Reputation Economy Conference

Posted on by scott

Thanks to all of you have sent me this:

yalerepecon.jpg

Yes, it’s a conference about reputation economies that took place back on December 8, at Yale University. Alas, I missed it, but the online description says:

Reputation, which plays a key role in almost any economic or social system, is a fundamental, but not well understood, aspect of online business transactions, peer production of information and knowledge, and exchanges within virtual social communities. Traditional modes of authentication, accreditation, reputation, and prior acquaintance with participants rely on the social norms of close-knit communities and the accountability of meeting face to face. Since these mechanisms usually do not apply to online environments, we have witnessed the development of alternative models for reputation management including third-party certificate authorities, peer-produced evaluations, ratings, stars, points, karma and others.

Click here for the rest.

The term “reputation economy” had been around a while when I started conceptualizing Extras. I have no idea when it first came into use. Cory Doctorow invents a reputation-based currency called whuffie in his 2003 book Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, and Howard L. Meyers mentions a similar system way back in 1971 in his story, “All Around the Universe.” And, of course, we’ve all seen websites like eBay, where sellers are ranked with feedback from all the people who’ve bought from them before. That’s a real-life reputation economy that’s been around since 1995.

Obviously, reputation is important to human beings. We want to know who to trust and who not to trust. Alas, whatever kind of reputation system we use—word of mouth, online, bathroom wall—there’s always someone willing and able to abuse it. Pointless celebrities dominate, news channels fabricate, banks collapse, and even best friends lie to us sometimes. (Sad for the world, but lucky for novelists; otherwise a lot of cool plot twists would disappear.)

But you guys know all this. You’re the first generation to grow up with the quasi-reputation economies that are Facebook, Myspace, and Google, all of which show us who has the most friends, links, or comments.

So how does reputation work where you go to school? (Or to work? Or to network?) Who do you trust? Who trusts you? And what’s the worst failure of your local reputation economy that you’ve ever seen?

629 thoughts on “Reputation Economy Conference”

  2. Oh, and, Serafina Zane—FOURTH MIDNIGHTERS DARKLING WEREWOLVES!! you are sooo spoiling the book for Bran-la!!!

  3. And your so lucky, its cold out it just NEVER snows! I mean like it snows in Hawaii but never here! 🙁

  4. Cross my heart and Hope to Spy wasn’t as good as the first one but it was still really good. She’s almost done writing a third one. She said she hopes to write six books in the series, up to Cammie’s senior year.

    And they’re also making a movie.

    You DO want to know what I did? okay then. Link for you: http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Thundercats&diff=234082&oldid=127255

    that’s all I did. I was blocked for that. Isn’t that ridiculous? It was one little edit. I still to this day don’t know why I was blocked. And I never will. But I created a different acccount at my grandparent’s house. Next time I go ove there I’ll probably vandalize. or maybe just edit happily with the right-wing idiots there. But probably vandalize.

  6. sorry. i know i’m a horrible person. just what i thought. i mean, i didn’t think Eclipse was a big mystery or anything. seemed obviuos to me.

    snows here all the time, in winter at least.

    well, i thought the first one was just okay, but this looks good.
    heard about other ones coming too, and would probably make a good movie.

    i dunno, i guess they could kind of get annoyed at that. like, i guess they thought it was an opinion thing, whichi it sort of was. still not enough to ban you.
    i do suggest you go vandalize there or edit in liberal idealology to freak them out. just because.

  10. lol. Probably is featured every day. I want to see “Michael Moore” featured.

    If I was blocked for an opinion, they should block themselves. “Wikipedia has a strong liberal bias,” according to the trustworthy encyclopedia. isn’t that right?

  14. lol. Conservapedia is…ahem.

    I shall not say bad words. Not here.

    Strong liberal bias means they don’t quote Bible verses. It means their articles don’t have a conservative opinion. It means they don’t say all Liberals are atheists who support all things evil.

    And means they don’t use fox news for all their references. 😛

  15. Conservapedia, conservapedia. your crazy is almost funny. almost. but…not. borderline scary.
    like how i no longer trust the history channel after they started out a show with a guy saying “you know, Democrats don’t believe in Hell”

    seriously, 563 comments is pretty crazy. but you know, maybe Scott-la is like, spending time with family or doing all those holiday things we should be if we weren’t all wasting time.
    or maybe he’s writing. 😀

  16. Have history channel, I don’t.

    I want Scott to have family time, but I really really really can’t wait until Leviathan is out! Reserved Peeps and The Last Day at my library, I did. In, they are. But closed, library is. argh.

  17. Cool. I just noticed I now have 13 submissions at Fanlib! Anti-darkling! Now my crappy submissions won’t get eaten by the cyber-darklings. 😛 I wouldn’t really mind if they did, tho. No big deal. they suck anyway.

  19. ok, what with all the talk on conservapedia, i figured i’d go and give it a once-over.

    well, that was good for a few laughs! like seriously, “Jesus Christ is the only Son of God who, in the fullness of time, was sent by God the Father to be the propitiation for our sins and to ransom us from death.”
    i’m loving the use of the words “our” and “us” in there. like what the heck? can’t you use like “christians” or something? of course it’s edited by people, not by like the creators of encyclopedia americana, but still.

    of course i would take offense to this lol, but still. like making “jesus christ” your featured article? i thought it was just an encylopedia!

  20. kim–i’m wanna see that movie! don’t tell me any spoilers por favor!

    and can you give the link for your blog or whereever you have your story up? b/c i wanna read it but idk where it is…

  21. ”

    At the stroke of Midnight, when Aya and Fizz were watching Nana Love cut her giant pink cake. Aya was tense with excitement, already planning what her new story was going to say. Then the big moment arrived. Nana picked up the knife covered with jewels and gently slid it into the cake. With a giant splat, the cake exploded as everything turned blue. Aya looked around and saw globs of pink cake suspended in midair. She also saw all of the other people at the party frozen stiff. “Hello?” she called hesitantly. Then she heard a crashing and howling through the trees. Then a huge gray wolf ran into the courtyard. As it came closer to her it transformed into Tally Youngblood. “Aya-la? I heard you yell? Where are you?” What is she saying, thought Aya, I am right here. She looked down at her hand, but she could not see it! “I’m over here Tally-wa,” she called. “Oh, there you are. I see you now,” she said. “What do you make of this, Tally-wa?” asked Aya. “I don’t know,” answered Tally. Just then three people came floating into the courtyard. “Welcome,” one of them said, “my name is Calypso Jenell Greene and this is Midnight.”

    ”

    THAT is her story.

  22. gracias! hey, i saw that on serafina’s blog! but i wasn’t sure if maybe there was some other story i should know about…lol.

    to clarify: was NOT dissing christians in earlier comment, was dissing whoever wrote the “trustworthy encyclopedia” article writer. if i was, i’d be insulting like 90% of my friends. b/c it kinda sounds like i am, but i’m not. so yeah.

    but i mean, it’s sort of a rule of thumb anyway–not using the first person.
    one is not permitted to use it in one’s essays for school.

  23. and yes, kim, i love your story! it’s really creative…like crossing the two series, i mean. and right at the moment nana cut the cake! i’d love to see the faces of everyone standing around when it exploded…lol.

  25. ha you’re right amy~la! i saw that for the first time a couple weeks ago…my friend like spazzed when she found out i’d never seen it and forced me into a movie night at her house so we could watch it. she’s obsessed with johnny depp and orlando bloom.
    but mostly johnny depp.

    and btw, i hearts the little squiggly symbol! i use it in my email signature whenever i send anything to people

  27. fawesomeness Allie-wa!!! grammar makes it somewhat confuzzling but i like it!

    i have absolutely no idea what you guys are talking about…

    -Lizzy-wa OUT! 😕

  30. oooooohhhhh…never mind. sorry Allie-wa. i take my praise back. now i give it to Kim-la!!!!!!!!!! sorry. i thot Allie-wa rote it. hehe. it was FAWESOME!

    -Lizzy-wa OUT! :mrgreen:

  31. Yeah. I was afraid I would confuse/confuzzle (don’t say anything. It’s too cool for you) people. Oh, well. You got it. 🙂

  32. my foot itches… i was telling my mom that if i was ever an extra in a movie, i am wearing my im an extra shirt. (even if the movie takes place in the future, past, present, hogwarts, space, or anywhere)

  33. my foot still itches. scott needs to post again. im hungry. sorry, this comment was random! there is this one barney song that if played backwards it says sex is fun. my foot still itches.

  35. hi
    i know i have not been posting like for the past month
    or 2
    many things have been going on
    for ex.
    finals,holidays,drama,ext.
    my b-day was on the 18
    i got a ipod
    (shuffle it is pink)
    i went shopping today
    FUN ❗ ❗ 😛
    lots of new stuff

  37. Well, im just sitting here, in my (our?) chair. Its……..cool……….i guess? I just came back from dinner, we ate food, real food not plastic (we had that last night). We were gonna have left overs but you know how that goes (*barf*).

    So i read some more of New Moon. It was fawesome. It was crazy and enjoyably addictive. I still like Edward better.

    Why do i feel to ‘mellow’ as i type this? Ew, now i feel all ‘hippyish’. Well, at least i used my little buddies. The air quotes (‘ ‘).

  39. I went shopping to and i saw someone i knew (embarrassing). i hate seeing people i know. It (for 1) freaks me out when they yell my name halfway across my mall (it is not small). (2) its just weird, i mean, hello, im not in school, dont ruin my outside reputation (HA! Had to laugh at that one). (3) There were GUYS near by and i looked stupid flinging my hand at her as she yelled my name. (4, last one) I. Dont. Like. It. At. All.!

  40. i must object
    the person on the cover of blue noon
    is johnithin (spelt wrong once again)
    because the simbole is of an acrobat on his face not seer
    ]so i make my point

  41. ewwww, shuffle! The little things that don’t even have a screen right? That’s not worth $70. If you want a $70 mp3 player, get a sansa.

  48. i like the sansa…my friend has it and i fell in love with it…but i like my blue 2nd gen nano, and i don’t need an ipod video or anything with a higher capacity yet, so i’m certainly not gonna spend my part-time job minimum-wage earnings on something that isn’t necessary!

    but once i DO need more space, then it’s hello, video!

    lol :mrgreen: !

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