Before I begin, let me say that I enjoy both Dwight Schrute and EntreCard. Now, let me explain my assertion.

On The Office (US version), Dwight Schrute creates Schrute Bucks as a way to motivate his coworkers to perform well. (If you’re not familiar with Dwight, you should know that he is an insufferable dweeb and suck-up, but he is also excellent at his job. That really has nothing to do with this analogy, but it is a big part of why The Office is so hilarious.) The Schrute Buck is a unit of currency in Dwight’s system, where he gets to decide what a person has to do to earn one.

EntreCard (EC) is a system of free internet advertising that rewards users with Credits, which they can use to purchase ad space on other users’ blogs. Credits are awarded for using the system by “card dropping,” or clicking on other people’s EC widgets.

A-ha! What else do Schrute Bucks and EC Credits have in common? Well, since I am a bit of an insufferable dweeb myself, here is a list …

• Fact: Both Schrute Bucks and EC Credits are constructed units of currency.
• Fact: Both Schrute Bucks and EC Credits can be earned only by exhibiting behaviors desired by their creators.
• Fact: Neither Schrute Bucks nor EC Credits have any real value outside of their respective reward systems.*
• Fact: Both Schrute Bucks and EC Credits have value only if there is demand for them among users.
• Question: What is the exchange rate of Schrute Bucks to EC Credits?
• Answer: It’s the same as the ratio of unicorns to leprechauns.

* I know there has been some talk of selling EC Credits for real money, so we’ll see where that ends up.

I hope you enjoyed this little exercise in silliness. If you’d like to add to the discussion, please do!