What is the imporance of the "Influence Score"?

Maj Chris Nelson — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 12:17:25 -0500

More from a curiosity perspective...I see the ratings, Top 1%, Top 5%, Influence Score, Blue Ribbon.... I understand the terms, but am trying to see the relevance. One part of me says "higher the score, the more reputable the reply"....part of me says, "just because they speak, does not mean that they know what they are speaking of" (although reading through replies, there is a lot of really good info out there!). Part of me says "this is a way to see how active someone is in social networking".

Also curious if anyone has used this directly to land a job post-service, or helped them land a position in-service? Biggest reason I am curious about THIS aspect is that I am 2 years out from retirement and am starting to prep for this transition... I am connected to LinkedIn and have actually received 2-3 requests (cold calls) for me to apply for job positions.

Looking forward to reading this discussion!

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 9 at 2014 12:28 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 12:28:25 -0500

MAJ Nelson,

While I don't know what the score is officially intended to do, I don't believe it is particularly important. It appears to be intended as a kind of cumulative reward for total participation in the RP system that would tend to reward both the earliest adopters and most active participants. Some early participants have such high scores that later adopters will be unlikely to ever catch up with them. I believe the scores are informally intended to motivate participation by rewarding (and rarely punishing) active participation within reasonably socially acceptable limits. My opinion as a newcomer is score should be integrated over some reasonable time window so new users who might care about their score have a chance to catch up with the leaders. But, this presupposes users may be intended to treat RP as a competitive game where their scores may be optimized by strategy not necessarily for good. Personaly, I am not certain any scoring system that rewards any potentially strategic gaming behavior is a very good thing.

Warmest Regards, Sandy

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 9 at 2014 12:54 PM

SGM Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 12:54:08 -0500

To some the influence score is a game that they have to win. People start crazy discussion to get more votes and higher points.

The majority of members on here just communicate with their peers and cross talk. The more they offer advice and cross talk the higher their score. The biggest way to look at it is to see who is active on rally point and who isn't.

I could care less about my score but I care about helping others out with answering questions and offering advice as needed. I help Soldiers out all of the time and RallyPoint is no different. This forum allows me to interact with other across the world and some that are going through different situations.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 9 at 2014 1:03 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 13:03:00 -0500

Sir,

I think it shows how much and individual is willing to share with others.

Best case scenario, I get a good bullet on my eval if I break that 1%.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 9 at 2014 1:27 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 13:27:47 -0500

MAJ Nelson,

I am not certain with respect to facilitating employment opportunities. I know the RP website owners are very keen to generate revenue most likely from some organizations for presenting employment opportunities. However, I hesitate to post any job related information because I do not want to unintentionally incur any major fees.

For example, our friends at the Agency are recruiting officers with four year degrees and battlefield experience for five year contract positions with substantial benefits.

I am trying to help a Veteran Marine Rifleman Corporal with a wife and a baby on the way to find work in VIP Protection in Los Angeles rather than returning to active combat operations with a private contractor.

I believe RP would be a great place to recruit experienced nurses with major trauma and rehabilitation experience.

RP would also be a fabulous place for nationally and regionally accredited colleges and universities to recruit highly dedicated undergrad and grad students with solid government funding to continue their education.

What do others think about RP as a potential civilian recruitment source?

Warmest Regards, Sandy

p.s. As far as contracting and employment opportunities, I have found more helpful contacts on LinkedIn rather than FaceBook and RP. Facebook encourages posting of too many private personal details and inappropriate comments and photos. LinkedIn encourages posting more professionally relevant details and has numerous professional and employment related interest subgroups that are a fertile ground for recruitment. RP appears from the outside to be closed military interest site where civilian employers and recruiters with rare exception may feel unwanted, uninvited, and unwelcome. This may be because RP sees its niche an internal recruitment within the military. If RP wants to facilitate military to civilian employment transition this image must change.

Response by SSG Laureano Pabon made Feb 12 at 2014 10:17 PM

SSG Laureano Pabon — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 22:17:59 -0500

This is a great question Major N.

The Influence score to me is a reminder that when I come in, I get to see that a response I put was acknowledged, making me feel heard and not ignored.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 11 at 2015 10:17 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 22:17:35 -0400

Why, because we have an innate need to compete and like easy metrics. At least I resisted the urge to start a new thread on this same topic! There are a few ways to game your score at the beginning, but I think that previous posts had it right - there seem to be a lot of folks who try to stir the pot - maybe just to get points? All I know is that the website can't mind the number of hits it gets when be come up with new, annoying/attention getting topics.

Although I can't say that I'm completely innocent of trying to accumulate points, I do try to put out my perspective because there tends to be a lot of group-think in these circles and it bothers me. Do I like the instant gratification of points, yes I will admit it. My influence score is more a measure of how much my mind wanders at work, and how I like the sugar-rush of points. I don't think it should make my opinion any weightier.