QotW4: No Such Thing As a Free Lunch? Get Free Gifts Instead!

We humans are a skeptical bunch and choose to believe that there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. What people give, they expect double in return – be wary of others! That is the way we have been taught by our parents and society to believe since the day we could decipher words and meanings. Could the human race be turning so cold, selfish and unfeeling? Are we turning into creatures devoid of the need to be interdependent or bonded to each other? Or are we simply afraid of losing out? This paper will discuss the gift economy, its mechanics, limitations, and its effects on our lives.

With the advancement in technology, more people are tuning in to the virtual world and spending even more of their time there. When more people get together online, they slowly discover that many others out there in the virtual space share their very same interests. When that happens, people start to form virtual communities and forums, which are the equivalent of the many interest groups we see in reality. Interaction in such virtual communities and forums is part of a gift economy. According to Rheingold (1993), a gift economy is a place “in which help and information is offered without the expectation of any direct, immediate quid-pro-quo.” This gifting is deemed as altruistic without the implicit expectation of reciprocation and thus, is not to be confused with the concept of a gift transaction.

It is easy to confuse the concept of “gift transaction” and a “commodity transaction” as there is only a very fine line that sets them apart. In order to explain this, we first need to know exactly what a gift is. Carrier (1991) defines a gift as the obligatory transfer of inalienable objects or services between related and mutually obligated transactors. The important factor that sets these two concepts apart is the existance of a “relationship” between the giver and the receiver. A friend who gifts does not expect anything in return but the friendship/relationship is sustained by the genuine desire, on the part of the receiver to give back. A “commodity transaction” however, consists of no obligation at all after the exchange is consummated (Kollock, 1999). In essence, “gifts are exchanged between individuals who are part of an ongoing interdependent relationship [while] in a commodities transaction, the individuals are self-interested, independent actors” (Carrier, 1991).

As stated earlier on, online communities are a huge part of today’s gift economy. I personally enjoy participating in discussions in several forums and online communities. Being a part of these communities allows me free access to a pool of information which is relevent to my life and also provides me with a sense of belonging. One of the online communities I frequent is DanceForums.

At DanceForums, dance enthusiasts from all over the world come together to discuss their common passion – Dance. Dancers post questions or updates in the dance scene, which are then responded to by other members of the forum. People can interact and learn more from each other about via discussions in the forum. After all, the gift economy, in this case, forums, can be viewed as an outlet where people can come together "to learn, to understand, to change and take charge of the world" (Pollard, 2005). At DanceForums, there are even subgroups to accommodate the different dance genres. The genres range from a diverse mix of classical ballet, hip hop, Irish, jazz, all the way to belly dancing. People can seek help with choreography, dance music, and even discuss dancewear brands. Such discussions are very useful as the suggestions and advice contributed are mostly the result of experience. Often, the people who contribute the most are more recognized in the forum and are well respected by other members. These people who are more highly involved in contributing to the forum by “offering advice and information [also] seem to receive more help more quickly when they ask for something” (Wellman & Gulia, 1997; Rheingold, 1993).

As we can already see, a gift economy really works in a cycle, which has the contributor on the receiving end too at some point in time. For the relationships that exist among members of an online community to thrive, people need to both give and take. After all, it all boils down to ‘synergy’, where the sum of the parts adds up to more than the whole. By balancing giving and taking, the gift economy can be taken to a higher and more promising level.



References

Bandura, Albert (editor). 1995. Self-Efficacy in Changing Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Kollock, Peter (1999). 'The Economies of Online Cooperation; Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace" Retrieved February 8, 2007 from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm

Pollard, Dave (2005). "The Gift Economy" Retrieved February 8, 2007 from http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/2005/04/17.html

Rheingold, Howard. 1993. The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. New York: Addison-Wesley.

Wikipedia (2007). Gift economy. Retrieved February 8, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economy