Spange?! Double Your Money: Or How to Make It in Tough Economic Times Double Your Money
Spange! or Spanging?- a neologism for spare change and the process of axin for it.
To give or not to give your spare change. Its really simple and yes sometimes you feel that wow that person really did have a convincing story, but the fact of the matter is- if you give spare change to everybody that asks you for it- you could very well wind up broke yourself. Other times, however, “you may be bought in by economic forces behind communications technology transparent” as Ron Douglas- exemplifies in his Spange theory, Double Your Money.
Douglas- a graduate in New Media Design at the University at Buffalo argues, “television, the internet, etc., all function in the same way as a panhandler on the street asking for change. These technologies are however treated as benevolent even as they invade all of our most private lived experiences.” Double Your Money questions why the screen presence is so much more an acceptable way to gather capital than simply asking passer byes.
This is not to imply that I don’t cough it up every once in a while- like when I see young acrobatic/ break-dancers on the F train, for example. They earned it by entertaining me. Who knows where the police are? After all- panhandling is technically illegal. As is selling bootleg anything for that matter. Whatever- when I first moved to New York I was however a lot more generous than the son of a bitch I have become. For example, there was this one guy Griff that I used to see almost everyday. Griff was actually a pro however. He had one leg. The other one he said got blown off in like a war or something- so I would give him a dollar almost daily as I had to walk by him . One day he got me hook line and sinker when he asked me if he could borrow 5 dollars. So I figured sure- why not? After all- if he didn’t have it the next time I saw him- then I wouldn’t havve to ever give hime money again. So although the initial five dollar offset would be a way to come out a head. Of course I could have just stopped giving him money altogether, but hey- I guess I was just a big pussy at the time.
On a side note I guess I was just a really nice guy now that I think about it. For example- I bought a retarded guy dinner once. Hey New York is an impersonal place. Besides Robert (yeah- I took the time to learn his name) always asked me how I was doing- repeatedly. Anyway- when I brought him in the place- everyone was looking at me like- why are your bringing this fucking guy in here for. What’s wrong with you? The guy also made a complete mess, but thats OK- because I am now going to be able to go to Heaven someday.
Another time Robert asked me how I was doing and then told me it was his birfday. So I’m like oh really man- Holy Shit- its your birthday! and he’s like its my birfday. So I told him to stop by the bar that I was working at and I got him all (or I should say more) fucked up than he already was.
Oh yeah- that guy Griff- he did have the 5 bucks waiting for me the next time I saw him. He was a pro. He established his credibility and beat me at my own game. I had to finally move because I couldnt afford to live in the upper east side anymore. Moral of the story- fuck those people! Don’t give your money away!
Never the less, as Ron Douglas points out- you may be buying in to less obvious initiatives.
Double Your Money is an ongoing experiment in televisual presence. It explores the concerns brought up in Liveness by Ron Douglas.
“I appeared simultaneously in physical space and as a screen image. I realized later that using the internet I could spange the world, 24 hours a day. I used about 300ft of chord to run my camera to a television in public space.”
