It is truly fascinating how much information one may receive from the Internet. The convenient touch of the fingertips to obtain information comes from the relentless creators of every website that we find useful. Just like Wal-mart, people are creating websites that mirror a one-stop centre. With the ever changing society, time constraints and personal commitments, people just want to be able to satisfy all their needs, if possible, at one single place. A fine example of such a website is http://www.asianbookie.com/. The wonders of this website appeals to soccer fanatics, or rather punters actually. It contains fixtures of most of the major soccer leagues in the world, it has a section with news on sports and updates, and it even has information on which soccer games are broadcasted on which TV channels in South East Asia. But, most of all, it has a forum, a place where pundits and sports fanatics unite, to share their views, post their match analysis and predictions.
The concept of gift economy lies in the forums provided in the website. Members of the website share the common interest of sports-betting and offer in-depth analysis to certain games. A few would go to the extent of gathering data on previous matches; histories of previous games played between the two teams and formulate calculated predictions. When data or information moves online, it becomes shared with everyone else and a particular individual’s use of that certain data will not impede others from utilizing it in the same fashion.(Gift Economy, 2007) Once a
post is up, every member and non member may benefit from the information given. Non-members, however, are not permitted to post their opinions or comments. (Kollock, 1999) Other members who have read the post, could post their own opinions from the information they have acquired or even ask questions pertaining to the entry. It is without a doubt, that some of the information provided, in a way contributes to the good of the members and public. This is one of the significant properties of online interaction which is extremely extraordinary in the history of our society. (Kollock, 1999)
The fundamentals of Internet gift economy is based on a few principals.1) Exchange in the Internet gift economy facilitates reciprocity. 2) Reciprocity in the form of intangible rewards. (Veale,2003) There are ways to facilitate reciprocity in gift economies. Elements of reciprocity in this environment can be either direct or indirect. Reciprocity may also be delayed simply because of synchronous and anonymous nature of the Internet. Direct reciprocity occurs when the provider of the information posts his opinion and receives a positive response from another user. It is indirect when the individual uses other materials and resources from the forum. It is delayed in a sense that the rewards received are not instantaneous. (Veal, 2003)
The concept of gift economy lies in the forums provided in the website. Members of the website share the common interest of sports-betting and offer in-depth analysis to certain games. A few would go to the extent of gathering data on previous matches; histories of previous games played between the two teams and formulate calculated predictions. When data or information moves online, it becomes shared with everyone else and a particular individual’s use of that certain data will not impede others from utilizing it in the same fashion.(Gift Economy, 2007) Once a
post is up, every member and non member may benefit from the information given. Non-members, however, are not permitted to post their opinions or comments. (Kollock, 1999) Other members who have read the post, could post their own opinions from the information they have acquired or even ask questions pertaining to the entry. It is without a doubt, that some of the information provided, in a way contributes to the good of the members and public. This is one of the significant properties of online interaction which is extremely extraordinary in the history of our society. (Kollock, 1999)The fundamentals of Internet gift economy is based on a few principals.1) Exchange in the Internet gift economy facilitates reciprocity. 2) Reciprocity in the form of intangible rewards. (Veale,2003) There are ways to facilitate reciprocity in gift economies. Elements of reciprocity in this environment can be either direct or indirect. Reciprocity may also be delayed simply because of synchronous and anonymous nature of the Internet. Direct reciprocity occurs when the provider of the information posts his opinion and receives a positive response from another user. It is indirect when the individual uses other materials and resources from the forum. It is delayed in a sense that the rewards received are not instantaneous. (Veal, 2003)
So we ask ourselves, what exactly motivates the members of the forum to put themselves through exhaustive efforts to produce these information? If the likelihood for future responses of the other members of the forum is what drives a member to continue contributing information, then the chances of sharing this intangible information will increase. Also, further interaction will likely occur if members find each others comments useful. One of the reasons could be self interest and efficacy. Some members feel very strongly about their ability to analyze games, or some simply have access to other information which they think may be useful. With their strong interest for the game and the need to share their opinions, they then provide the public good. If a large number of users respond to their post, especially if they were positive responses, the individual who posted the valuable information would feel as if he/she has made a certain amount of impact in the environment and feel appreciated. The possibility of contributing because of the element of reputation could be another reason. If prestige was one of the factors that encourage a member to contribute, then recurring requests for their opinions would heighten the need for the individual to contribute. And if the information or predictions provided were constantly beneficial to the public and users of the website credit the individual with recognition and request for their opinions on a regular basis, it would increase the prestige of that particular individual. (Kollock, 1999)
These are a few possibilities of the success of http://www.asianbookie.com/ ‘s forum. And since there is a certain expectation for reciprocation from individuals and it has been provided, though not to all, it is one of the ingenious contriving factors that contribute to the success of forums.
References:
Gift Economy (2007). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retreived on February 7, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gift_economy&oldid=105681971
Kollock, P. (1999). The Economies of Online Cooperation: Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace. Retreived on February 6, 2007 from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm
Veale K.J (2003). Internet Gift Economies: Voluntary Payment Schemes as Tangible Reciprocity. Retrived on February 7, 2007 from http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_12/veale/index.html
1 comment:
Yeehaw! You got it... even though everyone's in it for self-gain ($$$), communities who cooperate online find themselves in a better position to gain more together. Full grade! :)
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