Exploring Niche Cultures: Open Source as a Gift Economy Open source culture is niche, weird, and full of its own rules and norms that many people are unaware of. Despite its size, it has a significant impact on society, especially with projects like Linux and Babel. The cultural angle often taken on open source is functioning as a gift economy, a concept commonly discussed in anthropology classes.
Speaker 1
Andjus, it’s like the most wonderful culture to explore, because it’s so niche and weird and culture and has so many of its own rules and norms, and that i think most normal people don’t Know about a so, yeso, i’ve just sort of stumbled into it as an incredibly interesting research project for a couple of months now.
Speaker 2
I mean, not so it is very nish, but then maybe it’s alsointeresting because it’s so impactful, right, in the rest of society.
Speaker 1
Yes, yes. That’s the ridiculous thing, is, e, if you asked normal people about it, they would assume it’s small. And then when you realize about lennox, you realize about babble even, right? Like running the whole of of compiling old jarva script that runs on the web at it gets a bit mind blowing. It’s so invisible. And in every mostly what i had stumbled across first, which i guess is, like the obvious cultural angle that a lot of people take on open source is is to point out the fact that it, in certain Ways, operates like a gift economy. Well, if we give a basic definition, this is one where people in open source will have heard this a thousand times, anthropology. Gift economies a thing we love to talk about. It’s like one of the favorite anthropological subjects thatwe bring out onof the a, ye, it’s one of those that get taught in, like anthropology one, o one, very early on.Complexity of Economic Systems in Open Source Communities Open source communities exhibit a combination of gift and market economies, rather than fitting into one specific archetype. Different projects within these communities can have varying economic systems, such as gift economies emphasizing social bonds through gift-giving and market economies focusing on fair monetary transactions. This blend of economic principles allows for compatibility and reciprocity within open source ecosystems.
Speaker 1
But really, there’s, you know, this, there’s myriad ways to intertwine those in different configurations. In a sense, like it’s not like we have only a gift conomy or only a market economy. A so that’s one thing i was, i was kind of curious whether open source people sort of thought that when they talk about gift economies, it’s as if open source is all a gift economy. Because the way i look at it, it’s, it’s very much a a mix of both market and gift in a way that’s very er compatible ard reciprocal with each other. Yegess i see what you mean wher. It’s like, it’s not just those three archetypes, but like the combination of those.
Speaker 2
And an not to get too complicated, but i guess maybe individual projects could be different, right in different communities, like, like, almost like a hierarchy of these things ore, Like, at different levels, like a programming language or a framework, or a individual library, those all might have different like economies, i suppose, yes.
Speaker 1
Cause cause gift, gift economy systems, it’s mostly about am the idea is, right, if i give you a gift, the point is not really the object moving from me to you. It’s more that it establishes a social bond between us. And that’s the important thing that we want to emphasize in the exchange. Whereas in a market economy, we really are, you know, we’re trying to make sure that we are paying the right amount of money, and the person selling it is trying to make sure they get the Right of money.Programming Power Shapes Internet Culture Programmers have immense cultural power to shape the internet and its tools based on their beliefs of what is valuable to society. The future of the internet may involve prioritizing actual social interactions over functional aspects, driven by the growing influence of open-source development. This cultural influence of programmers is significant but often goes unrecognized in the broader community, impacting the creation of apps and tools that align with their perception of societal value.
Speaker 1
We’re not playing them out yet, but it’s sort of like we’ve, we’ve said we want to go running every morning. Whether we will or not is still like weight, you know, to be determined, a sort of putting it pretty like asa goal. But very much. Not doing it yet. A tom, i don’t know. I’m really hopeful, like in the next, in a decade or whatever, of the internet, that we would find more ways to to preference that that actual social interaction element over like five Dollars for a teacher sort of functionality. O, how do you think we’ll get there? Well, a lot of this is is related to develop as an open source really, right? When you think about the power that programmers have in the world, and their ability to, like, to find the way that the inner net works and what tools do and don’t get built. Em ithink, this is what fascinates me mostly about looking programming from an anthropological point of view, is that the cultural power that programmes have is enormous. And yet that’s never spoken about in the community, right? Like, if you think of everyone who’s who’s building aps all the time, or building tools, ah, and they, of course, build tools that, you know, will be useful to them and they think will Be valuable society. So then it makes you think, all what they think is valuable to society is like the core belief that sort of becomes the engine for what gets built.Promoting Social Interaction in Internet Development In the future of the internet, there is a hope for prioritizing social interaction over monetary functionalities, focusing on open-source development. The cultural power of programmers in shaping the internet and building tools that align with their values significantly influences the evolution of technology. The prevalent focus on self-improvement tools built by programmers reflects their beliefs, yet it tends to overlook the diversity of societal values. There is a need to broaden the perspectives and priorities in internet development beyond numerical self-improvement tools.
Speaker 1
I’m really hopeful, like in the next, in a decade or whatever, of the internet, that we would find more ways to to preference that that actual social interaction element over like five Dollars for a teacher sort of functionality. O, how do you think we’ll get there? Well, a lot of this is is related to develop as an open source really, right? When you think about the power that programmers have in the world, and their ability to, like, to find the way that the inner net works and what tools do and don’t get built. Em ithink, this is what fascinates me mostly about looking programming from an anthropological point of view, is that the cultural power that programmes have is enormous. And yet that’s never spoken about in the community, right? Like, if you think of everyone who’s who’s building aps all the time, or building tools, ah, and they, of course, build tools that, you know, will be useful to them and they think will Be valuable society. So then it makes you think, all what they think is valuable to society is like the core belief that sort of becomes the engine for what gets built. Am, and so you see a lot of, you know, am sort ofa very quantitative, numerical self improvement tools go around a lot tells you that that something the programmes think is a good, valuable Thing, and not that it’s not, but that’s a very overly represented apt group. Like the idea that at lengt, we’re going to solve all our promised from some apt or something to do list apt specifically,Embracing Embodiment and Social Bonds in Design Innovation Design innovations should focus on incorporating embodiment and fostering social bonds rather than solely emphasizing screen-based interaction. It is important to address the disconnect between technology and human connection by considering these aspects as interconnected design challenges. By prioritizing the enhancement of embodiment and social bonds in technology development, a more inclusive and culturally diverse approach can lead to meaningful advancements in personal computing and engineering, contributing to a more collaborative and connected world.
Speaker 1
So we just think we can just make everything a screen and make people stare njust pipe with their hands, and that we don’t need to use the whole body. But i would hope that as things evolve in the coming decades, w will realize that’s obviously like not working for us. Em, and like yas two things to fix embodiment and social bonds not working right now. I feel like that i to have to be relatedis certainly one and the same, yes, thos, those sort of like big design problems that i do hope some, you know, a high minded think tank somewhere In silicon valley is taking seriously and working out in the next generation of like, the personal compute or the enginett or whatever it is. I mean, there’s also a sense where if the majority of silk valu thinks this way, then maybe the way out is not through selection offor act. I mean, to be honest, it’s probably not silkone ye ye a, as it’s yet in the idealistic world of the democratization, of teaching other people to programm, or from different cultures And think in other ways, and we’ll build different things with the tools we give them.
Speaker 2
I don’t know how i could over covers being at thas. I just read a book called our tools conviviality. It’s by sky ivan ilec.
