*Disclaimer: If sex is a sensitive topic you aren't interested in or easily get offended by, do not read this blog.
Although the gift economy has oddly revolutionized how our current economy works, monetary value widely depends on the relationship between the 'consumer' (whoever is infatuated into giving money) to the person they feel like deserve these funds. A good example of this behavior is OnlyFans, since although a small part of the money comes from the monthly subscriptions and a big chunk comes directly from tips and personalized requests that customers willingly drop $40-$120 dollars. But why do these consumers choose to drop this amount of money if they could easily go on a site for free?
According to a OnlyFans model who currently attends college at Texas State, she says "These requests are personalized, but getting to the point where they agree to spend any money on these requests always starts with building a relationship with the consumer. Many men on my page are lonely men who want to feel special, and I provide this service by doing whatever they want me to do. For a fee, of course". Her statement reflects back onto the gift economy, where the "gift" exchange can only be established after the character of the social relationship has already been established. These online relationships have increased tenfold with the increased use of social media where most of these models promote their pages (Mostly Twitter, due to Instagrams strict nudity guidelines).
To establish these sort of relationships, OnlyFans workers advise to treat their page as a user democracy by asking their subscribers what they want to see. This begins a social interaction between consumer and seller, but this is only step one to the venture. This is only the tip of the IceBerg for most ventures, since good X-rated pictures don't sell, communication sells. As Business Insider states, running a successful OnlyFans is as much about good communication as X-rated content. From a simple business perspective, if you can't communicate the product or offer a reason to purchase this sort of content. If this is the case, chances are you won't do good in this economy. After all OnlyFans as any business, focuses on Effective business communication since it is essential for success and growth [...] business communication is always goal oriented.
The reason why many businesses rely on Influencers is the same reason why OnlyFans is as successful as it is, the people who purchase the product have a sense of trust which makes the purchase much easier than if they were purchasing a subscription to a X-Rated site. Even though a professional site can provide more content than a consumer could ever need, it's the personalization of content that gives OnlyFans the edge over any other site. This personalization is what greatly shapes the Gift Economy. Prior to the introduction of personalized products into the American market, we relied on a 'Henry Ford' like production line for almost everything (For my Business folk, this is known as Mass Production) to a more diverse production of products that allowed small businesses gain a huge spot in the market due to its ability to focus on smaller, more personalized orders than their big market competitors.
If there is one concept that the American Economy has taken note of, it's the improvement of sales if the consumer gets what they want, how they want it. This is known as customization, and millennials, in particular, value customization when shopping. Customization first began with Nike and Adidas offering to design any kind of shoe to the consumers taste. This later transformed to personalization, which on the other hand caters to one specifics needs and wants of the consumer which is why many subscribers on OnlyFan pages feel cared about or feel some sort of allegiance to "Their queen" (Or king, depending on the model). With this direct form of communication between subscriber and creator, it's easy to understand why this relationship soon grows into the gift economy that many thrive on.
The gift economy was greatly impacted when actor Bella Thorne, famous from her Disney Show 'Shake it up', charged a mere $20 for what many believed what was going to be sensational X-Rated pictures of their childhood crush. To the disappointment of many, Bella Thorne posted said she would not be posting anything fully nude. More specifically, she said, “Nooooo I’m not doing nudity!!! <3.”. This soon proved to be costly to the more 'Common' OnlyFans worker, since OnlyFans posted a cap on tips due to the amount of refunds requested soon after the seeming betrayal many felt of not seeing what they thought they were paying for. Workers weren't getting the amount they used to, since the bridge between the worker and the 'gifts' was greatly diminished.
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