It is important for members of the community, even those who are not considered influential, to be rewarded for their participation.  This doesn’t necessarily need to be monetary acknowledgment either. Instead, world class communities adopt the term “pixels vs. pennies” using badges and other digital tools to call out different participant levels.

Rewarding with pixels enforces a positive recognition of the individual and encourages them to validate that recognition with increased participation.  Secondly, other members can see a clear path to earn recognition and also will increase their participation.

One company that has demonstrated this in a world class fashion is GameInformer.com.  Gameinformer.com's community was also recognized with a prestigious Webby Award in 2010.

GameInformer.com is the digital publication of GameInformer, a monthly magazine published by GameStop. GameInformer.com is full of tips, reviews, and most importantly, perspectives from the avid gamers who participate there daily.

What makes GameInformer.com unique is that they make extensive use of reputation within the community to enable gamers to unlock new capabilities within the community as their reputation and trust level increases. In other words, GameInformer.com showcases and acknowledges members by recognizing their contributions and continuously promoting members contributions.

The reward for the participating community members? Validation, reputation, and credibility with their peers.  The reward for GameInformer.com? A vibrant, active community where peers share feedback and GameInformer gets a wealth of unique and relevant content.

You can learn more in our World Class Communities: The Characteristics of Community Excellence white paper and in the on-demand copy of our January 26th webinar on building World Class Communities.