Makin’ Whuffie
raising social capital in online
communities
by
tara ‘missrogue’ hunt

“web 2.0”

Facebook = >200Million users
Blogs = >150Million+ (+China’s 75M)
MySpace = >110Million users
Orkut = >75Million users
Twitter = >20 Million

Twitter = >26,000 followers
Facebook = >2,500 friends
Flickr = >1,400 friends
l’il ole me

scary

newsflash:
you can’t shut the internets down

#FAIL

but I was actually really curious
about this...

why were some companies being
received with

while others were being greeted
with

???

while I was pondering
this I picked up a book
by

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eschipul/437288525/

instead of $$

whuffie

=

social capital

=

reputation

connections
(both strong and weak)

influence

access to resources/talent/more
connections

favors added up
(reciprocity)

publicly known accomplishments

levels of trust

etc

in cory’s future

when you

http://www.flickr.com/photos/notic/86343146/

whuffie

score

high score

=

good reputation

trustworthy

listen to their advice

you can also buy stuff with your
whuffie

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brraveheart/2072543750/

but something sounded familiar to
me

it isn’t futuristic nor is it fictional

it’s here and now

it’s how we relate to one another

online communities

ping!

Friended!

ping!
hmmm...don’t know him well enough to transfer
trust...

A. ask for more info
B. ignore for now

so if

a quick

http://www.flickr.com/photos/notic/86343146/

would tell me

he’s not interested in
being my friend

he just wants something from me

without providing me any value

[reciprocity]

if you want to become an
influencer

someone who is whuffie rich

whose ideas spread

who is well-loved

you need to

credibility

it’s really as simple as that

but there’s a catch

didn’t happen overnight

it required a different perspective

alot of time and attention

it won’t cost you very much $$

and you’ll see results in real time

it involves

5 ways
to raise
whuffie

whuffie factor #1:
turn the
bullhorn
around

how marketing looked before the
internet

then came the competition

got louder

and louder

led to

main characteristic

impersonal

http://www.flickr.com/photos/b-tal/179390300/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tin-g/90143310/

which is why

people we trust

if you are still

you are totally missing

http://www.flickr.com/photos/striatic/133146861/

if you want to

http://www.flickr.com/photos/klapow/39693385/

sounds easy, but it isn’t

focus on individuals

understand the needs of a
community

that’s totally challenging

but if you don’t listen...and then
respond...the silence will

smack down your whuffie

8 tips for being a beacon for
constant feedback:

1. get advice from experts, but design for the needs
of the novice
2. respond to ALL feedback, even when you have to
say ‘no thanks’
3. don’t take negative feedback personally
4. give credit to those whose ideas you implement

some ways to give credit
• mention contributions in
blog posts, tweets and
• send a gift certificate or
special coupon code
videos
• schwag and schtuff
• name a after the or
product
feature
contributor (or let them
• upgrade their account
name it) • give the contributor
more responsibility
• send journalists their
way

5. point out and explain changes as you make
them
6. make small, continuous improvements
7. go out to find your feedback
8. ignore the haters

to really become

http://www.flickr.com/photos/klapow/39693385/

whuffie factor #2:
become part
of the
community
u serve

getting out

the question is

figure out

who is it that you serve?

what problem are you solving?

for whom?

knowing that makes it easier

then join them!

not as market research

not as a voyeur

not to sell anyone anything

if you join a community with the
wrong intentions

authenticity matters

what you need to figure out is

learn from that

integrate it into what you are
offering

lastly figure out

why would they give a damn?

seemingly infinite choice

what is the difference between

you need to be remarkable

because then

some people may even give a
damn.

and how does one achieve
remarkability?

whuffie factor #3:
create amazing
customer
experiences

truly amazing experiences lead to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lugolounge/6780004/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/teointarifa/490408075/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60852569@N00/242746787/

these types of feelings

but what leads to these feelings?

and can you design for them?

in a word: YES

automagicness

automagic:
a user experience so seamless
that it feels like magic just
occurred.

lilgrams.com

quicken for iphone

automagic demo

automagic automagic automagic
bank machine spending balance
finder update updater

tripit.com

#1. book my flight

#2. forward confirmation email
to plans@tripit.com

#3. they do some magic stuff
with that email

#4. voila! an itinerary!

bonus: iphone application

throwing sheep

throwing sheep:
fun, lightweight activities that
encourage user participation, but
don’t ‘do’ much else

examples of throwing sheep
• FB: poking • Pop Sugar: karma points
• FB: ‘I like this’ • Favouriting/starring
• Twitter: nudging • Virtual gifting
• Twitter: tweeting casual
stuff
• Maya’s Mom: kudos
• Dopplr: velocity metric

lighten up!

lighten up:
the ability to inject fun into the
most serious & professional
interactions

southwest airlines

flickr.com
http://flickr.com/photos/joshb/1408947023/

then there is the 404 error page...

apartmenthomeliving.com/404

d20srd.org/err

tinsanity.net/404

horsepigcow.com/404

email auto-responders

whuffie factor #4:
embrace the chaos

controlling the message?

heh

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wiseacre/153532248/

I know...it’s hard to embrace the
chaos...

long history

of fear

the fear mongers
• corporate espionage
• competition
• security
• litigation
• bad-mouthers
• mistrust

it’s on their shoulders
• Legal
• Public Relations/Corporate Communications
• IT

understand the need for security

but balance it with the need for
openness

there are many benefits to
openness and transparency

benefits of embracing the
chaos
• you’ll be better prepared for the unexpected
• you’ll join in the conversation that is already happening and
be welcomed for this move
• it will bring in the opportunity for collaboration
• it will make your ideas stronger
• it will create supporters you didn’t know you had

in the old days, you had one
chance to get the message just
right...

today, you have multiple conversations
and iterations to build that message
with your customers and audience.

Funny how we create our own rat traps in
our success. Once we're 'there' we can no
longer do the stuff that made us successful
in the 1st place.

...or can we?

we’re just one more step away
from

here is some food for thought

while money is part of the

market economy

whuffie is part of the

it acts kind of opposite

the more you give away, the more
whuffie you gain

whuffie is only valuable when it
circulates

and as it circulates, it

but we still need to make $$ to pay
the rent

so the question is...

what can you give away that won’t
leave you broke?

whuffie factor #5:
find ur higher
purpose

born out of passion?

serving a need?

fighting the good fight?

maybe that stuff doesn’t interest
you

maybe you just want to

does it mean that you will be
whuffie poor?

nah.

you just have to find a way to give
back to the community

the more you give, the more that
comes back

A couple-a gifts to give that won’t
leave you broke

“nerd values”
do well by doing good

“...compared check-writing and volunteering to
cutting the leaves and branches off a tree,
where the heart of the business and its ability
to impact the world positively is the tree itself.”
Gary Hirshberg, CEO, Stonyfield Farms

think customer-centrically

not customer-centric
• You do everything you can to
keep your customers on your
• You have a long list of customer
relations policies. Any exception
website. to those policies has to go up
the chain of command for
approval.
• You measure number of visitors
and time spent on your website
as whether you are successful. • You need to create multiple
instructional videos so that your
customers will understand how
• When budgets get tightened, you
make cutbacks in areas like
to use your product.
customer service, marketing,
support staff and design. • You demand social media
strategies that win over the
‘influencers’ to blog or tweet
• You are bothered by a customer
describing your product in their
about your product.
own words that doesn’t match
your brand.

customer-centric
• You send customers to other
websites.
• Your customers are doing things
with your product you never
dreamed and are posting videos.
• You measure how many people
refer their friends to you as
success.
• Influencers are adding you as
friends on social networks.
• When budgets get tightened, you
tighten operational costs.
• You work with your competitors
towards better customer
experiences for all.
• Your only customer service
policy is to do right by the
customer.
• You know you compete for your
customers’ attention with
everyone.

help others go further

spread love

akoha.com

• do well by doing good
• think customer-centrically
• help others go further
• spread love

whuffie

will grow over time

so combine all of the

• turn the bullhorn around
• become part of the community you serve
• create amazing experiences
• embrace the chaos
• find your higher purpose

you will become

whuffie rich

=

better word of mouth

repeat sales

customer loyalty

=

big, fat increase to your bottom line

which will help you buy stuff

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brraveheart/2072543750/

end.

In stores
now!
http://thewhuffiefactor.com

http://www.slideshare.net/missrogue

about those rockin’ images:
• Many are from iStockphoto.com (totally cool site)
• except as marked on the photo...
• a screenshot of my friendwheel: http://
apps.facebook.com/friendwheel
• and the logos & screengrabs I stole from all of the
respective sites...

some references
• Akoha.com http://www.akoha.com
• Total Insanity http://tinsanity.net
• Dell Idea Storm http://ideastorm.dell.com
• Cory’s site http://craphound.com
• Southpark Underpants Gnomes http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/
151040
• Best 404 pages: http://www.plinko.net/404/
• Creative Commons: http://www.creativecommons.org
• Friend Wheel: http://apps.facebook.com/friendwheel
• Great internet stats: http://pewinternet.org
• Whuffie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whuffie

Tara missrogue Hunt
author, The Whuffie Factor
horsepigcow@gmail.com
415.694.1951
twitter: missrogue
skype: tarahunt747
www.horsepigcow.com