Comments on: Karma-lization! The Pros & Cons…

By: AngelinaBellew

AngelinaBellew — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:57:20 +0000

The downside to this process is one that can be the most frustrating. No one can interpret ‘chemistry’ between two people on blind date uncensored any level except for the individuals themselves. Friends or family can make a guess based on who you have dated in the past, but there is no clear definition of what any one of us finds as far as the ultimate attraction.

By: Are Social Media Users Schizophrenic? « Thoughtpick Blog

Are Social Media Users Schizophrenic? « Thoughtpick Blog — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:47:15 +0000

[...] seems to be interested in almost everything on the Internet, so does rmuser! With karma of over 14,000, BrainBurger appears to be a well-rounded person whose interests expand and go [...]

By: FadiPick

FadiPick — Fri, 08 May 2009 23:34:51 +0000

hey autom, welcome to thoughtpick :). Actually those were Beirut's thoughts, my last post was about Ford Feista's social media campaign.

I see the karmic value very simple, just do good and you'll feel it instantly yourself. I think this works, even online :)

By: FadiPick

FadiPick — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:34:51 +0000

hey autom, welcome to thoughtpick :). Actually those were Beirut's thoughts, my last post was about Ford Feista's social media campaign.

I see the karmic value very simple, just do good and you'll feel it instantly yourself. I think this works, even online :)

By: Amer Kawar

Amer Kawar — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:54:50 +0000

Autom, thanks for the comment. I think that any open and transparent platform needs some sort of activity meter. Not to decide on behalf of the users who's good and who's bad – so to speak, but to show them what they can expect from this user. For example, a user with very low feedback count on eBay can be expected to commit fraud more than a user with a 2000+ positive feedback ranking. At the same time, this does not mean that the 2000+ fb user is always honest, but he's got the 2000+ feedbacks he collected over the last year at stake!

By the way, Beirut wrote this article. Fadi is cooking one for us as we speak :)

By: Amer Kawar

Amer Kawar — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:49:44 +0000

Great post, Beirut. I like the concept since I started noticing it on Slashdot a year ago. And, come to think of it, I think the good old forums such as 'PHP Bulletin Board' and similar projects had this, too. I mean each user had levels (junior, senior and so on), the number of posts he contributed with is shown on each post, member-since date is public, too. All this, plus the online reputation he built for himself can be considered Karma. When I surf a forum, I trust senior member's opinions and do not even read junior members ramblings, most of the time!

My quote of the day is: “Karma helps make social platforms more effective!”. :)

By: Autom

Autom — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:58:54 +0000

indeed, the Golden Rule is a longstanding axiom. Due to social media's open and often unmoderated environment, the transparent quality that is the effect (more than the driving force) of the open community exposes varying motivations and behaviours from users. My sense is that we must be careful not to interpret attempts at 'mapping out' behavioural patterns into a formulaic scheme that implies a measure of karmic value. Otherwise, as you pointed out, the measurement would be skewed. Perhaps the focus is to keep in mind that our intents and interactions are relative to our own sense of integrity and good will (or lack thereof). Thanks for giving this concept some thought, Fadi. Cheers! Autom

By: FadiPick

FadiPick — Thu, 07 May 2009 08:33:37 +0000

What goes around comes around :)

I think that is even clearer with the open communication of social media. The move you give, the more you get… the way you give, the way you get as well. A person with a longer time over a social network would sure be noticed more than someone else who barely shows up. And a person who lends a helpful hand can be remembered more than someone who posts a useless comment.

It may not go 1-1, direct cause and effect, but sure it is out there… clear and effective… let us use it to our advantage, and be good people :P