Merry Christmas and Enjoy the Giving!

Image by Alan Carter via FlickrChristmas is a time of year that everyone can get involved with giving gifts. As you know from this site and my main business site Double Foot Productions I have aimed to try and provide gifts all year round but Christmas is an especially good time of year and there is nothing like choosing gifts to give to friends and family.

While the site has been lacking in some updates lately I hope to alleviate that problem with a few days off coming up and hopefully a move towards working on website production fulltime. I hope to elaborate on many of the discussions I have had on this site and will also be pushing my own business model incorporating a 'gift economy' into its main structure. This is all very experimental so any support is appreciated as I get started.

I thank you all for visiting this (for now) little blog discussing the joys of giving and of receiving. May you all have a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous new year. Thanks again!

-KJ Halliday

Double Foot Productions Offers Gifts!

Image via Wikipedia

Because I run Double Foot Productions (a website design and promotion business) I am pleased to share with all of my Gift Economy readers the great gifts available through my own program on the site. I offer assitance with web design and promotion for both individuals and organisations that want to improve or create a presence online. I can offer Wordpress or Joomla setup but unfortunately cannot provide the hosting services but will help you find the best hosting and domain registration for your needs.

Yes, this is a strange advertisement, I am selling services for free but as you can see from this blog it is with a purpose and that is to give free time and resources that I have back to people (especially artists who may be starting out) who need help getting a site setup. There isn't a catch to this and I love to promote new work and websites!

If you want to check out my own work on websites you can visit http://doublefootproductions.com/ which is a Wordpress based website and also contains all the contact information to enquire about the services on offer. Only eligible individuals and groups will be considered.

The Modern Gift Economy

Image via Wikipedia

As I have begun this site this year I have been thinking about the Gift Economy in modern society and have been surprised at how common this type of interaction is. In the realm of the internet 'free' is almost a given and gifts are given every second of the day through Open Source Software, free ebooks, sharing of comments and ideas and more. Even large organisations like Google operate some of their programs this way as you can see with this blog being published through google's "Blogger" platform.

 The other heartening thing to see is the amount of people willing to give their time and energy to helping others. Volunteer work is still popular and many people now look for ways to increase their 'self worth' by doing something meaningful in an increasingly meaningless society. This brings up an important point that most human beings want a world where people are cared for and resources are shared but are tied to old economic structures of profit and greed. 

 As I have mentioned in a previous post even world governments (albeit with self interest at heart) operate a very large gift economy throughout the globe under the name "economic aid" which does confirm that the current structure of world economies will never sustain human life on this planet as it creates the need for greed and self interest. This ties into the developed world's notion that economies must always grow and expand which of course is impossible in a world with limited resources. 

 As you continue through this blog or throughout the internet and into your day to day lives just take a look at how much 'giving' is going on. Especially in the lead up to Christmas you will see this as a most beautiful pinnacle of human endeavour: the ability to give of ourselves so that others may survive. I hope you all receive the gifts that you need and if you have everything you need why not consider changing someone's life with a gift you are able to give?

-KJ Halliday 

Author of Gift Economy Australia

Editor of kjwriteleft.com

Excerpt from kjwriteleft.com "Who Cares About the Environment?"

Image via WikipediaExcerpt from kjwriteleft.com:

Most of you would have heard all the arguments for protecting the environment from global warming through to protection of resources such as clean water. While specific groups such as 'green' political parties work towards saving the environment it must also be asked who else (apart from these specific interest groups) cares about it. It could be argued that personalities such as Al Gore (ex-vice president and creator of 'An Inconvenient Truth') merely use the environment to keep their public profile. Other groups like green movements quite obviously want to support environmental activism because it is their ethos and support base. What about those who have no 'green' leanings politically?

Read the entire article here!

Gift Economy Moving Ahead!

Open gifts everyday! Image by opensourceway via Flickr

As you may have noticed the blog posts have not been as regular as I would like but that is about to change. In association with Double Foot Productions and kjwriteleft.com (my other sites) I am working to integrate these sites together. If you have seen the Double Foot Productions site you would know I offer assistance and advice (as a gift!) to any worthwhile individual or organisation. This is my experimental business model incorporating a 'gift economy' with standard commerce. 

I hope to see this work outas it will mean more posts on this site as well as related features on my other websites. Heading towards Christmas I will be having some continuing discussions on "Gifts" in general and the general problems presented when gifts become purely about money and influence. Along with these discussions I will bring up some new points on people and places that are 'gift giving' everyday, even if they don't know it! I hope to highlight some work of great people who would otherwise never get a mention, so if you have a worthwhile idea, organisation or website then please let me know and you may get a huge amount of free publicity (gifted of course!) 

As always I wish all of you the best and look forward to building this blog with all of you and any guest bloggers are always welcome if you have a relevant topic.  

-KJ Halliday Editor of Gift Economy Australia

Giftflow.org Lets you Give and Receive

Image via Wikipedia

I had an interesting email sent to me the other week from one of the creators of giftflow.org which acts a lot like twitter but as an electronic perpetual Christmas tree! I wanted to write about this site earlier but have just added my own first available "gifts" for the site. While this is a very new site it looks promising and as with all ventures like this it needs support before it becomes successful. 

Testing the site was great as the interface was familiar and simple. I am waiting to see if I get any responses though: if you want to see my gifts then go here:

Check out my gift: Limited web design services and advice for good causes

http://www.giftflow.org/gift/182

OR

Photography prints for charity purposes (i.e auctions)
http://www.giftflow.org/gift/181

Hopefully some of you will give the site a go and if you have any talents or needs then you may just find something. Thanks for visiting "The Gift Economy"

Trading Gifts

World map showing high income in blue and lowest income in red. Image via Wikipedia

 Just to show this is not a "communist" blog, I wanted to discuss the problems when you do not have a robust trade economy, which, due to its size, requires that some form of currency is exchanged (as they always have been even with gold being the standard 'backer' of a currency until recently. The good news is trade means you should have a 'surplus' of goods under which a nation survives. So what do you trade? Commodities, manufactured goods, people (yes, has and is still done not to mention skilled workers) and even ideas. Trade means growth although globalisation does mean goods are purchased cheaply from countries that can mass produce. Consider the implications of what we build in our factories: cars/machinery, plastics, food and of course weapons. 

Double Edged Swords:

A nation's ability to produce goods means it is able to produce weapons. In both world wars civilian infrastructure was always directed towards the war effort. Of course this is the general dilemma facing developed countries with superior technology as they engage with developing nations.

Iranian techs have built an enormously powerful supercomputer from 216 AMD processors. The Linux-cluster machine has a 'theoretical peak performance of 860 gig-flops'. From Slashdot.org

 That's a lot of gig-flops, which are probably useful for calculations in certain weapon developments. Of course there are always products and services that can be misused. This is also a major problem in terms of international aid programs. While corruption is the main concern when developed countries give aid it encounters more problems with aid organisations being misused. It seems the best form of economic aid is to provide physical infrastructure which benefits local communities and provides a foundation for future growth and development. 

Give to create more givers:

It is hoped that continual improvements to third world nations and other developing nations helps them to a point where they are then giving what they can to nations in need. From this discussion you can see that many governments do participate within a 'gift economy' when it comes to economic and physical aid. This is assistance given without thought of repayment but without strong trade and manufacturing a nation is at risk of having nothing left to give.

-KJ

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Is Helping a 'Gift'?

Image via Wikipedia

When you consider definitions of words and even actions and interactions of people comparing 'help' and a 'gift' are shown to be a study into the dynamics of power. If you give a gift it would be something out of kindness but could also be a way of showing your wealth and perhaps intimidating the recipient. I am not saying this is always the case but someone who receives help from another or an organisation already admits a 'weakness' of a kind as they are the ones in need of assistance. People should (I hope) seek help when they need it but this is not the kind of power dynamic I am speaking about. The person who receives help will immediately in their mind think less of themselves, as if they have failed. This puts them in the weaker position but with help disguised as a 'gift' this blow to the self-esteem is muted somewhat by good social discourse.

Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others.  If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter which fork you use.  ~Emily Post

So in short answer to this post, yes, helping can be a gift. A longer answer depends on the intention of the gift and the empathy of the gift giver or the person offering assistance. Even today I was asked for directions to a post office, I gave the directions, quick thank you and off he went. Now, was I helping or are directions the 'gift' that has been given. I am of the opinion it is just helping and basic manners. Others may see it as an effort to go out of the way and that it is a gift. I would still disagree, but hey, we're all entitled to opinions. I am starting to sound a bit 'new age' but I am not really aiming this experiment and blog into anything of a belief. Perhaps the belief behind it is:

James 2:17   Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 

Biblical or not it is sound advice for anyone.  With this in mind I should post later on the link between gift economies and religion. I hope you have enjoyed this discussion and I hope to have more for all of you soon.

-KJ

First Step - The Art of Receiving Gifts

The age old question of "should I get the chicken or the pumpkin?" Image via Wikipedia

When thinking about a gift economy you must also consider the impact it has on gift recipients. The feelings that someone gets when they receive a gift are also positive. Everyone feels happy when they receive a gift except for young children that might have expected something better or different. So not only does the one giving a gift feel good about giving but the receiver feels good not only to receive the gift but to also know that someone is thinking about them. This also (undeniably) result in that person wanting to reciprocate. This is why many 'gift economies' turn into a gift exchange which is like bartering without any money involved. Essentially you would 'out-give' the other person. 

Personally I like giving gifts but am not as used to receiving them but there are individual differences especially with age. When you are younger gifts are exciting and usually mean toys. As you get older gifts can become more meaningful especially between long time friends or family. As we get to know each other we get to understand what other people enjoy and thus our art of giving improves and our art of receiving becomes ever more appreciative. As I continue to discuss this in my blog, I hope you can also check out Double Foot Productions page detailing a 'gift' for writers, artists and non-profit organisations. It is all still developing and thanks for any enquiries. 

-KJ

A Friend in Need's a Friend Indeed!

Coffee: the writer's friend! Image via Wikipedia

On the subject of a gift economy it is interesting to note that most friends operate on similar principles. When you give something to a friend you probably don't take out your notebook and write out what they owe you. It is like when you see two friends arguing over who will pay for lunch and one finally pays and refuses to accept money. Sure, these two friends will probably switch roles at a future lunch bit it is still something given without thought of reparations. If we expand this notion to families and circles of friends it becomes somewhat communal. Friends can eat out of your fridge, drink your coffee etc and not many people would mind. If you visit their house you can do the same. This is stepping into the realms of hospitality but you get my point.

Ideas Don't Change the World. People Do!

A Gift Giving ceremony. Image via Wikipedia

After starting this experiment I thought about the ideas that have changed the world for good and for evil. That is why I am happy this is not a new idea as 'gift economies' operate in our everyday interactions. Although just putting ideas out there seems to change very little. Marx and Engels put forth ideas and that mushroomed into Communist Russia. These types of upheavals will be unlikely to occur because of this blog! Although little things to make the world of difference. That is why (while having this idea) I had been setting up my new websites and thinking about what I could do with spare time and resources if the business was successful. So here you have it, I am giving away assistance with website design and probably more to demonstrate a gift economy.

Welcome to "The Gift Economy" An Experiment

Image via Wikipedia

A brief outline:

After starting an online business I realised that I could use what I know to help other people. It is a very basic principle where I am aiming to improve altruism or the skill of giving. I have available on my website Double Foot Productions a section called the Gift Economy which offers writers, artists and not for profit organisations free website design and promotion. While this sounds strange to have the focus of the business on non-paying customers it is the foundation of paying customers that will make this work. I have also started this blog with intentions of helping to spread this idea to other individuals and businesses.