I think I'm extrapolating too much from this one case and you are reading it through your experience which I'm not sure is/was parallel. Would I be wrong to think that these kinds of funny money payments are less likely to work for lower income folks with families? I, perhaps wrongly, two pictures in my brain: one of people like my upwardly mobile or upper middle class friends (being supported in significant part by their parents and thereby being able to afford unpaid internships, unemployment, etc.) fooling around with life during their twenties or one member of a power couple taking their time to find the next cool/well-remunerated position while the other makes serious money and unemployment adds to the mix. I want everyone to be able to play around in their twenties (and thirties, and forties...) and I want everyone to be able to fall back and reassess without having their life collapse around them but I don't see how most of my first-to-college students could ever pull this stuff off, even though a number of them have the technical skills.
On Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 6:39 AM, shag carpet bomb <shag at cleandraws.com>wrote:
> At 10:56 AM 6/20/2010, Alan Rudy wrote:
>
>> So, the argument is that the avatar augmentations enhance the reputation
>> of
>> the game player and are going to lead to future opportunities for real
>> money?
>> I don't see the foodstamps or webvertizement things as equivalent, you
>> (presumably) bought real food or gained real repute with them... unless,
>> as
>> before, the cooler stuff for the woman's avatar are going to get her real
>> stuff or more real business...
>>
>
> good point. i'm guessing that these people have regular jobs. the virtual
> coin is earned simply to have fun. they were going to spend the money
> anyway. it reminds me of people who take second jobs selling avon so they
> can buy more avon.
>
> as for the rest, below, i didn't understand what you're talking about.
> class bound?
>
>
> I don't think Doug (and my) issue is that a person is living off of
>> unemployment insurance while working for play money of no material
>> utility,
>> though it may be that such a strategy (of doing a great deal for nothing
>> tangible or reputational - unless I'm wrong about this woman in
>> particular)
>> is so deeply class-bound. This is the sort of work and remuneration
>> simply
>> not available to the vast majority of those on or with creative access to
>> foodstamps, no?
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Jun 19, 2010 at 8:00 AM, shag carpet bomb <shag at cleandraws.com
>> >wrote:
>>
>> > At 07:45 AM 6/19/2010, Doug Henwood wrote:
>> >
>> > Wait a minute - we've got people working for play money and you think
>> >> there's something *good* about it?
>> >>
>> >> Doug
>> >>
>> >
>> > Isn't it the same thing as me once babysitting in exchange for someone's
>> > foodstamps? the money was extra money to me. she, always 'creative'
>> about
>> > her finances, had foodstamps to spare since she'd gotten 'paid' in
>> > foodstamps for some babysitting she'd done for someone.
>> >
>> > i mean, it's just the same as getting paid cash money. these folks were
>> > going to spend it on gaming anyway.
>> >
>> > i'm not saying it's right, good, true, or beautiful. but i don't see a
>> > whole lot of difference between that and, say, as a freelancer, creating
>> > someone's website in exchange for an advertisement placed on that web
>> site.
>> > Dude could have paid me cash money and i could have turned around and
>> paid
>> > him cash money for the ad placement. *shrug* Freelancers do this all the
>> > time. They provide services in exchange for the publicity they get from
>> an
>> > appearance for instance.
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > http://cleandraws.com
>> > Wear Clean Draws
>> > ('coz there's 5 million ways to kill a CEO)
>> >
>> >
>> > ___________________________________
>> > http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> *********************************************************
>> Alan P. Rudy
>> Dept. Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
>> Central Michigan University
>> 124 Anspach Hall
>> Mt Pleasant, MI 48858
>> 517-881-6319
>> ___________________________________
>> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>>
>
> --
> http://cleandraws.com
> Wear Clean Draws
> ('coz there's 5 million ways to kill a CEO)
>
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>
-- ********************************************************* Alan P. Rudy Dept. Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work Central Michigan University 124 Anspach Hall Mt Pleasant, MI 48858 517-881-6319