Poll...and Query

[wyld_dandelyon]

First the poll: [Poll #1592044]If, assuming that you had plenty of money and no urgent need to pay bills or put it in savings or the like, you answered the above questions differently, my query is simple:

Why?  

What factors led you to take one imaginary action or another in these situations?

Comments

[red-trillium.livejournal.com]

Even when I don't have a lot of money I'll drop a coin in a hat when I am at work. In general I'm not a dance person so I wouldn't tip there. Since funds are tight usually when I do drop a coin I want it to be something I've enjoyed & want to support. I have a 'performance artist' I try to tip regularly though, he stands on a box and does like a moving statue/robot when you tip he moves. :) I've tipped the guy who draws amazing pictures as well as the older "country folk" type couple who busk regularly. I can't tip everyone but try to when I have a spare coin or two.

I think online people are more shy about tipping sometimes because they don't want to be seen to be 'cheap' by only dropping a couple to few dollars in, especially when they're name goes in (Paypal) vs an anonymous coin drop.

A lot of people are also broke or can't afford to tip. For those who are in this position, I don't think they realise that even commenting or spreading the word is a kind of tipping that makes a difference to an artist. Getting the word out on the internet is crucial for anyone trying to make a couple bucks, especially an artist trying to get their words out in the public eye.

Also, I think there's a presumption that if something is on the internet then it's free and should always be the case. I think some people tend to devalue work just because it's online and not "real life", but they don't realise not everyone has the resources to become a famous published artist.

Also, one of my downsides is that my Paypal is only credit card funded. I would love to tip more often but (1) am never quite sure how much and (2) it goes on my credit card and I don't pay my balances off completely so I need to justify to myself that it's ok to do this once in awhile but try to balance it. When I cut my spending down on stuff then I include donations.

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

I suppose you could shoot the same amount toward your credit card, a mid-month payment, whenever you use paypal. But that's still two transactions, far from easy and convenient.

And I suspect "easy and convenient" is one of the big things lacking in online busking. Even though Paypal is a LOT easier and faster than the prior alternatives. But even for people who like Paypal, it isn't as easy as pulling the change out of your pocket and dropping it in a hat or guitar case.

[red-trillium.livejournal.com]

That's a good idea. I try to pay a little more than minimum but maybe I should try to hold a little out of my fortnightly "allowance" and put an extra $5NZ or so in at a time to the US account I pay my bills from so I have it available for donations on a regular basis.

And yes, I think the "easy and convenient", along with "anonymous" is what hinders many people in online busking.

Something interesting (and it would be interesting for some sociologist or someone to do a study and see the results): partly because I have more money now that when I lived in the US, but also partly because we have $1 and $2 coins, I'm more likely to tip at least $1 to $2 in a busker's hat than I am a smaller denomination. It does kind of depend what I have in my pocket, but if someone is out there honestly making a try and doing a decent job they get the gold, the homeless usually get the silver (but sometimes the gold too; not that I run around tossing change at everyone I see). I wonder if this stands up in other countries that have dollar-coin currency, if buskers tend to bring in more of the dollar coins than just the silver.