Cory Doctorow announces that the reputation currency he imagined in his science-fiction book Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, has been implemented:
See the Whuffie’s for the Bitchun Society URL =

“Joseph Petviashvili is a fan of my novel Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom — he likes it so much that he’s created a software version of “Whuffie,” the reputation currency that forms the basis of the Bitchun Society I described in the book.

Bitchun.org runs on open source code (still in alpha release), creating a marketplace for trading and rewarding favors for your friends and like-minded strangers. It’s pretty amazing to have something I invented for a science fiction novel turned into running code!

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What’s the Bitchun Society and what’s whuffie?

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Whuffie is a high five, it’s that look of appreciation you give for a job well done, it’s a thumbs up. It’s your personal capital with your friends and neighbors. It’s whuffie! People who give out and receive whuffie are in the Bitchun Society. It was first mentioned in Cory Doctorow’s novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. What is the Bitchun Society for? Right now, being part of the Bitchun Society lets you find people who share your interests and can help you through the use of a special Skype bot we call the Bitchun Butler.”