Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

The Whuffie Bank: Reputation-Based Currency

The Whuffie Bank is a real-world non-profit startup that is dedicated to building a new currency based on reputation. According to their website, the "value of your Whuffie is "obtained from your online reputation by tracking your interactions with social networks and the feedback from your contacts."

The site just launched yesterday as part of the TechCrunch50, one of the top fifty new Internet companies as determined by the well-known site TechCrunch.


(The Whuffie Bank video)

When you enter your Facebook or Twitter name, you will see a graph describing your Whuffie Salary. Your friends and followers are also listed. Whuffie can be transferred between users either on the site or on Twitter, with special codes.

How is Whuffie calculated?

Our work consists on improving the calculation of whuffie to properly represent a value for reputation. The Whuffie Bank won't take into consideration popularity or influence, although these variables may help to increase the whuffie of a person. The algorithm currently considers these aspects:
1, Detects Public Endorsements — Each time a message you put on Twitter gets retweeted or a Facebook post gets liked by others, that's considered a positive endorsement for you.
2. Measures Level of Influence — A person that's constantly retweeting others will be spreading the impact of his influence among many people. On the other side, if a person retweets a message once in a while, that will have a bigger impact.
3. Considers Existing Reputation of Members — Being endorsed by a Whuffie-rich person will have a stronger impact than being endorsed by an average user.
4. Analyzes Content of Messages — A message with a link that gets retweeted usually it's because of the content in a website rather than the person sharing it in the first place. So when someone gets retweeted for something they exclusively said, that will have a bigger impact on the algorithm.

At this point, it's not clear whether or not your Whuffie "salary" will result in actual dollars, or other hard offline currency.

As The Whuffie Bank's site FAQ makes clear, the term whuffie was coined by Cory Doctorow in his 2003 novel Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.

Whuffie recaptured the true essence of money: in the old days, if you were broke but respected, you wouldn't starve; contrariwise, if you were rich and hated, no sum could buy you security and peace. By measuring the thing that money really represented — your personal capital with your friends and neighbors — you more accurately gauged your success.

Fans of sf Grandmaster Jack Vance also recognize the concept of strakh from his 1976 short story The Moon Moth.

Check your account at The Whuffie Bank; via TechCrunch.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/16/2009)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 4 )

Related News Stories - (" Culture ")

Humans Love Helping Other Species
'At the ringside opposite them a table had been removed to make room for a large transparent plastic capsule on wheels.' - Robert Heinlein, 1951.

AI-Powered Jesus Hologram Accepts Confessions
'The Padre's weightless voice floated reassuringly back to him.' Philip K. Dick, 1969.

Miss Alabama Beauty Contest Offers Different Standards
'...they moved with the ease of dandelion puffs.' - Jack Vance, 1952.

How Old Are Tesla Designs?
You be the judge.

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

Stargate $500 Billion Investment in Artificial Intelligence
'... an artificial intelligence equal to the human.'

Jetson Orin Nano Super 70 Just $249
'Rayno folded up the microterm and tucked it back inside his jumper.'

Nano-Chainmail 2D Mechanically Interlocked Polymer
'Nemourlon armor of reasonable weight resists penetration by most fragments and any bullet that is not both reasonably heavy and fairly high-velocity.'

Anker's SOLIX Solar Umbrella Portable Power
As predicted by science fiction thirty-five years ago!

Positioned Cybertrucks With Free Starlinks WiFi In LA
'Several thousand of them formed the positioning grid on the rubble pile.'

AI-THu Shapeshifting Transformer Home
'Its slack walls tightened, bulged, were crossed by ripples and waves of movement.'

Xiaomi Self-Driving Self-Balancing Scooter
'Norman... had never ridden any motorized device that lacked onboard steering and balance systems.'

Transparent 4K OLED Wireless TV From LG
You will note that HG Wells also figured out the aspect ratio of the future!

TSA 2 - Advanced Thermosensory Stimulator Is A Dune Pain Box
'As though a switch had been turned off, the pain stopped...'

Humans Love Helping Other Species
'At the ringside opposite them a table had been removed to make room for a large transparent plastic capsule on wheels.'

Organic Non-Planar 3D Printing
'It makes drawings in the air following drawings...'

Your Window For Being A Tesla Optimus Remote Operator May Be Closing
'... he realized that the moving thing inside was - of course - a robot.'

Waymo Autonomous Cab Hits Autonomous Delivery Robot
'Not since the time he rewired the delivery robot...'

Amazing Wheel Shapeshifting In Real Time
'Each spoke telescopes into sections.'

Drone With Face Recognition Could Hunt You
'The spotter descends, and we think it searches the vicinity, looking for the victim’s face...'

Jizai Arms 'Free Limbs' Wearable Cyborg Arms
'Guy named Otto Octavius winds up with eight limbs. Four mechanical arms welded right onto his body. What are the odds?'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.