A new study by the World Bank Group’s infoDev program shows that virtual online currencies and digital work now provide real income opportunities to poor and unskilled workers in developing countries.Goldfarming for bored Manhattan sophisticates and geeks at ANU is better than starving but we might wonder about the ultimate usefulness of proxy 'micro-tasking' for economic development.
infoDev is a global technology and innovation-led development finance program of the World Bank and IFC. The new study, Knowledge Map of the Virtual Economy, finds that more than 100,000 people in countries such as China and India earn a living through online games and websites disseminating micro-tasks.
Jobs in the virtual economy include micro-tasks like categorizing products in online shops, moderating content posted to social media sites, or even playing online games on behalf of wealthier players who are too busy to tend to their characters themselves. The study estimates that the market for such gaming-for-hire services was worth $3 billion in 2009, and it suggests that with suitable mobile technologies even the least-developed countries could benefit from this emerging virtual economy.
The Bank claims that
Some of the poorest people in the world are already connected to digital networks through their mobile phones. The study shows that there are real earning opportunities in the virtual economy that will become accessible as mobile technology develops. This could significantly boost local economies and support further development of digital infrastructure in regions such as Africa and southeast Asia.It does acknowledge some disquiet, stating that -
While the virtual economy unlocks a plethora of business opportunities, it should be noted that not all these activities are viewed positively. According to the infoDev study, certain business ventures and services offered may actually detract from the experience of other Internet users. For example, harvesting and selling online gaming currencies or mass clicking "Like" on corporate Facebook pages can create an unfair environment where legitimate game play and user opinion loses value and is represented inaccurately.Its response is an exhortation to be good -
“Entrepreneurs should focus on digital micro-work that benefits society. Examples include transcribing books, translating documents, and improving search-engine results,” said Dr. Vili LehdonvirtaQuite. In practice the binary peasants - for peasants many of them will be, rather than members of a politically engaged, self-conscious and vigorous binary proletariat - are more likely to be engaged in "unethical" practices such as "cherry-blossoming" in social network services, on search engines and presumably via spam. The toxic blossom is a neologism derived from the Japanese term for paid fans or spectators -
Since cherry blossoming involves users recommending brands or products for money, it decreases the information value of recommendation engines and rating systems. It may not be illegal, but it certainly goes against the intentions of the designers of the systems, and provides no added value to any of the other users. Thus, although cherry blossoming is in many ways similar to microwork, the crucial difference is that it is directed towards overcoming artificial as opposed to natural scarcities.
