Social Currencies
A social currency is the reputation score an individual or entity acquires in a particular social network that credibly reflects their value in that network. (John H. Clippinger at http://onthecommons.org/node/723)
See also the related material on Reputation and Identity
Description
John H. Clippinger at http://onthecommons.org/node/723
"A social currency is the reputation score an individual or entity acquires in a particular social network that credibly reflects their value in that network. For example, like a monetary currency, the value of a social currency may be set by the demand that an individual in a given social network can command, as in some kind of supply and demand calculation. Yet the calculation may also reflect a more subtle calculation of value based upon peer ratings of performance that cannot be captured in measures of supply and demand.
Different social networks have their own social currencies reflecting their reputation and membership rules. Highly proficient members of these networks - those who know how to truck, barter and exchange - can accumulate their own form of social capital - i.e., favors, obligations, goodwill. In many cases, they can convert one social currency into currencies in other social networks. For example, success in sports is often convertible to success in politics, business and entertainment. Likewise, social currencies accumulated in a business network are generally convertible into the currencies of social standing and political credibility. The more open and diverse a society is, the greater possibility for social mobility - something rarely possible in closed, traditional societies.
Social currencies can play an important role in the ability of a society to navigate between chaos and order, and between innovation and stagnation. One of the enduring insights from evolutionary biology is that the more innovative and adaptive self-organizing networks are, the more able they are to straddle the poles of excessive order and excessive disorder. They can stay in this "sweet spot," and be are maximally responsive to the novelty of their environment." (http://onthecommons.org/node/723)
More Information
See the related material on Reputation and Identity