Points: how value becomes rewards people can use

Collected, then used

Points are collected through activity and contributions: an honest review, a referral, a survey, a piece of content, a hand given to the community. The signals those actions give off are what the graph measures, so the people who make a community valuable are the people who collect its points.

Points are used on rewards: everyday discounts, free products and samples, free shipping, early access, experiences, partner rewards, or points given to a charity. The plain words for this are collect, unlock, claim and redeem.

The principles points follow

• No cash value. Points can't be exchanged for money. They are never income and never earnings, and nobody is paid in them.
• Collected, never bought. Points come from taking part, not from a purchase of points.
• One balance. A member has one balance, usable with every vendor, and every reward is priced in the same points.
• Prices in points. Each reward shows its price as points ("this reward = 500 points"), so nobody has to work out a conversion.
• Your points stay yours. Points stay in the member's own account.

Points across programmes

The 2002 loyalty filing describes how points from many programmes can be valued and exchanged. A clearing-house uses a "settlement point" to settle, convert, credit and debit points between accounts, regardless of the type of goods or services.^⁠[1] The conversion ratios are set by the participating programmes and by agreement between the filing's authorised issuer and its points bank,^⁠[1] and a custodian holds the assets that support the settlement points.^⁠[1]

ContentSignals takes from this the idea of a published conversion between programmes, so that a member's points can be used in more places. The filing also describes points used as assets for securities, or to secure financial or insurance services;^⁠[1] the model does not use points that way.

Where points will be used

swomibuzz.com

Rewards, in community. A separate platform, run by a separate company under its own terms, where vendors list products and services and members use SwomiBuzz Points. Not open yet.

cryptopoints.co

A concept site, run by MarkCrest, that explains a governed ledger that could one day carry points between programmes. It draws on the roles a 2002 filing names for a governed vehicle: a fund originator, a fund manager, a trustee, a custodian, and a transfer agent and asset registry.^⁠[2] Not open yet.

When either site opens, its own terms will govern how points work there. This page explains the model; it is not those terms.