ABSTRACT
Hacker culture is a gift culture, in which participants earn status and prestige. In a flourishing gift culture, exchanges are driven by implicit reputational dynamics. The first aim of a cultural hacking campaign is to create these dynamics among the members of the teams, with a view to catalysing continuing processes of sharing and exchange. Gift culture is the mise en scene in which hacker innovation comes to life. Agile development, lean startup method and design thinking flourish in the rich soil of a competitive gift culture, where everyone is competing to make a mighty contribution to the work and everyone derives an intrinsic reward from the effort. The chapter presents some collaborative games designed to encourage people to open up and share their gifts. The first game – the sharing circle – is a simple exercise for small to medium groups. The second game – the Open Space event – is a more elaborate exercise for larger groups.
