ABSTRACT
Automated reputation management appeals to institutions that are moving towards digital operation. Reputation management is a new way to motivate students and reward good work. Reputation can be seen as a currency of achievement. The blockchain and reputational currency might reduce education to a marketplace of knowledge. Some educational websites also measure and reward reputation. A new technology, the blockchain, is a digital system that can reliably store many kinds of educational item. Blockchain is the database for the Bitcoin currency, but the technology is more general. The Open University is experimenting with new educational services on existing blockchains. Exchange of reputation is happening in online personal services, such as eBay or Airbnb. The idea of mining and trading intellectual reputation may sound bizarre, but similar mechanisms form the basis of successful organizations such as Uber and Airbnb.
