I think it's different. As I understand it, with favstar you can't actually give someone money. You can give them a trophy (or other virtual rewards) which you yourself buy with money. The key difference is that the system is still fundamentally about nothing more than status. You make content and receive thanks and status VS you make content and get paid for it. Innovations to the former system are far less likely to cause a big cultural shift than a switch to the latter system is.
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What about Favstar and its pro features? The service makes money of people's favourites, albeit less directly.
I think it's different. As I understand it, with favstar you can't actually give someone money. You can give them a trophy (or other virtual rewards) which you yourself buy with money. The key difference is that the system is still fundamentally about nothing more than status. You make content and receive thanks and status VS you make content and get paid for it. Innovations to the former system are far less likely to cause a big cultural shift than a switch to the latter system is.