Ripeanu et. al. – “Gifting Technologies: A Bittorrent Case Study”

Ripeanu, Matei et. al. “Gifting Technologies:  A Bittorrent Case Study.” First Monday 11.11 (2006). 2/15/2010. Ripeanu et.al. set out to discuss how gifting economies work in sharing communities operating bittorrent as their distribution platform.  To address the problem of freeriding in these bittorrent communities, the authors provide two options: 1) provide incentives as direct rewards to members for sharing resources or; 2) consider... Read More

Ng – Rational Sharing and Its Limits

Ng, Wai-Yin. “Rational Sharing and Its Limits.” First Monday 11.6 (2006). 5 June 2006. In this article Ng sketches an picture of sharing based economies in digital environments.  The author argues that sharing often increases the motivation by more sharing; conversely, if sharing declines, the willingness of other individuals in a share economy is also likely to decline; however, Ng asks where the line is between sharing to create more... Read More