Recycling in Cyberspace No-stuff gifting by Roger Guttentag It should not come as a surprise that people accomplished by going to one of the Web’s books if you want to first try out this alter- like myself always feel somewhat conflicted premier shopping destinations like Amazon native book format. during that holiday gauntlet that starts or eBay and typing in “recycled” followed Watch some movies: The number of with Black Friday and ends somewhere af- by any other keyword into their search homes in the U.S. with high-speed broad- ter New Years Day (usually when the credit boxes. band service has reached a point where the card bills arrive). No, it’s not due to having However, aside from the environmen- Web streaming of feature-length first-run Scrooge-like impulses or latent Grinch- tal costs associated with packaging and movies is no longer unusual. The result is esque moods. It comes from working hard shipping, this is still very much in the vein that a company like Netflix, which origi- during the year on reducing the waste and of gifts as things you give. If we want to nally started as a mail-based DVD rental environmental impact stemming from reduce the material and wasteful inten- service, is now starting to offer streaming- our daily lives, and then watching all this sity of our holidays, perhaps we should only movie subscription services which I good work apparently being undone in a consider other forms of gifting that are less expect to be matched by other companies gigantic end-of-the-year geyser of consum- tangible, but hopefully just as satisfying to within the next year. I would not be erist excess. both the giver and the receiver. surprised if this results in the demise of Now, I am sure you have heard the DVD as a physical medium for movies impassioned hand-wringing many, many Some not-gifts and other types of entertainment products times before over how commercialized the within the next decade. The following are some “no-stuff” gift- holidays have become. However, it is not Play a few games: Perhaps you may ing suggestions (in no particular order) my intent to add my voice to that clamor. have noticed (or maybe not) that games for to consider. The sites listed at the end of Frankly, if you can afford it, holiday the PC have been disappearing from retail this column are there to provide examples gift-giving and all its attendant ceremo- store shelves. This has led some to believe of what is available on the Web either as a nies can be a lot of fun. And, of course, that gaming on these platforms is dying search tool or a potential gift source. there is more to the gifting impulse than out. Don’t you believe it. Like movies Listen to some good books: A lot of buying the gift. For various symbolic and and books, PC gaming has moved strongly media attention has been recently focused emotional reasons, the act of gifting can be into digital distribution with the result that on the emergence of new dedicated digital as (or even more) important to the giver some professionals in this industry believe book readers. However, while this has as it is the recipient. This helps to explain that retail box sales of computer games will been going on, there has been phenomenal why, even during difficult economic times, go extinct within the next five years. Some growth in the availability and quality of retail polling research reveal a desire by Web sites, like Direct2Drive and Steam audio books. The reason? They can be most people to maintain their gift spending (which I use) are devoted exclusively to played through any mobile device that levels from previous years. the digital distribution of games as well as can handle digital files such as iPods or provide supplemental services like provid- smartphones and often they are read by ing automatic updates and file backups for To buy, or not to people who specialize in doing audio book games you own through their sites. One performances that may require multiple buy (stuff) new gaming service, OnLive.com, promises (sometimes dozens or more) voices. They How about buying gifts that are made to deliver PC gaming without even the are especially appealing to people who partially, or totally, from recycled materi- need to own the computer hardware as are involved in long, repetitive tasks like als? That is certainly one viable option to long as you have a high definition TV and commuting, and who may prefer to hear consider and it has been made easier to do broadband services. a book rather than read it. While most through Web tools like Google’s Shopping Support local cultural organizations: audio books need to be purchased, I have search engine. Even if you’re not inclined The U.S. has an incredible network of included a link to a listing of Web sites to search, this kind of purchasing can be cultural resources that most of us perhaps from which you can download free audio 36 RR | December 2010 don’t know about or take full advantage of the resources they can offer. Giving a gift membership to a cultural orga- Web Address Directory nization can serve the dual purpose of Amazon http://www.amazon.com providing someone with experiences that they may very well enjoy while sup- Apple iTunes (Books, Movies and TV downloads) http://www.apple.com/itunes porting an important part of your local Audible http://www.audible.com community. If you are not familiar with Charity Navigator http://www.charitynavigator.org what cultural organizations are in your area, go to MuseumsUSA and plug in Direct2Drive (PC and Mac gaming services) http://www.direct2drive.com your ZIP code. The site will provide a eBay http://www.ebay.com map showing all museums and similar Free Audio Book Downloads http://audiobookdownloads.org/free institutions within your immediate area. Alternatively, you can use their museum Hulu (Movies and TV downloads) http://www.hulu.com search tool to locate a specific institution MuseumsUSA http://www.museumsusa.org within 24 categories such as arboretums, Netflix (Movies and TV downloads) http://www.netflix.com churches, historical societies or zoos. Do a good deed: You and your OnLive (PC and Mac gaming services ) http://www.onlive.com family may decide that you really have Steam (PC and Mac gaming services) http://store.steampowered.com all that you need and getting another thing or two is really not going to make you significantly happier. In that case, consider redirecting your gifting tions based on organizational efficiency and finances and overall mission. impulses toward a more philanthropic capacity for over 5,500 charitable orga- goal. If you are not sure who would be a nizations in the U.S. Each organization Roger M. Guttentag is a recycling and solid worthy recipient of your donations, you receives an overall rating of one-to-four waste consultant located in Harleysville, should consult Charity Navigator (CN). stars based on this evaluation approach as Pennsylvania. He can be contacted at (610) CN provides information and evalua- well as given a summary description of its 584-8836 or [email protected]. RR | December 2010 37.