When I teach my students about "public domain" and the idea that there are resources and values that exist outside the confines of capitalism and traditional economic theory, one of the things we explore are reputation systems in things like public gardens. While the gardens exist in the physical world, there is the intriguing study of reputation and trust in online venues. Amazon and eBay are of course the examples that pop into mind. What about news online, though? How should young writers and publishers approach the reputation and ranking issues in their work? Here is a research starting place. More Companies Pay Heed to Their 'Word of Mouse' Reputation

"Word of mouth is still important because it reaches people who may not be e-commerce shoppers yet," said Bill Curry, a spokesman for Amazon. "Word of mouse is important because on the Web you can reach so many more people beyond your circle of friends."