One of my favourite presentations at South by South West was called Making Whuffie – Raising Social Capital in Online Communities, presented by Tara Hunt. According to Tara whuffie is social capital, connections (both strong and weak) and influence, amongst other things. (Ok, that’s the super short version… and probably doesn’t do her topic justice.) Whuffie is your reputation. It’s a score (that can go up and down) on your relationships and is the new order of connecting with your community. Her new book (The Whuffie Factor) is out on 21 April. I’ve preordered mine… and am chomping to get my hands on it and share it with my own community. A couple of question that Tara posed:
- Are your connections to your community strong or weak?
- Regardless how many friends you have on Facebook or Twitter… how connected are you to those people?
- If your whuffie score is high the recommendations you make will be seen as credible. How high is your whuffie score?
Some tips for making whuffie: • Creating whuffie takes time and building trust. • It involves listening (rather than broadcasting) • It includes taking feedback on board • Become a part of the community you serve (not as a voyeur, not to sell anyone anything and give them a reason to give a damn • Create amazing customer experiences • Embrace the chaos (SD: I love this one cause it challenges my need for order!!!) In the book she gives you great ways to embrace the chaos including this one… “Stop moving and look around you until you see everything clearly.” (this to me means Be Present!) • Find your higher purpose
Being whuffie-rich makes sense. Everyone wins. I am really looking forward to the book.Making Whuffie
View more presentations from Tara Hunt.
