained some parenting advice, but was mainly a blog about the joys of motherhood. Mothers everywhere were inspired by her enthusiastic take on being a mother, with her blog receiving 2,000 hits a day. Unfortunately, Stephanie was involved in a plane crash about a month ago and was critically wounded, with burns covering 80 percent of her body (ksl.com).
When Stephanie's online following was informed of her accident, her "gift" of providing invaluable advice and inspiration on motherhood was reciprocated in a big way. After the crash, her blog received 30,000 hits a day with people who wanted to help. They raised $100,000 in donations for Stephanie and her family, coming from all around the world in places like Australia, Germany, Israel, and Spain. Thanks to their donations, Stephanie and her husband, who was also involved in the plane crash, are undergoing skin graphs and are on the road to recovery (ksl.com). If anyone is interested in seeing the complete story, here is the segment I watched about Stephanie Nielson on the Today Show:
Stephanie’s inspiring story illustrates how the internet is now becoming a thriving gift economy. The fact that so many people came to know Stephanie and her parenting skills because of just one blog says something about the internet's ability to broaden the scope of gift-giving. The reciprocity, on the other had, is really what is amazing about Stephanie's story because people did everything they could to give back to someone who had helped them. They spread the word and got as many people as possible involved to help someone they had never even met. Prior to the internet, this would have never been possible. The sheer size of the medium has allowed the gift economy to reach greater lengths and more people than ever before.
Sources
Jeppesen, R., & Prichard, L. (8 September, 2008). Bloggers from around world help plane crash victims. Retrieved 16 September, 2008, from KSL Newsradio Web site: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4208540
Kollock, P. (1999). The Economies of Online Cooperation: Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace. Retrieved 16 September, 2008, from the University of California, Los Angeles Web site: http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm
Various. (7 September, 2008). Gift Economy. Retrieved 16 September, 2008, from Wikipedia Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economy
2 comments:
I loved your reference to what you watched on the Today Show. It was so interesting and proves that the internet isn't all about greed and downloading music like we have been talking about lately. I love hearing stories like Stefanie's.. it's a good feeling to know that people are ready to help when others are most in need. Thanks for sharing that.
What a great story on Stephanie, it's nice to hear good things happening to people who use the internet rather than the downsides for once. Although the story was tragic to begin with, it's nice to hear that people were reciprocating the help in the end.
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