Gift is something you giving out without the means of other party to reciprocate. Economy is a system of trade. So in gift economy (in my definition) is a system of sharing or trading without hoping the other party to reciprocate.
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 upon a quid pro quo (Gift Economy, 2007). Gif economy in cyberspace is giving out advice of information that you, yourself won’t do it in reality. Take for example; a teacher will give out information in certain subject that is being discussed in the chat room or user group for fee. But in reality, he will charge fee for the information that is giving out.
What motivate people in giving to share?
There are three motivations that encouraged people to share in online community. It is for reciprocity, reputation, a sense of efficacy and need (Kollock, 1999).
Reciprocity
People contribute valuable information to the group in the expectation that one will receive useful help and information in return. In online social network, it is known as generalized exchange in which benefit given to a person reciprocated not by the recipient but by someone else in the group (Kollock, 1999)
Reputation
The more you give the more you will receive help in the future or being known by other people
Sense of efficacy
A feeling that someone has some effect on the environment. Making regular and high- quality contribution to the group can help a person believe that he has an impact on the group and support his own self- image as an efficacious person (Kollock,1999).
Gift Economy is different from commodity economy; in a commodity (exchange) economy, status is accorded tot those who have the most. In gift economy, status is accorded to those who give the most to others (Pinchot, 2000).
Lewis Hyde expresses the spirit of a gift economy (and its contrast to a market economy) as follows:
The opposite of "Indian giver" would be something like "white man keeper"… Whatever we have been given is supposed to be given away not kept. Or, if it is kept, something of similar value should move in its stead… The gift may be given back to its original donor, but this is not essential… The only essential is this: the gift must always move.
Gift must always move means that we could not only take without giving back. Although it says that in gift economy we could expect other to reciprocate, but we need to contribute too so that we wont be said as free-ride.
A gift creates a “feeling bond”, a feeling that you can get with certain people or group. This feeling can exist even with someone that you don’t even met before.
For example, the blood bank system prevalent in several countries, including the United States, gives no significant explicit reciprocation for donations of blood. Most organ donation systems give no compensation of any sort to the donor or their family; payment in this matter is often considered suspect, even criminal (gift economy, 2007).
We are giving out blood by knowing that this blood will help someone else in the other part of the world. This giving makes us feel important and feel a bond with someone that receives the blood.
In conclusion:
Gift economy is an act where we giving out information, help or advice with an expectation that we will receive the same convenience in the future. In gift economy there is no necessity to meet with the person on group who is receiving our help. The blood donation for example, there isn’t such necessity to meet the person who receives it, as long as we know that our help can give other party what he or she need.
References:
Gift Economy (2007). InWikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 10, 2007 from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economy>
Kollock, P. (1999). The Economiesof Online Coorperation: Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace. Retrieved February 10, 2007 from<http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm>
Pinchot, G. (2000). The Gift Economy. Retrieved February 10, 2007 from <http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC41/PinchotG.htm>
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1 comment:
Mariani: You could have gone more in-depth with your blood bank example for this assignment as part of the requirement. Full grades awarded, but read the question carefully in future. :)
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