AOL has successfully locked some 10 million people into its proprietary software which allows them an unprecedented level of control over what people see or not see, thus setting up handy target groups. But of course, it's not just Linux that seems to defy conventional wisdom. This is not a gift economy, this is social life, plain and pure, even on-line. But there are strange new economic activities on-line that do not involve the exchange of money. What makes them possible is not only the Internet but social institutions of all shapes and forms which support them.
Universities are, of course, the classic point in case.
An academic usually does not get paid by the number of words she writes. She seemingly gives away the products of her work. One definition of a low-tech gift economy might be artistic performance in a public gallery, where a reputation is earned from an audience and the critics. However, as public funds dwindle, this option is clearly not viable. While public funding has been unreachable for the vast majority, it will become even less accessible in the future.