Economy of the Internet--comment currency & link IOUs
One of those hazy "the real world as spec fic" realizations came to me yesterday. It had something to do with the way icon-making is an internet swap-meet (appropriately derivative and grass-roots), and the way Cory Doctorow talked about the unweildiness of copyright laws as they stand being applied to the Internet and electric media. The inciting thing I think was seeing a welcome to fellow bloggers to link back to an announcement about a new magazine.
Thesis:
The Internet's Natural Economy is Existential
Rather than demand a currency, trade seems to be done in name-credit, high reader numbers forming a particular sort of wealth, a relativistic commodity.
Acknowledging the icon maker, linking back to the inspiration, exchanging funny YouTube videos becomes the accepted form of currency.
This is something that young people who have been initiated into MySpace, the IM culture, and forum politics navigate differently, more aptly than others don't.
I know of a guy, a teacher, who has great stuff to say and started to blog, but who I've never seen comment on someone else's. His missing a key part of being in the blogging world. He gets comments because he has loyal students (like me) who never get comments back but are too emo over their own lack of comments to stiff someone else.
What this means I don't know.
What do you say? Arguments? Further Evidence?
Personally, I've been wanting to use more images in my blogging, because I love some of the arts blogs that have three pretty photos in each post...
There may be more in the wings on this, I'd really love to dialogue about it.
Thesis:
The Internet's Natural Economy is Existential
Rather than demand a currency, trade seems to be done in name-credit, high reader numbers forming a particular sort of wealth, a relativistic commodity.
Acknowledging the icon maker, linking back to the inspiration, exchanging funny YouTube videos becomes the accepted form of currency.
This is something that young people who have been initiated into MySpace, the IM culture, and forum politics navigate differently, more aptly than others don't.
I know of a guy, a teacher, who has great stuff to say and started to blog, but who I've never seen comment on someone else's. His missing a key part of being in the blogging world. He gets comments because he has loyal students (like me) who never get comments back but are too emo over their own lack of comments to stiff someone else.
What this means I don't know.
What do you say? Arguments? Further Evidence?
Personally, I've been wanting to use more images in my blogging, because I love some of the arts blogs that have three pretty photos in each post...
There may be more in the wings on this, I'd really love to dialogue about it.