Bonus Mission #2: Want to Start Afresh Anyone?

Just a week ago, I started using Second Life (SL). The signing up procedure for SL was interesting and fun. I think I enjoyed the name selection part the most. As the days went by, everyone in class was hooked up on SL and had started exploring its virtual land.

Second Life is a 3-D online virtual world where avatars do the kind of stuff real people do in real life: Buy stuff, sell stuff, gamble, listen to music, buy property, and flirt.

BUT IS IT A GAME?

To be honest, when I first started in SL, I thought that it was a game. Furthermore, this week’s topic for Com125 is “Online Gaming”. So I simply assumed it to be the latest ‘technological game’ (if there’s such a term?). However, it is not a game (shocked!!!)

WHY IS SL NOT A GAME?

The mainstream press has struggled with how to characterize Second Life. The term “3-D online virtual world” doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily as the term “game”. Linden Lab, the company that created the platform that is Second Life, is definite that their creation is not a game.

“There is no manufactured conflict, no set objective,” says spokesperson Catherine Smith (Second Life, 2007). I agree with Catherine Smith. SL has no objective, scores, winners or losers, levels, an end-strategy, or most of the other characteristics of games. In my opinion, it is an entirely open-ended experience. Everything is totally under your control or decisions.

Communication

I feel that the means of communication itself sets it apart from being deemed as a game. Avatars converse either through local chat and global "instant messaging" (also known as IM). IM is used for private conversations, either between two avatars, or between the members of a group. This is not exactly a characteristic of a game.


Creation and Copyright

Another thing that makes SL to be beyond entertainment is this ‘Creation and Copyright’ feature.

It is true that Second Life lacks a designed conflict and end objective. Nevertheless the real difference between games like “World of Warcraft,” “The Sims” or any other game Second Life is compared to is this: Linden does not create the content. The residents build everything there. The residents themselves are an example of user generated content.

The primary source of activity in this economy is the residents building virtual buildings, landscape, vehicles, furniture, and machines to use, trade, or sell using the 3-D modeling tool. Once the creation is in the world of SL, the system makes efforts to help protect the exclusive rights of the ‘content creator’. This is exactly what happens in our real lives too. The creator can mark an item as "no copy," which means that no copies of it can be made by others, "no mod," which means that others may not modify the item's characteristics, and "no trans," which means that the current owner may not give it to another.

Business Oriented

SL has its own economy and a currency referred to as Linden Dollars (L$). Residents create new goods and services, and buy and sell them in the SL virtual world. There are also currency exchanges where Residents can exchange US$ or other real world currencies for L$ through their credit card lines. Residents (avatars) also gain a certain amount of net income from this economy. Residents also engage in buying and selling off land. This demonstrates a real form of business taking place in SL as legitimate transactions are taking place. SL allows users to create an economy of their own.

Furthermore, a combination of Linden Lab granting Second Life Residents the copyright over their content, and legal trading of the in-world currency "Linden Dollars" (L$) has encouraged the creation of solely in-world businesses and the creation of legally registered companies that were previously solely in-world. In addition there is also the in-world participation of previously unrelated companies and organizations.

For example, the Swedish Institute have mentioned of wanting to set up an Embassy in SL (Second Life, 2007). Once again, this shows how SL not only reflects but is merging and becoming one with the real world.

In Conclusion

In my opinion, the business world created in SL is the most crucial factor that points out that SL is more than a form of entertainment.
For me, it is just like another life. Another world, where I can choose my location, appearance and actions. It is not a game but a place where I can erase the current and start afresh!

References

Second Life. (2007, April 4). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11:40p.m, April 4, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Second_Life&oldid=120268909

Second Life (2007). In Second Life What is Second life?. Retrieved 1.15a.m, April 5, 2007 fromhttp://secure-web11.secondlife.com/whatis/

Business Week: My Virtual Life (2006) Retrieved April 3rd 2007 from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982001.htm

QotW10: NEW ATTRACTIVE EXPERIENCE!

AT MORRIS- NEAR THE ARK

WITH EUNICE (ME IN GREEN)


Just a week ago my friend Cheilla came out of my lecturer’s office mentioning about ‘Second Life’ being our next blogging assignment. Though I did not pay much attention to what she was saying, I soon received an email from her to join ‘Second Life’ (SL). Soon I had my own account and had started to explore the world of virtual reality.


My Avatar (CAN YA SPOT THE REFLECTION ON THE MIRRORS?)

My name in SL is Francessca Ronmark. I have always loved the name Francessca and have a lovely 3 year old cousin in the States with that name. However, “Ronmark” was not my first choice. My initial choice of ‘Rossca’ was rejected and for this reason I settled with Ronmark (however, it is my granddad’s middle name).


My avatar relates to me in a couple of ways. Firstly, my avatar is a young female- just like me! Since I prefer to dress casually, I dressed Francessca (avatar) in that way too. Though I like the color lime green, I have always felt that it would look too bright if worn out. Hence, I chose the lime green top for my avatar. I also made sure that my avatar wore the type of jeans with similar cutting and style as mine.

Whenever I am overseas, I love to try on different types of snow caps. I am crazy about them. On the other hand, using one in Singapore would probably make me look ridiculous due to our humid and unpredictable weather. So I chose an avatar that already has something similar to a snow cap on. I went on to darken the already red hair to make it blend with the color of the clothing. I made the eyes larger and the features sharper to match my physical appearance. Oh yes, as all my friends are well aware, Maria never leaves home without her high heels!Therefore, Francessca needs to have a pair too.

Well, the only description that does not match me is the short hair (my hair is long and curly). However, it does not bother me as I think the short hair makes my avatar look great. Haha !

ME DOING THE HULA DANCE- (NEAR THE AREA THAT REMINDS ME OF A PARK)

Location

The location I am in is known as ‘Morris’. I was teleported there by Cheilla. I think that it is a great place with an excellent architecture. I still recall how the ‘Orientation Island’ was more like a castle area to me. It was dimly lighted and I felt kind of trapped trying to complete it. However, ‘Morris’ is bigger and more spacious. The place is brighter and more filled out with the other users.

The structure of the location is interesting. It has mirrors at weird locations and a really strange looking dragon model. I like walking out to the open part of the location which reminds me of a park (no longer around) I use to frequent when I was younger. The atmosphere is refreshing. Sadly, after a while I often got dragged into the ground and can never discover how to stop it. Anyway, I just found out that it happens whenever I am out of sync with the rest of the users in the location.

I would like to end off by saying that SL is an attractive new experience.

QotW9: Are you passionate to share???

I was just having a little chat with my uncle, Anthony, who works as a Warrant Officer. He mentioned on how a portion of his job requires him to recognize within seconds nearly invisible details such as a crescent (for e.g.) on an oncoming aircraft and name the type of aircraft. Just the thought of it made my eyes bulge with surprise as to how he is able to name the planes in a matter of four seconds. However, he mentioned that this was an easy task for him as he already had a keen interest in aircrafts. This was a quality in him that has led him to stand out among his colleagues. My uncle stated that most of his colleagues would research and study hard to remember these names to get the job done. He did not fail to mention that though his colleagues had a passion for this job (warrant officer), their interest levels were low in this area of aircrafts.

WHAT IS CITIZEN JOURNALISM???

As I sat in the comfort of my living room listening to my uncle, I realized that I could easily piece “citizen journalism” and “journalism” into his job description. Confused? Let me explain. In the description above, I see my uncle as the participant in citizen journalism and his colleagues involved in journalism.


Generally journalism allows the communication of an event, issue, people or anything that is of concern in the form of writing. However, in my opinion, citizen journalism is a facet of journalism. It allows ‘the people’, basically the public to address issues and communicate matters that are close to their heart. Subjectivity, comments, feedback and self-interest are some of the characteristics of this form of communication. People can conveniently express their individual observations and interpretations of things that they feel related to. However, I believe that ‘personal interest’ is the key difference between citizen journalism and journalism.

Usually journalists would engage in research and a thorough study on the topics, issues or events they need to write upon (Gillmor, 2004). Even if they do not have an interest in that area, they need to meet their deadlines and produce a top-notch performance. Nevertheless, this does not mean that they are not keen in journalism itself (just like my uncle’s colleagues). On the other hand, participants in citizen journalism only talk about things that they are keen and dedicated about. For example, a person interested in immoral behavior among Singaporeans would not exactly bother to read the section on why ‘vitamin C levels are low in Ribena’. The same principle follows suit for those posting news on the online citizen journalism websites.


STOMP: An example of Citizen Journalism

In my judgment, it is this factor of personal interest that makes websites like STOMP (Straits Times Online Mobile Print) to be successful in luring public participation. Generally people want to be heard and citizen journalism allows this. Singaporeans, who get involved with STOMP, are bonded by similar interests. This makes this forum more interactive. STOMP allows Singaporeans to liberally share incidents that they have captured through pictures and comments. It paves the way for the public to communicate their opinions in a democratic way; in other words “freedom of speech”. In this way STOMP is definitely a form of citizen journalism.


When I was required to do a speech (Social Graciousness in Singapore) last semester, I used STOMP as a source to learn about the perspectives and attitudes of Singaporeans regarding this subject. I was stunned by the multiple pictures and comments written passionately by Singaporeans regarding this matter. Conversely, a local mentioned how he has nothing to say about this situation as it does not bother him and social ungraciousness is necessary to survive in this selfish world. This illustrates the basic idea behind citizen journalism – people write or read about issues that they are passionate about.


Improving STOMP!!!

In my view, STOMP is user friendly. However, if I should mention ways to improve it, then I would suggest that the delivery ways can be altered. I feel that not many people are aware of this service. Honestly, even after using the website, I had no idea it was a made for the public to participate freely. I did not really understand the significance of it. Therefore, I guess its reputation can be further heightened through informing the public in the Strait Times Newspaper or The Channel 5 News. These two medium have a certain level of authority to which the audience would respond to.

Another option can be publishing the information gathered on the website. I feel that this would further encourage the public to fearlessly talk about things that are close to their heart.

Conclusion

I would like to end off by mentioning a little on something I came across while searching on this topic.

I think it is crucial to note that only the ways and means to create public awareness can be improved or changed. However, the fundamental structure of citizen journalism cannot be reconstructed. It is the inherent nature of citizen journalism that encourages a centric characteristic in people. Many complain that this form of communication is too subjective. Nevertheless, how can you change something which has subjectivity as its objective? This may sound like a digression but I felt that I should practice my very own form of citizen journalism.





References


“STOMP (online portal)” (February 14, 2007) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 14:42, March 29, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STOMP_%28online_portal%29

Gillmor, D. “We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People” (July, 2004). Retrieved March 29, 2007 from http://download.nowis.com/index.cfm?phile=WeTheMedia.html&tipe=text/html#chap9

"Singapore Seen". (2006). [On-line]. Retrieved March 28. 2007 from the World Wide Web:http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/index.aspx

QotW7: Tweety Twitter- Restoration?

During one of my usual chats with my distant cousin online (through messenger), I found out that she has been keeping in touch with her soon to be ex-husband. This news was both shocking and interesting to me. Her filing for divorce was a result of many unbearable incidents and conversations. Their marriage hit rock bottom just eight months into their new life as husband and wife. Divorce then became the only viable decision to make. With their situation appearing to be unsalvagable, it was a major surprise for me to find out that they have been keeping in touch through Friendster and Twitter!!! (What a coincidence since I have a blog assignment on this to complete)

MY VIEW

Just has how “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder”; the definition of a virtual community depends on what an individual considers it to be. Different people may have different meanings behind the term community and this is also a major reason why some of us feel that “Twitter is” and “is not an online community”.

What started off emails has now through the progress of technology developed into instant messaging. These Instant Messenger (IM) services can be likened to face-to-face communication as now you can see the person you are chatting with and also have live conversations with a simple device know as the microphone.

Personally for me, whenever I think of the term community, I often picture a spiral. Just like the continuous connected circling of the spiral, once in an online community, we are all in a continuous connection with one another. It is interesting to note that once connected to eleven people on Friendster, I am actually linked to thousands of others automatically. It is like a network of people together (Rheingold, 1993). This continuity will only end when we leave the community and break all forms of contact. Twitter does function in a similar way. Once added under the friend list, we are in direct contact with the added party. Through our direct friends, we are indirectly linked to others and fed with their information. This is especially true when we visit a friend’s site and view the updates posted by others whom you may know nothing about.

Another characteristic of a community is that it can be static or fluid. Everyday people are signing up and deleting their accounts online. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for people to be apart of multiple communities. Twitter allows this (just like my cousin- Twitter and Friendster). Moreover, communities also have certain boundaries between members and non-members (Rheingold, 1993). Not only in Twitter, but in all communities, information revelation can be restricted. Though Twitter allows continuous updates to be posted about oneself, the details updated are under the control of the member posting it. This limitation becomes a negative aspect of most online communities. The possibility of faking information is a serious consequence of online communities. Just because Twitter allows immediate updates, it does not make it any much safer. Another thing I was wondering about is do people simply appear nicer in online communities? Maybe it is the need to present themselves as appealing and good mannered. This sounds logical when we are in contact with those we just got to know, but how about to those we have known for some time. I guess my chat with my cousin got me thinking along this line. She was confused with her conversations online with her husband, as he seemed like a totally different person. Unfortunately, when they decided to meet, the gentle and warm feeling she experienced online disappeared as the coldness and arrogance was vividly evident. Can this be likened to the negative repercussions virtual communities have on real-world interactions?

Anyway, communities are believed to provide individuals with certain benefits. Twitter is beneficial as it provides instant information of friends just like the IM. Even though Friendster is a popular online community, it does not have this feature. Just as how reciprocity is a key element in online communities, the updates and conversations posted in Twitter creates a form of reciprocation. There appears to be an unwritten social agreement between community members (Rheingold, 1993). Similar to online communities, members in Twitter can decide on their levels of interaction and participation among other members and themselves. Finally, just because I am connected or have a huge number of friends in my list, it does not mean that I share a strong bond among members (another characteristic of online communities). To be honest, there are some friends in my Twitter whom I know very little about.

CONCLUSION

I personally feel that Twitter is an online community. It does fit into the characteristics of a community in my opinion. Well, for now I wonder if this form of connection can help restore a broken marriage.

ReFeReNcEs

Fernback, J., & Thompson, B. (1995). Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry, Failure? Retrieved March 16, 2007 from http://www.rheingold.com/texts/techpolitix/VCcivil.html

Rheingold, H. (1993). The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. Retrieved March 16, 2007 from http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?sid=4AAFDF98-AA07-4D29-9B42-A356DC54A8D7&ttype=2&tid=3823

Virtual community. (2007, March 15). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 10:58 p.m, March 15, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virtual_community&oldid=115277136

QotW6: AM I BEING WATCHED???

Just a year ago, a friend of mine met whom she thought to be the ‘perfect guy’. With similarities jumping out at you, you start to wonder if he was God sent. Interestingly, the phrase that “we are meant to be” was his favorite lingo.

Unfortunately (THANK GOD!), she soon discovered what a freaking liar he was. He was never that perfect guy he portrayed himself to be. Never were they similar in any way. A major striking difference was that he was mentally unstable (A PURE PSYCHO!).

Well let’s not dwell too much into her personal life, but what is interesting and crucial to note is that the ‘psycho’ discovered her through friendster!


Privacy

In my opinion, privacy is the need to create a space for yourself. A world built where only your thoughts, emotions, interests and activities exist.

No doubt, social networks like Friendster, MySpace, etc do allow an individual to create a space for themselves; a profile which belongs to them. However, it is not personal enough to be private. Profiles have become a common mechanism for presenting one’s identity online. With the popularity of online social networking services, profiles have been extended to include explicitly social information such as articulated "Friend" relationships and Testimonials.

Being affiliated with Friendster, information revelation for me was a means of getting to know others. Before, I knew about my friend’s incident, I never believed that being part of an online social network could result in drastic consequences (my friend was extremely hurt). For example, before my friend spoke to this guy in person (getting to know each other stage), the only information he knew about her was what he read on her friendster profile and that was sufficient to lure her. Yikes!

That was when I decided to check my profile to gage how much information I have divulged about myself. To my surprise, I realized there were sufficient details to make me a potential victim! Pictures and videos posted and interests mentioned meant to create a reputation for me. I believe it is the desire to appear presentable and attractive that has led many to reveal much information about oneself.

Knowing people through a social network is as similar as getting to know someone face-to-face. Facilities which create a face-to-face (FtF) environment provides an easier way for users to reveal more about themselves that they may not consciously want to. I maybe wrong, but am wondering if this is a form of reciprocation to the opportunities given on these social websites to make yourself known?

Well for me, I have tapped into the privacy settings to ensure that I know who is viewing my profile. Furthermore, it is a good thing that Friendster allows you to view a person’s profile before accepting their request to be friends. However, there are some out there who have private profiles. When faced with such, I do not accept their request. This has always been a practice of mine (even before knowing about that psycho). I also block or delete people I feel suspicious about. However, I have not changed much information n my profile. It is not a means to create intimacy, but a way to let those reading your profile know some details about you. I am a strong believer of the idea that intimacy is only possible with people you are well aware of (Rosen, 2004). As you can see, I mentioned “some details”. I would not go to the extent of revealing my address or mobile number to a possible whacko out there.

The Wall Street Journal on October 30, 2003 published an article today entitled "Having Lots of Online Friends Could Mean Privacy Trouble." The article articulates some of the institutional privacy concerns that some users do have and suggests that more users should have. The article reported on a specific incident:

“When Meredith Rosenblum first joined social networking site Friendster inJuly, she tried to find as many of her friends as she could. Now with 48 immediate friends and more than half a million in her "network," the 27-year-old advertising writer from San Francisco thinks she may have too many pals.

Two months ago, an online suitor she wasn't interested in, and had told so, entered her e-mail address in Friendster, found her and sent her a note: "Ha, ha. I found you." Turns out they were connected by one friend and though the mutual friend vouches for the guy, Ms. Rosenblum foundthe whole experience creepy.” - (Uslaner, 2004)

Conclusion

From the example I realize that when you first sign up, you are so sucked into finding your friends, you do not realize how much access people have to finding you. This is something you should realize. A spokesman for Friendster Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., said there were no privacy issues on Friendster, and that the company could not comment on future features. Currently, users can only view profiles that are connected to them by within four degrees of friends. Users are not required to post photographs to sign up, and are only required to have a valid e-mail address. Users can also choose how much or little information to include in their profile (Uslaner, 2004).

Though every online network has its privacy procedures, unfortunate incidents still do take place. In the first place, protection would not be provided if the social networks are foolproof. Therefore, this is an issue that is mainly part of the responsibility of every individual. You could even be watched at this very moment!

References

Rosen, J. (19th July, 2004). "The Naked Crowd". Retrieved on 8th March, 2007 from http://www.spiked-online.com/Printable/0000000CA5FF.htm

Uslaner, E. M. (April 2004) Trust online, trust offline. Communications of the ACM, 47(4), 28-29. Retrieved on March 7, 2007, from http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=975817.975838

Joinson, A., Uhler, B. (2002) Explanations for the Perception of and Reactions to Deception in a Virtual Community. Social Science Computer Review, 20(3), 275-289. Retrieved on March 7, 2007, from http://ssc.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/20/3/275

QotW5: Online Identity, Reputation, Deception

IDENTITY IDENTITY….YIKES!!!!

Well known to all, the internet has undergone tremendous transformations from the time it was launched. Together with its astounding abilities were the online social networks formed. Networks like Friendster, Blogspot, Flickster, etc are hard to miss by. Nevertheless, just like the masked ninja (in the picture), they are many in the virtual communities hiding out to combat illegally instead.

I recall an incident where my friend Jia Wei contacted me screaming that her laptop had crashed due to some kind of virus. Someone out there had sent her a spam email with a virus attached. In between her sobs, I understood her clueless mindset of what and how this had happened. Unfortunately, till today she is still in the dark about the identity of her perpetrator. I am sure many of you out there are able to relate with this situation to a certain extend. Jia Wei was and still remains to be a dedicated member of some of the main social networks (mentioned above). After researching further on identity thefts and listening to the speech by our guest speaker in Com242 class, I am pondering upon the possibility that the ‘perpetrator’ may not be an unknown face after all.



Wikipedia mentions online identity to be a “social identity”. In my opinion, online identity is something we create for ourselves to institute a validity to our individuality online. As for me, I have a ‘Friendster’ account (online identity). Millions of people out there are engaged in ‘Friendster’. It is easily accessible and accounts can be created in a jiff. Recognizing the explosion in the membership, administrators of ‘Friendster’ are consistently upgrading and promoting the site and its capabilities.

Reputation?

My reputation in ‘Friendster’ is constructed via my user name, my pictures and all the nitty-gritty details I have revealed about myself in the profile section. I further establish status through the messages sent to contacts, ‘shout-outs’ and bulletins posted.
All of these become my investment into this social network for others to know more about me.


Identity theft

In ‘Friendster’ email addresses are used to add contacts onto your list. Through this process, a potential hacker can obtain your email add and send you a surprise gift (virus-phishing). One email is all it takes to complete the task.

Furthermore, the information presented on your profile is substantial to provide the perpetrator the necessary details to begin his quest. Sometimes, people post their numbers in the hope of making new friends. However, this act itself causes their downfall.

These so called ‘friends’ made online can learn more about your personal life to the extent of getting your credit card numbers. They may carry this out indirectly by ringing you up and posing to be a bank officer or someone of superior relevance. Once the required details areobtained, it would not take long before these ‘masterminds’ begin their ‘free purchases’.

Another issue is pseudonymity (1996). It is anonymity that hides a person behind an online persona via a username. This is common online. Many internet users have a number of different identities they use online. These allow them to explore different aspects of their persona, interests or hobbies. Nevertheless pseudonymity is also the key to membership systems as well, as it allows members of the community to learn to identify other members they like or dislike based upon their behaviors and personality (1996). Pseudononymous systems strike a balance between people’s needs to obscure their identities online, while still allowing them to build reputations in those usernames. These systems have been shown to work very well for an online community.

Unfortunately the misuse of the above mentioned also results in identity thefts. Perpetrators with the intention of deceiving you can easily disguise themselves through weird usernames and pictures just to learn more about you and then eventually become you!

Here’s an example of an actual incident to illustrate the simplicity of pseudonymity. Back in my college days, I had some friends who created a ‘Friendster’ profile just to check on another classmate. To make the account realistic, these guys uploaded pictures of a girl found on the net and used a fake name. Therefore, they basically created a fictious character- five guys assuming the identity of a girl for selfish reasons.


Conclusion

As you can see, online identities can be easily created to engage in illegal dealings. Maintaining a reputation is also something challenging with your identities being under ‘attack’. Sometimes it is done for fun (like my friends) and sometimes the member also has serious consequences to face (credit card transactions).

‘Friendster’ does provide a certain amount of privacy for its members. For example, members can select if they want their profile to be made viewable by the public or their own contacts. You are even allowed the liberty to delete ‘disturbing’ individuals or report on them to the administrators. However, even though these security measures are available, they are useless if people do not make use of them to their advantage- I certainly have turned these measures to my advantage :p

References:

Donath ,Judith S. ( 12 November 1996) Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community, MIT Media Lab. Retrieved on February 15, 2007http://smg.media.mit.edu/people/Judith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html

Uslaner, E. M. (April 2004) Trust online, trust offline. Communications of the ACM, 47(4), 28-29. Retrieved on February 7, 2007, from http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=975817.975838

Bellovin, S. M. (December 2004) Spamming, Phishing, Authentication, and Privacy. Communications of the ACM, 47(12), 144. Retrieved on February 7, 2007, from http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1035159&coll=GUIDE&dl=ACM&CFID=1375041&CFTOKEN=81344821

QotW4: Internet Economies and You...

Assignment 3

When something is given, something is always inherently given back in exchange. But gifts work best when you pay them forward. You must find another place to use your knowledge acquired from others. It is this passing along that creates the ’Gift Economy’.


Currently
In our highly materialistic world, monetary gains are normally the focus of people’s contributions. The market economy is deliberately impersonal, but the whole purpose of the 'Gift Economy' is to establish and build up the relationships between us and to connect us one to the other. It is via the circulation of gifts in the communities that there is an increase in relationships and associations.

Our current economic system is encouraged by self-motivation and stands on the foundation of ‘exchange’- giving in order to be given. The satisfaction of another’s need is used as a medium to satisfy one own self (Kollock, 1999). So the exchange or 'market' economy is entrenched in the concepts of inequality, scarcity, quantifiable correspondence of value, and acquisition. However, the ‘Gift Economy’ is rooted in the concepts of parity, large quantity, unquantifiability, generosity and connection.


Gift Economies are not brand new; there have been around for sometime but maybe in other forms (Kollock, 1999). An example would be the hunting societies.

Anyway, being a member in ‘Multiply’ (www.mulitply.com) has enabled me to benefit from numerous amounts of entries posted by my friends and their contacts. It is just like our regular blogs. Nevertheless, in my opinion, majority of the ideas and events mentioned are extremely personal. It surprises me at times those delicate issues are willingly
posted. Most of the time I witness advises in the form of comments being posted. Even though, there is an exchange without expectations, there is a form of blockage here. At times not everyone is willing to contribute openly. Hence, there is a breakdown in the contribution. Therefore, let me move on and talk about another ‘Gift Economy’ with a constant flow of messages, ‘Femalefirst’ forum (http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/).

‘Femalefirst’ is the new appearance of Female online communities. It is the fastest growing site in its field, a site that has been created by women for women. It can also be called a community where over 3,000,000 women discuss issues, solve problems, share experiences, and speak their minds openly. My cousin from London tipped me off about this site a year ago and I have been a member since then.

These women who are member have built a community that is their own, an area that they feel at home in, somewhere they can break away from from life's pressing issues and chill out in the company of other like minded individuals.

The forum as mentioned above, allows discussion of all sorts of women’s concerns. Posting questions is as easy as receiving replies and suggestions. Topics discussed range from politics, fashion, health matters to even motoring details. My most favorite and benefited discussion topic would be on the family issues. Here women out there share their struggles eagerly to help and educate girls like myself. After learning about the experiences of others, I too feel encouraged to share my encounters.

Another incentive from engaging in this forum would be the gaining the knowledge of women all over the world. I get to understand their mindsets and perspectives (they also provide amazing fashion and skincare tips:) )

Conclusion
Hence this is my example of a ‘Gift Economy’. Through this I have learnt that the ‘Gift Economy’ is about 'agency'. You should be an active consumer of gifts. Everyone has within them the capability to contribute, and the network will only grow if everyone turns the gifts they have received to others. We need to learn to become responsive of our own agency.

Reference:

Kollock, Peter (1999). 'The Economies of Online Cooperation; Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace" Retrieved February 7, 2007 from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm



Pollard, Dave (2005). "The Gift Economy" Retrieved February 7, 2007 from http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/2005/04/17.html

Open Source Definition (2007), Voices from the open source revolution Retrieved on February 7, 2007, from http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/opensources/book/perens.html