Tokken: A New Way of Paying it Forward

You may have read the book or seen the 2000 film adaptation of Pay It Forward, the story of eleven year Trevor McKinney, who is given a social studies assignment to “change our world and put it into action.” Trevor comes up with the idea of “Pay it Forward,” where he will perform 3 random acts of kindness and in return ask his 3 beneficiaries to each perform 3 more good deeds, “paying it forward.” Thus, overtime, Trevor’s three kind acts are multiplied infinitely.

But how does Trevor’s utopian idea relate to modern technology and the internet as we know it?
Tokken is IdeaNotion’s take on paying it forward in the 21st Century.

The Basics:

Tokken is a social web application that bridges real life altruism with the of benefits technological design, organization, and style. Companies using Tokken will have a more competitive edge because of tokken’s efficient means to exchange knowledge and ideas. For organizations, Tokken provides credibility, exposure, and expansion. And for the everyday user, Tokken is a new place to look for help, offer support to others, and contribute to their group or organization.

The Philosophies:

You might be wondering why IdeaNotion chose to create Tokken. In addition to the Pay It Forward idea, the IdeaNotion team was inspired by the principles of reciprocity, influence, and compassion. IdeaNotion believes that these principles are universally understood, and that people need an easier and more effective means to practice them. In short, people innately want to help one another, Tokken connects and enables these people to do just that.

Reciprocity: Foremost to Tokken is the principle that what you receive is what you contribute. In essence, Reciprocity is the mutual exchange of goods, services, or acts. Reciprocity is the first of the six principles of persuasion, propelled by Dr. Robert Cialdini, an internationally renowned expert in the fields of persuasion, compliance, and negotiation. Tokken promotes reciprocity in the real world as receiving a favor in Tokken will consume a Tokken while providing a favor is rewarded by receiving a Tokken. Users will run out of Tokkens if they do not contribute back to their Circles. IdeaNotion puts a timeless human ideal into practice in the 21st century.