Is My Whuffie Showing?

I surely hope so! This week, we began reading The Whuffie Factor by Tara Hunt. This book is quite a refreshing change from the more text-book-oriented readings we have previously had. In The Whuffie Factor, Hunt talks about how using social networks, especially online, can help to build your social capital—known as whuffie—which is basically the culmination of all the relationships one has built over time in social networks.

To start off, I will go a little farther in depth about what whuffie is exactly.
In short, whuffie is basically your reputation. You cannot just have whuffie; it must be earned. Hunt gives a good example of how exactly whuffie works: in a social network that you are familiar with and well known in, like your own neighborhood, you probably have high whuffie. People there trust you, know you, and would be able to easily interact with you. When you move into another social network where you are unknown, your whuffie does not follow you; it must be reestablished. The people in these new networks must “ping,” or look into, your existing whuffie and you must work to build your own whuffie before meaningful relationships can be made.

I have experienced something similar to this in my own online excursions. A few years ago, my friend suggested that I join an online forum where people from around our home area, as well as areas all over the country, gather and talk about anything from current events to funny online videos (Vspotlounge, check it out). I joined the forum and was able to piggyback a little bit from my friend’s whuffie since he was a respected member there already, but I still had to work to gain the trust and respect of the rest of the community. I went from knowing only a few people on the site that I already knew in person, to meeting other members face-to-face.

There are three basic ways to build your whuffie: be nice, be networked, and be notable; and the more you do these things, the higher social capital you will receive. One thing that was of particular interest to me as a soon-to-be graduate is the fact that having this high whuffie can be very beneficial in the highly competitive job market. If I were to try to get a job, competing with many other candidates that have similar qualifications as I do, a high level of social capital is what would set me apart from the others and give me the advantage. Having a high level of whuffie would allow me to be recommended by others (be networked), have a list available of the good work that I have done (be notable), and have glowing reviews of my character, abilities, and likeability (be nice).

In a world where everyone has the ability to be online and have access to a huge audience, money has become less important when it comes to getting your message out. Instead of the “old days” of people only being able to reach a large audience if they had a lot of money to spend on advertising spots, people can simply use one (or multiple) of the many online tools available to send out their message for a very low cost. Therefore, a high level of whuffie is a very important asset to have. With so many people being able to put out their messages, only the ones that maintain a high level of trust will be able to bring in an audience.

As I write these blog posts, I first read our assigned chapters and take notes on them. As I am looking through the notes that I took on the first part of The Whuffie Factor, I noticed one line of my notes that really sums up what this reading has been all about. I wrote, “NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK” and I think that is the most important thing to take away from this reading. The more people you know, the more possibilities of networking and collaboration you have, and the better off you will be.

That’s all I have for this week. Be sure to check back next week when I talk about the second part of The Whuffie Factor. Who knows, maybe I’ll even throw in a new episode of The Chris Wagner Blog Show as an added treat.