Beginnings of the Reputation Economy

The formal reputation networks that exist AF arose organically from the informal social media developed through the 21st century. An early barrier to interacting with strangers online—particularly when engaging in financial transactions—was not knowing if the person you were dealing with was reliable. Primitive reputation scores were the first solution, enabling buyers to rate sellers. These systems rapidly spread to social networks, discussion forums, and filesharing sites, as a way of v...