QotW4: An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind

“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 (the Latin term for the concept of "a favor for a favor")” (“Gift Economy,” 2007).

I am sure all of us have, at one point or the other, in our lives, both received and given gifts. As a matter of fact, it is probably one of the most carried out activities in one’s life. We do it all the time; we receive and give gifts on Valentine’s Day, Christmas and during birthdays. Although some of us may not even celebrate those special occasions except the latter, we still do it anyway. Why? Simple explanation for this would be because we probably anticipated that since we would be receiving gifts, it would only be right to give gifts. Alas, the rule of reciprocation states that we should try to repay another person what he/she has provided us. However, it is an unwritten law. As such, a cycle of giving and receiving becomes part of us during these times.

So, does this transaction of gifts only occur for occasions mentioned above? The answer is no. Besides the reciprocation of gifts in return for actual physical gifts, societies indulge in the giving of gifts for the return of favors. As a Roman Catholic, another kind of reciprocation I have seen quite often involves prayers. Like many other religions alike, offerings are regarded as a mean of which we give in return for certain prayers to be answered. Aside from this, a darker form of gift reciprocation could be seen in politics. Corrupt officials may sometimes receive goods and favors such as votes or money from undesirable characters in return for leniency to crimes committed by the latter.

However, a gift economy does not only occur in those mentioned above. With the dawn of technology, people now participate in such gift transactions online. Many may join online clubs which cater to an individual’s hobby. In these online forums or clubs, it is inevitable that communication between various parties occur. A good example of this would be found in students’ discussion boards. Students may sometimes feel unsure about a certain topic. Instead of consulting a teacher, they may engage in online discussion forums to seek answers from their peers. As a fellow student may have more knowledge about that certain topic, he may share what he knows with everyone in the forum. This is known as a public good which is a good that anyone can benefit from, regardless of whether they have contributed to its production (Kollock, 1999).


Although it is not necessary to return the favor in the future, it may sometimes be deemed as only right. During my previous communication module, social proof was seen as one of the tools most often used by individuals to determine how they should behave. According to Robert B. Cialdini, author of Influence: science and practice, the principle of social proof states that we determine what is correct by finding out what other people think is correct. In other words, the point put across here is that people may return the favors not because they want to but because they see others doing it and thus feel obligated to follow suit, in an effort to not be labeled as “freeloaders” or “moochers.”

As a guitarist, I find it important to expand my knowledge on different genres of music through learning and discussing it with other musicians similar to myself. With the advancement of the Internet technology, I have learned to embrace it by seeking musicians of similar interests through an online forum called Ultimate Guitar (www.ultimate-guitar.com).

In this forum, musicians interpret different songs and create their own versions of how the song should be played. As such, just one song alone could have over 100 different versions depending on how popular the song is. Besides trading the guitar tabs for various songs, members of this online forum may sometimes use it as a platform to introduce themselves and promote their bands to other online users. In this way, a vast sharing of song demos or lyrics could be circulated between members and non-members alike thus benefiting anyone alike.

As mentioned above, in a gift economy, “gifts” may be traded without the expectation of something to be returned. Members submit their personal versions of the tablature of songs not hoping that somebody else would submit something to repay them directly but because they know that they have referred to other members’ works before, which in this context, is the act of receiving “gifts.” Thus, after receiving these “gifts,” it motivates members to post works/information of their own as a form of repaying (recall: the principle of reciprocation). This creates a cycle which then keeps the forum running.

Another characteristic of a gift economy that Ultimate Guitar bears is the gaining of intangible rewards such as recognition and self-esteem. If a member contributes a good piece of tablature, it will be rated five-stars by other supporting members and thus gain recognition in the forum.

After drawing parallels between Ultimate Guitar and a gift economy, I can conclude that it is indeed an online gift economy. I strongly encourage other guitarists to join and contribute to this forum. Embrace your talents and give some “gifts” today!


References:

1) Cialdini, R. (2001). Influence: science and practice (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

2) Gift Economy. (2007). In: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved February 9, 2007, from, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gift_economy&oldid=105681971

3) Kollock, P. (1999). The economies of online cooperation: Gifts and public goods in cyberspace. Retrieved February 9, 2007, from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm