Six Strange Things Worth Money Online
http://www.technologyreview.com/business/39823/?p1=BI
Influence: Whats a tweet worth? Nobody knows, but some people are cashing in.
Pictured here is $50 worth of merchandise that Julie Dance, a working mother who blogs under the name Angry Julie, purchased with a Dicks Sporting Goods gift card she received from Klout, a three-year-old startup that scores people from 1 to 100 according to their influence on social networks such as Twitter and Google+. Just what determines the scores isnt clear, but companies including Disney and Audi are paying Klout for the chance to send freebies and perks to influential social-media figures like Dance, who has 7,000 Twitter followers and a score of 59. Though she posted this photo online, she wasnt under any obligation to mention that gift or the other 11 perks she has received.
So far, theres no widely accepted formula for measuring online influence. For instance, one online estimator values Angry Julies Twitter account at $996.5, while another says it is worth $2,448. That would mean each of the blogger moms 32,800 tweets thus far is worth between 3 and 7 cents.
Pictured here is $50 worth of merchandise that Julie Dance, a working mother who blogs under the name Angry Julie, purchased with a Dicks Sporting Goods gift card she received from Klout, a three-year-old startup that scores people from 1 to 100 according to their influence on social networks such as Twitter and Google+. Just what determines the scores isnt clear, but companies including Disney and Audi are paying Klout for the chance to send freebies and perks to influential social-media figures like Dance, who has 7,000 Twitter followers and a score of 59. Though she posted this photo online, she wasnt under any obligation to mention that gift or the other 11 perks she has received.
Identity: Of the approximately seven billion people on the planet, only 2.4 billion are online. But the rest will be. That may explain why some parents are snapping up websites and e-mail addresses for their toddlers, or even picking unique names so that their child will have a unique Internet handle.