@atlantarobin  The badges are based on interaction from what I understand. 

In answer to how many badges, points, etc.  I have no idea…I just can’t wait to get the “Super Ninja” badge

@dakotalocal Come to think of it, Tomb Raider would be a great badge for internet copy scrapers. Not quite at the Pirate level, but pretty close. OK, I don’t want to be Tomb Raider anymore. I’m much more at home with plain old Camper Carlisle!

So does anyone know what the real badge levels and names are?

@atlantarobin @hazelmclellan

I love the marketing concept behind the badges. My guess is they are designed to encourage us to interact with each other. Those who do more receive more points that result in badges.

It definitely provides a perceived value and level of credibility. And, for people whom that may be important it inspires us to stay active on the site.

It was a great idea whoever thought of it!

@atlantarobin Not sure, stay tuned to what they have in store for us and lets enjoy the ride, lol.

@atlantarobin

Regardless of their meaning the badges are fun.  Hopefully there will be some surprise popus here and there.  I guess we are all kids at heart.  I got all excited when I got my first mayorship on foursquare.    Cindy

I want a curmudgeon badge.

Pioneer. I’ve seen that badge on a couple of folks — not sure where it falls in the order of things.
@whitsonn

The post didn’t like my soft returns and ran it all together @stephaniefrank. Sorry it is difficult to read.

I’ve also seen Innovator and Firestarter. Along with Club Leader and maybe Moderator.

But I’m sure we could arrange to have a Curmudgeon badge for some like @bernsteincrisis.

Hey folks…

Here’s a hint.  The little red badge moves to the right as you go up in ranks.  Look at the leaderboard to see the higher ranks.

This SME Networking Club is a model for future upstart networking clubs!

@atlantarobin Thanks for the Scout Bump, I am giving you my special FireStarter Bump to you and to wish you a very successful and happy 2012!

I would like to wish everyone

@rlmosca are you referring to IRL meetings? I belong to one in Orange County (Social Media Mastermind Orange County SMMOC meetup group for those interested) and it has been a fabulous experience sharing, learning and working together on projects. I think Mike has met most of of regular members and I could see incorporating /blending the two for a valuable outcome.

@whitsonn I was talking about this club!

@deairby

Oh, Priceless Princess PaceSetter, you do jest so heartily! We follow faithfully your pace in your quest to lead all your humble servants to King Klub Leader Michael’s hidden Flag Pole, beyondst our present Princess’ knowingness. Oh, what mysteries await up the trail?

Remaining your ever so humble maid in waiting,

Robin Carlisle, Thy Friendly Firestarter

@atlantarobin  Thank you for saying… May you exceed all your greatest expectations in 2012, bringing you great joy, peace, prosperity, and a mysterious wee bit of grand adventure!

You have me all psyched up for my ” a mysterious wee bit of grand adventure!” Please my Friendly Firestarter reveal to me what this might be!,

@whitsonn

I noticed it changed somewhere around 5500 maybe? Do you remember, Dea?

@deairby

Well, let’s see here. Exactly one day and 15 hours ago, I wrote congrats to our fearless leader for getting promoted to Ace.

Well, yon Campers, our leader has turned into a Whiz! Congrats again! Was that at 6500, oh, magical Wizard Lady Behind the Curtain?

The Whiz? I’m feeling an old Michael Jackson song coming on, but there I go showing my age again…. Well, Rockin’ Robin’s still following you wherever you lead. So far, it’s been a funtime Thriller!

@atlantarobin
My badge keeps changing. As of today, it says I’m a Guide, whatever that means. I want to be an Ace like you! That sounds like more fun. 

@laurachristianson

I like keeping things interesting…  It will remain a mystery you all will have to solve

@warrenveach

I meant that I wished they’d post a list of what all the different badges are on that page, and what each one means and how many points are required to reach the pinnacle of success.

And “poof,” there came a rocket to blow all our little doors off, lol! Rick, me thinks we have met a rocket man who is having a serious yet mysterious wee bit of grand adventure of his own! WeeHa, watch out, yall! That rocket go boom-boom!

@deairby @dakotalocal @hazelmclellan @donpurdum @pamelasmalbein @cyndos @ndonelly @bernsteincrisis @whitsonn @stefaniefrank @naomitrower @mike-stelzner @glengorham @rlmosca @warrenveach @laurachristianson

@mike-stelzner I am working on tracking the mystical scale. It’s the market researcher in me If anyone knows the point range when they moved up the scale, please let me know. I have started a spreadsheet. I am only to Innovator and figure that I need 500 pts (less now) to achieve the next level. Note that I know all the lower rankings (Scout, Adventuerer, etc.). I’m looking for Innovator and above. Love Ace and The Whiz.

@atlantarobin @warrenveach @laurachristianson @donpurdum I can post what I have so far this week sometime if that’s what this topic would like. I don’t have it at the office.

@yvetteleectsm

Yvette,

That’s the mystery of the day! LOL

I believe @kc_kreativeis trying to track this now, but you can click on the profiles in the LeaderBoard area and when you get to their profile, click “Points” and you will see how many points they have at their current level.

Then you can compare that to your own points level and see where you points are coming from and what you can do to grow your point total.

@randithompson I totally defer to you, Randi, on how to attract and engage a wonderful discussion. You are the true master at this. Please note how Randi thoughtfully took the time to offer helpful comments and/or thoughts to so many contributors here. I noticed this in one of my first conversations on this site in his Don’t Spam Us forum, where he ran with each new thought, propelling it onward, and followed every twist and turn, always keeping things grounded, yet engaging. Thanks for being such a good mentor here to all of us, Randi.

@deairby  And congrats again to Dea Irby, head of our team-of-one advance party, for discovering yet another milestone on the trail ahead. After now accumulating more than 9,000 points on her journey, she has found a new badge has appeared on her camper uniform. Yes, folks, we now have a new Pundit leading our troop! Let’s all add Pundit MileMarker 9,000 to our Camper Club Maps now.

But, whew, Miss Dea! Sure looks like you’ve cut a pretty steep trail for us to follow now. I think I best sit down and catch my breath and take a sip from my canteen first! Think this little old lady will be needing a pony and an oxygen mask pretty soon!

@randithompson

Woopsy, Randi. I was, indeed, misled by the photo. Should have realized with the i on the end. Sorry, sweetie! Please forgive, lol!

And what the heckledoodles is going on with MY photo? I mean for some obviously unjust reason, I am now “leading” ahead of Miss Dea who is only 2,000 points AHEAD of me! Ahhhhhh, technology… what can you say. It seems poor Don has never taken his proper place, as he has been leading me for about a week now, but only saw him in the number two spot for less than a day. Geez!

Okey, dokey… somebody must have switched the rules and points on us again. All part of the intrigue, I suppose.

Happy Networking, Fellow Campers!
Robin Carlisle

@atlantarobin Robin, they said they wanted to make the leader board show the people with the highest points in the last 30 days – maybe that it is how it is arranged now? Dea has more total but you accumulated more in the last 30 days? Inquiring minds want to know!

@abigailgorton @deairby

Yes, Abigail, that appears to be what is happening. So Dea, for a blip in time, I must have been more “active” than you, though I find that hard to believe.

So there are now two point systems. One we can see and monitor — the points we earn toward our camper badges, the cummulative points we’ve earned and can measure and compare to our fellow members.

Then there’s the new system of points, earned secretly, with no tally visible to any of us and no visible beginning or end in which to earn a place on the LeaderBoard. I just hunted down the January 17th announcement of the formal change they posted in Kristi’s “Getting Started” guide, though it was discussed a few weeks back in private without input from the membership. I’m OK with the change on one level, but we’re not being told which points count and when the dates on which they begin and end.

I would hope only forum creation and forum postings are counting in this new “game” or else older members will be at a great disadvantage if they worked hard to “friend” new members early on.

And I do hope they find a way to reveal the “points” being earned for the LeaderBoard as now we’re all just left to guess. In the past when mistakes were made in point tallies, we learned that all mistakes must be fixed by hand, so I think it’s important to make these points visible to all. I believed that was what would happen, but apparently not so far.

Hope they fix this omission. I would have loved to know why I was in the top spot for a while and the points it took to be there. I’m quite sure others would like to know, too. Since Dea was right, I was on a working vacation for almost a week, I’d be interested to know just how I got to be there when I went inactive for a while.

All just part of the camper point intrigue, fer sher!

Robin Carlisle

The entire point system mystery is quite intriguing and definately a mystery worth solving. I ‘d like to pick up this thread and see where the guess work has progressed to. Wouldn’t it be something if we are all secretly writing a mystery fantasy novel?

Just got a note from Mike Stelzner in another Forum regarding the point system, some bug cures in the Beta stage, and some helpful advice. At the risk of getting dinged for having duplicate content here, please Mr. Moderator, this really will be helpful to those in this forum and is not meant to game any system. I’m just posting this because the likelihood of anyone here seeing Mike’s post in another location is pretty low. So bare with me on this, okey dokey? Here’s Mike’s helpful info:

The system is working and all bugs for points have been ironed out.

A few things to note:

• 10 points for replying in a club forum (applies only to first reply. For example: …[you] will not receive any points for [your second or subsequent] post).

Also, if you started the forum thread, you won’t get points for replying within the thread.

The leaderboard: Robin, I communicated to you via private messages and also posted it in the news section on the main page the following: The leaderboard now ONLY looks at activity over the last 30 days, not total points.

And to your point in your reply, yes we MUST adjust things as we go along.  We are in beta and nothing is set in stone.  As with any service we want to optimize this as we go along to ensure the best possible experience for all.

In addition, we are removing people from the leaderboard who are clearly gaming the system.  In fact, I just did that yesterday.

At the end of the day, this is a networking club, not a game.  We want people here first and foremost who want to partake in great discussion, help others, network and learn.  Anyone who cares more about the leaderboard than what I said in my prior sentence really ought to ask themselves why they are here.

Okey, dokey! I appreciate Mike’s comments and hope they’re helpful to you, too. And he’s right — at the end of the day this is an AWESOME discussion, learning, and networking club, not a game.

And while the point system is a fun little distraction with an ongoing bit of intrigue egging us all onward, I know that I am definitely here because of the vast learning and sharing opportunities these Clubs offer me, as well as the overwhelming sense of gratitude for having found a place with so much expertise represented here.

Every day, I am completely in awe of the system Mike Stelzner and his team at SME has brought together in this one little site. Doubly in awe over the fact this site is free! Thanks to everyone on the SME team for bringing all of us here and gifting us with so much value in one place right from the beginning.

That is truly the treasure at the end of this little scouting adventure. And that true prize was here for us the moment we arrived.

Now, onward ho, fellow campters! There’s much networking on our and travels ahead! See you on the trail!

Robin Carlisle

@dakotalocal @hazelmclellan @donpurdum @cyndos @ndonelly @bernsteincrisis @whitsonn @stefaniefrank @naomitrower @mike-stelzner @rlmosca @valeriejoydeveza @deairby @laurachristianson @warrenveach @yvetteleectsm @kc_kreative @randithompson @durkbarton

@atlantarobin Whew, nowthat the whirlwind has died down I can post an impression. To my perception we have hitched our wagon onto a star of insight and encouragement. I, for one, am having enormous fun while learning to thread the waters of suggestion and conjecture. I am at once overwhelmed by facility presented and encouraged by similar. I intend to carry on the trekking on this adventure, to a complacent plateau, happy camping to all.

Hey, yall, I’m thinking about Miss Dea’s next badge.

Watcha think?

Grand Poobah? Keeper of the Rock? Tomb Raider? Big Tent Potentate? Foremost Fungus Amongest? (That one came from a real college office a friend once had in our theatre group, no kidding).

So what do yall think our future unkown badges will be? Any best guesses? Any outrageous ones?

So Miss Dea, what do you think your next badge will be?

Tag! You’re it!

Robin Carlisle

@deairby congrats!

@deairby    Hey, dear Leader, all the treasures I love are at least a wee bit autistic, so I know you must be a wee bit, too! And let be the first to tell you what an oh so good thing that really can be! Cool, now you’re trekking in genius savant territory!

@kc_kreative   And Miss Kristy, that would be so great. Yes, please do post your Camper Badge Chart here! That would be such a help to us all!

Robin Carlisle

They are listed in another thread: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/clubs/small-business/forum/topic/funknowledge-time-can-you-list-all-the-membranks-of-sme-club/ @atlantarobin

WOW! Just catching up on this thread.  I seem to have missed out on a lot of intrigue!! I didn’t realize just how important those badges are to some people. Anyone can “game” any point-based system with a little bit of effort. Just ask a bunch of self-serving questions and viola, you’re grandmaster. Now what?

I hope we’re not losing sight of the overriding networking objective of these clubs. After all these badges have little value outside the confines of this platform.

@mike-stelzner Okay, love the names and the red bar, but still hoping y’all share with us a levels list w/ name for each and what point total is the break for each level… Inquiring minds want to know (like me, who comes from the thermometer graph generation and loves to see the needle move) Plus, easier to explain incentives to clients we want to direct here!
Not that the mystery hasn’t been fun and engaging… but folks are spending a lot of time looking and not working, lol…

Sigh

and now at 18500, we have Exemplar @kc_kreative

Congrats Dea! 

No one deserves it like you do. ;D

@warrenveach nice! Go ahead, life is a journey!

the air IS thin, Miss Robin, see for yourself and join me! @atlantarobin 

love it, Warren, I mean Master Warren  @warrenveach

Aaaaaahhhh, I love to listen to a good soothsayer… I mean SeussSayer.

@jasonwiser

@supereb i figured at the very least we could all like, share, +1, and tweet @deairby cookbook, but I could not find it. Dea, Get a link on your blog so we can help you get the word out! 

blush, blush, blush @supereb @atlantarobin @jasonwiser I do need to add a link for the cookbook. Thanks for the props, EB

@deairby @supereb

Yall reminded me that I have been a poor wayward friend and fan here. Forgive me, Miss Dea. I went straight back to your site, commented on your “passons” and quest for focus, and signed up for your wonderful blog.

Ahhhhh, I feel awe betta now! My dear friend, Ima gonna miss you!

Robin Carlisle

way cool, Jason, thanks @jasonwiser Robin and I had the privilege of meeting IN PERSON for lunch (we live about 40 minutes apart, met here on SME) but I’m moving to North Carolina

congrats on your sageness!! @supereb