Build a little Whuffie

Whuffie is the term used to describe Social Media Capital.

From Wikipedia:

Whuffie is the ephemeral, reputation -based currency of Cory Doctorow ’s science fiction novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom .

Image by LexnGer via Flickr

The term has since seen some adoption as a synonym for Social capital , including its use in the title of the Tara Hunt book The Whuffie Factor.

It’s a simple concept.  Do something for someone else and you get a little Whuffie.  Later on, should you need a little favor in return, you can call in that Whuffie personally or if you believe in the grander scheme of things – the Universe will provide that for you.

You can call it Whuffie, Karma, Brownie Points, Kudos, or just being good.  Some people are natural born Whuffie Givers , others have to be reminded from time to time and still others that are “Lifetime Members of the Whuffie Takers of Society ”.  We all know prime examples of each.

Whuffie building happens quietly with little or no fanfare.  There is no scoreboard, no points paying system.  It’s honest hard work.  Today is the start of the weekend and a prime time for you to go out and build a little Whuffie.  What can you do to build Whuffie?  Here’s a couple of ideas…

First Level Whuffie Building:

• Comment on a blog.  People love to know they are being read.
• Social Bookmark.  Digg their post, StumbleUpon , Technorati etc.
• “Like” something on Facebook .  Then take it one more step and comment on their status update.
• ReTweet a self promoting item of someone (theirs not yours). 5% to 10% of a tweetstream might / should be self promoting – this helps them tremendously.
• Follow Fridays – if you are not familiar read What is Follow Friday?

Second Level Whuffie Building:

• After leaving that comment on their blog head on over to Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin and share that link with your friends.
• Introduce two people on Twitter that you think should know each other.
• Like a particular product?  Write a post about it detailing what it is that you like and why you recommend others buy it.   This should go without saying but, No Hidden Agendas! <= Major Negative Whuffies!
• Find a cause and promote it.  Promote the poop out of it.  Blog it, Digg it, Facebook it, Tweet it and ReTweet it.

Third Level Whuffie Building:

• Create a Google Search / Alert or Twitter keyword search looking for something that you are an expert on. Then reach out and help those people you find, sharing your expertise.  For the tech minded that might be help with a snippet of code or designing a widget.
• Create something of value for someone else and then give it to them.  Whatever your passion, there’s something you do that is better than others.  I was in Downtown San Francisco the other day and noticed a homeless person with broken eyeglasses. How hard would it be if I was an optician to say, “Here, let me fix those for you .” So often we forget that something small and insignificant for us might be major and life changing for others.

I hope that gives you a better understanding of Whuffie and encourages you to go build a little Whuffie.  On a personal level I owe HUGE amounts of Whuffie to every single one of these people who have recommended me .

Warning: Blatant Self Promotion Area

Want a quick easy Whuffie?  Use the ReTweet button (top right of this post).  Want to earn a HUGE Wuffie?  Introduce me to the right person who will hire me!  http://areweconnected.com/2009/04/director-of-social-media/

Now that you know all there is to know about Whuffie it’s time to go out and make some of your own!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Get Your Whuffie Together (blogs.msdn.com)
• Twitter, Whuffie and Digital Feudalism (broadstuff.com)
• Makin Whuffie at WebVisions Portland 09 (slideshare.net)

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Tagged as: Cory Doctorow, Digg, Facebook, San Francisco, Social network, Tara Hunt, Twitter, Whuffie