Currently I have been reading "The Whuffie Factor" by Tara Hunt. From the first chapter "How to Be a Social Capitalist" I want to highlight a few sentences:

p. 2 People are on social networks to connect and build relationships. Relationships and connections over time lead to trust, which is the key to capital information.

p. 4 Whuffie is the residual outcome - the currency - of your reputation.

p. 5 Financial transactions are part of the market economy, whereas whuffie is part of the gift economy, where services are performed without need for direct payment.

p. 6 Market capital now flows from having high social capital.

p. 7 Market and social capital are converging more than many recognize. There may even come a day that social capital is seen as viable currency in the market economy.

So true. It is another way of describing the shift from Atoms to Bits.