Internet begging, cyber-begging, e-begging or Internet panhandling is the online version of traditional

begging Begging (also panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public pla ...

, asking strangers for money to meet

basic needs The basic needs approach is one of the major approaches to the measurement of absolute poverty in developing countries globally. It works to define the absolute minimum resources necessary for long-term physical well-being, usually in terms of ...

such as

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is in ...

and shelter. Internet begging among strangers differs from street begging in that it can be practiced with relative anonymity, thereby eliminating or reducing the

shame Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion often associated with negative self-evaluation; motivation to quit; and feelings of pain, exposure, distrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness. Definition Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, d ...

and disgrace apparent of begging in public. Internet begging is also commonly done among acquaintances on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...

platforms, such as requests for donations from friends and family members to pay for normal educational expenses. A cause website is a cyber-begging site that presents a personal appeal for funds or help.

History

During the early days of the Internet, cyber-begging was evident in the form of personal advertisements for help on local

bulletin board systems A bulletin board system (BBS), also called computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user can perform functions such a ...

(BBS). As personal

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and W ...

s became more popular, individuals began advertising their needs using the features available through website authoring. Many

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise priva ...

s (ISPs) offered a free

homepage A home page (or homepage) is the main web page of a website. The term may also refer to the start page shown in a web browser when the application first opens. Usually, the home page is located at the root of the website's domain or subdomain. ...

along with the basic

dial-up Dial-up Internet access is a form of Internet access that uses the facilities of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to establish a connection to an Internet service provider (ISP) by dialing a telephone number on a conventional telepho ...

connection service to the Internet. For many people, this was an opportunity to create an inexpensive website to host and share their personal experience and need. As

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organizations began moving their fundraising efforts from

snail mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...

(postal mail) to the

World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web ...

, individuals began to create more elaborate forms of personal 'fundraising' by utilizing many of the same Internet techniques. During the late 1990s, as the Internet became more sophisticated, resources became available allowing any individual to create an attractive website without requiring the knowledge of

HTML The HyperText Markup Language or HTML is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and scripting languages such as JavaS ...

or other web authoring systems. These free-to-inexpensive

web hosting A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that hosts websites for clients, i.e. it offers the facilities required for them to create and maintain a site and makes it accessible on the World Wide Web. Companies providing we ...

services remain a constant on the Internet making it easy for the public to access, create and advertise an Internet begging website. Internet begging gained notoriety and momentum after June 2002 when Karyn Bosnak started SaveKaryn.com as an attempt to have the Internet public help pay her

credit card A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the ...

debt, which was in part due to her predilection for designer clothing and

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

. For Bosnak, the results led to traditional media attention, appearances on popular television programs and a book. Her website was probably the first Internet begging site to gain wide exposure and it became the example for many to follow. In October 2009, the ''Boston Globe'' carried a story on so-called cyberbegging, or Internet begging, which was reported to be a new trend worldwide.

Internet begging sites

With hundreds of Internet begging sites

on-line In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" o ...

, it has become common practice for web beggars to register and own the

domain name A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services and more. As ...

of their websites. Using free or inexpensive hosting services and specialized websites such as

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the be ...

, Internet begging websites ask the public for help with many needs including

breast augmentation Breast augmentation and augmentation mammoplasty is a cosmetic surgery technique using breast-implants and fat-graft mammoplasty techniques to increase the size, change the shape, and alter the texture of the breasts. Augmentation mammoplasty is ...

surgery,

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

treatments, new cars, preventing personal

homelessness Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

, and medical bills to suggest a few. Websites with names reflecting their needs directly or indirectly are panhandling for help with a variety of human needs and conditions, from deeply personal to very humorous. Although sometimes labelled as

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by cro ...

, asking for help to cover funeral expenses has been uptrending. Many 'cause websites' accept contributions via clickable

hyperlink In computing, a hyperlink, or simply a link, is a digital reference to data that the user can follow or be guided by clicking or tapping. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document. Hypertext is text w ...

s. Internet services like

PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers, and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper ...

and the Amazon.com Honor system offer free to inexpensive credit card and payment acceptance services making it easy for cyber-beggars to collect donations directly from their websites. Many of the Internet begging websites appear to be the result of an individual's legitimate desire for attention and help. However, a new trend is emerging in 'Mega' begging sites that are ostensibly offering would be Internet beggars help with the details of website design, hosting and advertising.Associated Press
"Site's ambition: the eBay of giving"
''San Jose Mercury News'', April 7, 2007. Retrieved: May 3, 2007 Internet begging websites are essentially as

transient ECHELON, originally a secret government code name, is a surveillance program (signals intelligence/SIGINT collection and analysis network) operated by the five signatory states to the UKUSA Security Agreement:Given the 5 dialects that us ...

as traditional off-line panhandlers with respect to territory and accessibility. Many Internet begging websites are not long lived.

References

{{reflist

External links

The Professional Panhandling Plague, ''City Journal,'' Summer 2008

Cyberbegging Takes Panhandling Online, ''NPR.org,'' December 2009

Panhandlers take their pleas to the Internet, ''News 2 WCBD-TV Charleston, SC,'' December 2009Is cyberbegging becoming a culture?
at ''The Guardian''

History

Internet begging sites

See also

References

External links