Don’t we all love a free gift?
Nevertheless, with any gift comes obligation. Scholar and writer Lewis Hyde expresses the spirit of a gift economy as based on "the obligation to give, the obligation to accept, and the obligation to reciprocate," (Wikipedia, 2007).
The online gift economy, on the other hand, operates somewhat differently. As Kollock (1999) explains, when people pass on free advice or offer useful information, the recipient is often unknown to them and the giver may never encounter the recipient again. Thus, the usual obligation of a loose reciprocity between two specific individuals is difficult or impossible. The relative or absolute anonymity of the recipient makes it all the more remarkable that individuals volunteer valuable information – one cannot realistically count on the reciprocity of the recipient in the future to balance the gift that has occurred. 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.
This system of sharing entails generosity as an individual provides a benefit without the expectation of immediate reciprocation. But this is also the source of risk. There is the temptation is to gather valuable information and advice without contributing anything in return. If everyone succumbs to this temptation, however, everyone is worse off than they might have been otherwise: no one benefits from the valuable information that others might have (Kollock, 1999).
Why then would someone still want to contribute valuable information to the so-called privileged group? Kollock cites anticipated reciprocity as a reason. It is the expectation that one from within the group will receive useful help and information, and in return, “repay that kindness”. Nevertheless, this kind of network-wide accounting system creates a kind of credit, in that one can draw upon the contributions of others without needing to immediately reciprocate.
Another possible motivation is the effect of contributions on one's reputation. High quality information, impressive technical details in one's answers, a willingness to help others, and elegant writing can all work to increase one's prestige in the community. A third factor that a person contributes valuable information is because the act results in a sense of efficacy, that is, a sense that he has some effect on this environment, that his impact on the group supports his self image as an efficacious person.
A fourth possible motivation is need, that is, one may produce and contribute a public good for the simple reason that a person or the groups as a whole has a need for it. And finally, the attachment or commitment one can have to the group. In other words, the good of the group enters one's utility equation (Kollock, 1999).
Dabbling in a New Economy
As a freelance actor in Singapore, most of my jobs came by word of mouth. It was when I met a fellow actor while working on a local feature film, that I learned about a Yahoo group - ART(S). The following was extracted from the Group’s home page:
“…ART(S), Arts Resources Tabloid (Singapore), also known as SG_Art, where Singapore performance artists & crews gather & network. This is a group intended to unite amateurs and pros in the sharing of useful resources and info for fellow actors and actresses / other entertainers in Singapore. ART(S) is a new and independent group that welcomes member's generous and spontaneous contributions of useful resources like links, info, experiences as well as audition calls. ART(S) is created in hope of helping all members improve their skills, update of info, seek opportunities, as well as playing as a portal of notices about Singapore performance art events. ART(S) also hopes to serve as a gateway for the new enthusiasts to venture into the Performance Art Industry as well as a database / network of talents to ease production crews in their hunt for suitable talents.
In ART(S), you would expect to find info on acting courses / other trainings & audition calls (for TV, Movie, Short Film, Student Projects, TVC, Theatre Productions, Voice-Overs & etc). We in ART(S) yearn for supports and urge all members to be generous in sharing. And if you know of any other actors or actresses / other entertainers who're not in the group yet, you may invite them to join in and expand our pool of database / network too…”.
ART(S) was founded in January, 2004, and to date has 1131 members. This online community could be considered a part of the cyber gift economy as it bears the three structural and basic features, as listed by Kollock, required of any successful online group – ongoing interaction, identity persistence, and knowledge of previous interactions. For instance, if a film production company is casting for its next Channel 5 sitcom, it could post a casting call in ART(S), and automatically every member of the group would receive the audition posting in their email. From there, those who have an interest in trying out for a particular role would contact the production company directly for the audition. This way, open interaction is maintained, and because ART(S) sends out at least one posting almost every day, members are continually kept in the loop. The motivation of running this community could also coincide with the need-motivation described by Kollock. For example, this is the meeting point for a film-maker who needs a crew or cast, and a sound engineer or actor needs his next job.
To quote Barbrook, “…the gift economy … can only expand through mutual collaboration within cyberspace…”.
REFERENCES
Barbrook, R. (2005). The Hi-Tech Gift Economy. First Monday. Retrieved February 5, 2007 from http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue3_12/barbrook/
Kollock, Peter (1999). 'The Economies of Online Cooperation; Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace". Retrieved February 5, 2007, from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.html
Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia. (2007, February 4). FL: Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved February 8, 2007, from http://www.wikipedia.org/
Foong, K., Neo, T., Isaac, J. & Lim, K.L. (2007). Art Resources Tabloid (Singapore). Yahoo Groups. Retrieved February 8, 2007, from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sg_art/
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1 comment:
The example of the actor community has potential to be a gift economy, but the scenario presented was very one directional (e.g. casting call). If you showed that actors were helping one another to find roles, give acting tips and so on, it would have been a better writeup.
Good attempt and full grades for now. You'll want to demonstrate the points you stated more distinctly in future :)
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