A symbolic badge awarded by one community member to another for a post or other contribution

By signaling the value of a member's post to the community, they will be more motivated to continue to actively contribute to that community

Burtch et al. (2021) made use of Reddit's "Gold Award", a symbolic badge that Redditors can anonymously award each other, to test if receiving a peer award resulted in increased participation. Over two months in 2019, the researchers identified high quality posts across three creative writing subreddits and randomly gave Gold Awards to half. In the two weeks after receiving a Gold Award, Redditors were more likely to contribute additional posts in that subreddit compared to similar community members who did not receive a Gold Award. (Note: all effects we include are statistically significant, unless otherwise stated.) The effect was as large or larger for first time posters in the subreddit, and subsequent posts tended to be longer and of higher quality (i.e. with more upvotes). The researchers observed, however, that the effect appeared in the first week after receiving an award, wearing off by the second week.

This one field experiment offers strong evidence that receiving a peer award in a creative writing or similar community motivates further contributions, in particular for newcomers. That effect, however, may be short-lived. 

Smaller digital spaces are increasingly taking the place of large social media platforms, offering places where people can connect and find community around shared interests. Yet many of those spaces struggle to build and maintain community. Peer awards offer a possible way to foster connection and a sense of belonging that can lead to thriving communities.

The study above was conducted within creative writing communities. While we imagine the effects it sees may be mirrored in other creative communities as well as knowledge building communities (e.g. Wikipedia; see Thanks Button), it could have adverse effects in communities that discuss contentious issues. In such communities we would recommend either not integrating peer awards or modifying them so they specify the type of contributions that should be awarded (e.g. "thoughtful" posts; see Open-Minded Badge).

To be effective, peer awards should be seen as having special value – i.e. being worth more than an upvote or like. In the case of Reddit's Gold Award, givers had to pay ($1.99) for each award given. Communities that do not have the set-up or inclination to charge for peer awards may consider building their value by making them scarcely available or earned, similar to karma points.