Markets at Burning Man
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Markets at Burning Man
1–10 of 17 posts
Re: Markets at Burning Man
#2The line break between "Blow" and "Pop" made me think that this article was going in a totally different direction.
Re: Markets at Burning Man
#3[deleted]
Re: Markets at Burning Man
#4The line break between "Blow" and "Pop" made me think that this article was going in a totally different direction.
Whoever is downvoting you clearly didn't read the article. That was hilarious!
> My new friend then “gifted” this young girl a $300 ticket. She jumped with joy, we arrived at the Wal-Mart, and she thanked us both for the ride, jumped out, and gave us each a Blow
Pop
Re: Markets at Burning Man
#5The line break between "Blow" and "Pop" made me think that this article was going in a totally different direction.
Whoever is downvoting you clearly didn't read the article. That was hilarious! > My new friend then “gifted” this young girl a $300 ticket. She jumped with joy, we arrived at the Wal-Mart, and she thanked us both for the ride, jumped out, and gave us each a Blow Pop
I read it on both my blackberry and ubuntu/firefox with adblockplus. I saw no break other than a simple space between them.
Re: Markets at Burning Man
#6This post bothered me probably because going to Burning Man reinforced the side of me that wouldn't demand a free meal because of poor service.
Burning Man (at least for me) was a place where you would go with a big crazy project that you could never hope to accomplish. But somehow "the playa would provide" and people would come help you complete it. And "gifting" isn't about cheap trinkets or bartering. It's about giving your time and skills to people that could use it. I've helped repair an engine, build structures, painted a boat, clean up trash, and more. People have fed me, taken care of me while dehydrated, given me rides, bought my ticket, etc.
In some ways, it's helped me be more adventurous with creating a business. Sometimes you need to take that leap of faith that resources will show up.
I came back the first time and literally cried at seeing all of the trash barrels overflowing in my home town on garbage day. (EDIT: I live 2500 miles away.) I also spent months researching all sorts of things I was excited by as a boy. Lots of people go to Burning Man to "rage" and take lots of drugs and go wild. But there are lots of others that create things and share them with people that create things too.
Re: Markets at Burning Man
#7This post bothered me probably because going to Burning Man reinforced the side of me that wouldn't demand a free meal because of poor service. Burning Man (at least for me) was a place where you would go with a big crazy project that you could never hope to accomplish. But somehow "the playa would provide" and people would come help you complete it. And "gifting" isn't about cheap trinkets or bartering. It's about g…
let me be clear that i was being a bit ironic with the sushi comment...i, too, left the playa thinking in new ways. that gifting isn't about bartering at all was one of my biggest takeways. i was astounded and impressed by the generosity and creativity of the place and its participants.
Re: Markets at Burning Man
#8This post bothered me probably because going to Burning Man reinforced the side of me that wouldn't demand a free meal because of poor service. Burning Man (at least for me) was a place where you would go with a big crazy project that you could never hope to accomplish. But somehow "the playa would provide" and people would come help you complete it. And "gifting" isn't about cheap trinkets or bartering. It's about g…
Couldn't agree more. The day before I left I felt stupid for leaving with a start up no where near launch. Got in touch with my VC from the playa (camps with wifi rock!), his words were "Burn On!". Met some people who could be key on the playa, came back and all sorts of opportunities are springing up. Definitely agree with you on the leap of faith that resources will show up. Maybe it's just that we're more resourceful and willing to interact and take a chance on others?
Re: Markets at Burning Man
#9ESR wrote a little about gift economies in either The Cathedral and the Bazaar or one of its sequels, IIRC. I think the gist was that if resources are abundant, a person's status becomes determined more by what they give away than by what they own.
This doesn't sound quite the same, but similar. As one of the commenters points out, the economy is self-selecting, which helps.
Re: Markets at Burning Man
#10ESR wrote a little about gift economies in either The Cathedral and the Bazaar or one of its sequels, IIRC. I think the gist was that if resources are abundant, a person's status becomes determined more by what they give away than by what they own. This doesn't sound quite the same, but similar. As one of the commenters points out, the economy is self-selecting, which helps.
The funny thing is, resources are extremely limited once you're there - you only have what you brought with you. The difference between the start and end of the week is especially noticeable with quality things like good alcohol. I think it has more to do with 20 years of gifting culture, and the kind of people that attend.