Veritocracy is a social news network with a difference – you don’t socialise. Instead users of the site vote article up or down anonymously, and have their preferences inferred from their voting patterns.

Just because an article contained information you are glad you read, does not necessarily mean you endorse it. Veritocracy uses your votes to feed you more of what you want to see, and less of what you don’t. With most social news or bookmarking sites, a vote translates into a public endorsement of an article. In some cases this can also mean a public endorsement of the author and/or the viewpoints contained in it. Veritocracy makes all votes private to ensure that everyone can vote frequently and honestly, without having to consider how those votes will be perceived by others.

Veritocracy | Users | Veritocracy

This is unlike Digg where of late the race to the front page can sometimes have a negative impact on both content and contentedness.

Digg – Digg this if your sick of power users stealing stories. via kwout

The service is still in beta, so it will still be a while before we find out whether anonymity breeds wiser crowds. In the meantime I can’t help but admire the beautiful interface.

Veritocracy – The Best Perspectives on any Topic. Personalized For You. via kwout

Social media company Sprout have launched a new brand marketing product. Sprout Mixer lets content owners provide fans with simple tools to design and share gadgets in blogs and social networks.

Sprout is very excited to launch www.sproutmixer.com and show the world the product we have been working on concurrently (for the past 11 months) with Sprout Builder. Sprout Mixer is built on the same platform as Sprout Builder but it has a simpler user interface and the ability to be white-labeled or skinned. We are creating a new form of online interaction that we are calling, “Creative Engagement Marketing.” With our tools you can create a brand experience for your fans and consumers.

The gadgets can be copied from user to user, and can also be remixed and adapted my more creative fans.

With obvious applications in film and music brading, it will be interesting to see what other industries try out this marketing approach, and what other experiences will be shared. I’d love to see something like Mixer used in education, with students selecting and mashing up learning resources.

Tags: sprout, mixer, marketing, education, media