COM125 assignment 4: online economies

A gift economy is an economic system in which goods and services are given, rather than traded. On the contrary to our common perception of a gift, the gifts in a gift economy do not have to be tangible or purchased using money. In the context of the Internet, there is currently a great deal of sharing and cooperation that occurs within online communities. Many users offer free assistance and helpful information to complete strangers without the expectation of any direct reciprocal exchange. For example, in a number of online discussion groups for lawyers, individuals offer each other detailed legal advice about specific cases they are working on. These lawyers report that they often refuse to give similar information over the phone or charge up to several hundred dollars an hour for the same advice (Kollock, 1999).

In a gift economy, the benefits come from improving a person’s social relations by increasing the range and diversity of his/her social network. In other words, it can be seen as an outlet where people can come together "to learn, to understand, to change and take charge of the world" (Pollard, 2005). However, when people pass on free advice or offer useful information, the recipient is often unknown. Therefore, gifts of information and advice are often offered not to particular individuals but to a group as a whole. One motivation for someone to contribute valuable information to a group is the expectation that he/she will receive useful information in return; otherwise known as anticipated reciprocity. This idea of reciprocity occurs within online communities as a system of generalized exchange. If each member shares freely with one another then the entire group benefits because each person is given access to information and advice that no single member may of initially had. In addition, some people may also feel that they have a certain reputation and prestige to keep up on contributing valuable and trusted information on a certain subject (Rhinegold, 1993). Either way, members develop a strong sense of commitment to the group.


An example of a gift economy that I participate in is Flickr. For those who are unaware, Flickr is an image and video hosting website that has evolved into an online community platform. In addition to users sharing their personal photographs, the service is also widely used as an image repository. According to their website, the goal of Flickr is to create a new way of organizing photos and videos. Part of their solution was to make this a collaborative process, which was accomplished by their folksonmic means of tagging. What this means is once you are a member you can give anyone permission to organize your collection through the use of notes and tags which in turn makes your collection easily searchable within the site.

Flickr constitutes a gift economy because members are willing to upload and share their personal photographs with complete strangers with no type of guaranteed compensation in return. At most, they will receive positive feedback on their contributions and gain popularity among the Flickr network. What makes membership so strong is that all of its members are interlinked simply by a common interest. Coming from an artist perspective, I know that I benefit simply being able to be inspired by another artist’s work.

References:
Kollock, Peter. (1999). The Economies of Online Cooperation: Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace. Retrieved on September 15, 2008, from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm

Pollard, Dave. (2005). "The Gift Economy" Retrieved on September 15, 2008 from http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/2005/04/17.html

Rheingold, Howard. (1993). The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. Retrieved on September 15, 2008 from http://www.well.com/user/hlr/vcbook/