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What is MeritBuilder?

MeritBuilder is a "Personal Feedback Platform" - but what is that? Put simply, it is a way for you to send, receive, collect, and display thanks, kudos, and other accolades.

As you send and receive thanks, MeritBuilder automatically creates a success log. Overtime it accumulates to create a personal brand - a brand composed of how you impacted your co-workers, managers, clients, friends, and family.

Imagine having every thank you note you have ever received in one location. What would that say about you? How would being able to read that make you feel? How would sharing that with managers, friends, and family affect your life?

We believe that saying thanks is a good thing and saying thanks a lot is a great thing. MeritBuilder makes saying thank you more meaningful and a permanent testament to the impact a person has had on others.

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Is it free?

Yes, the core product is free. That means you can send, receive, collect, and display as many Merits as you would like. Of course we cannot support spreading the love and never manage to pay back our investors (thanks to those guys this service exists), so over time we will:

  • Allow ad-free public pages
  • Allow unlimited custom display groups
  • Allow custom personal surveys & mass distribution
  • Add premium display templates - to customize your display groups
  • Create custom inbox rules - that allow automatic routing of Merits

Of course, if you are using MeritBuilder for commercial purposes (as a product feedback platform or some other nifty idea), please contact us. Chances are we will still let you use the site for free.

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What is a Merit?

A Merit is a thank-you note, accolade, shout-out, or anything positive that you want to say about something or someone. Merits are collected in your inbox and are the result of someone sending you a MeritNote. Old emails, letters of thanks, and other accolades you may already have can be turned into Merits by "adding an achievement.

Merits can be organized by tagging them. (What's a Tag?)

Merits are for positive feedback only. If you want to flame someone - we recommend counting to ten and not sending it (but if you still want to send it - use email). Accounts used to flame, may be reported here and will result in a ban of the offending account.

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Is this another social network?

No, MeritBuilder is not a social networking site. MeritBuilder is meant to augment the online presence you already have. If you have several social network accounts, you can use MeritBuilder to collect your kudos and accolades. Then, by leveraging display groups you can syndicate your MeritNotes to your blog, MySpace, FaceBook page or anywhere you feel like it.

That is why we call MeritBuilder a personalized feedback platform or a centralized place to store, manage, and distribute all your kudos. For more information on syndication - check out the Grouping FAQ

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What makes a good Merit?

Saying thank you is important, so be sure you get it right. A good thank you note has three parts:

  • The reason for the thanks (dedicated, creative, good friend...)
  • The impact it had (landed a customer, made you feel good...)
  • A hint at the future (keep it up, looking forward to...)

Of course try to close with a final thanks and your first name. Remember - Merits can be displayed anywhere - so don't say anything you would not want the world to read :-)

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How do I use MeritBuilder to say thanks?

MeritBuilder allow users to send MeritNotes to anyone with an email account, by anyone with an email account. You can write a well-crafted note or just a quick thank you. Then, attach a photo (or not) and send it to the user.

Your note will automatically be added to their Success Log and serve to encourage the recipient for years to come. Other stuff to attach: photo copies of awards certificates, handwritten notes, or diplomas.

If you are logged in:

  1. Click on the "Send a Merit" link on the blue navigation bar located just under the page header
  2. Fill out the form
  3. Click Send
  4. You are done!

The MeritNote will be sent to the recipient. If they don't have an account, the system will automatically create one for them, send the needed emails, and store their MeritNote.

If you are not logged in:

  1. Go to the MeritBuilder home page and find a user (using the search bar).
  2. Go to their profile page
  3. Click Send a Merit
  4. Compete the form
  5. You may choose to attach a photo - like one that shows the impact of the person or who they helped
  6. Soon you will receive an email validating that you own the email address you provided - this is important because no one wants spam! The above can be a shorter process if you log in.
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How do I use MeritBuilder to build my personal brand?

See the Building a Brand section of the FAQ

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Do my friends have to be on MeritBuilder?

No, MeritBuilder is an open system. It can be used by anyone. Unlike social networks where the people you communicate need to be on the network, MeritBuilder works on top of the email system. If they have an email they can receive a merit.

MeritBuilder will automatically create an account for anyone receiving a Merit, let the recipient know they have received a Merit and store their Merit permanently online.

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Why use MeritBuilder as apposed to an email or card?

Great question! This question can be answered with yet another question... Where are last year's birthday cards, thank you notes, emails, kudos, awards, and certificates?

MeritBuilder creates a permanent record of your appreciation. That means your thank you will go on encouraging the recipient for years to come. And that is what you really wanted to do, right? In addition, you are helping to build the recipients brand - that is something a gift card from mega-mart just can't do. MeirtBuilder puts the focus back on the "thanks."

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What are special Campaigns?

Special campaigns are opportunities for regular people to say thank you to the faceless thousands who make our way of life possible. We all feel a certain level of gratitude for those who put their life on the line to defend our freedom or the people who rush in to a bad situation while the public rushes out. These people don't have a single name, email, or PR person, but they still disserve to hear from us. MeritBuilder is uniquely positioned to make that possible.

By creating Phantom Accounts like the one at http://www.MeritBuilder.com/ArmedForces, people can leave thank you notes to a broad group of people who need to hear from us. The staff at MeritBuilder will make sure the MeritNotes get the proper publicity and into the right hands.

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What is the Armed Forces campaign?

The Armed Forces campaign is a phantom MeritBuilder account that people can use to thank the nameless thousands who protect the American way of life. You can send your thanks by clicking: www.meritbuilder.com/armedforces

The staff at MeritBuilder will ensure that your thanks make it to the troops. Please feel free to include pictures of what their sacrifice means to you.

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What is the First Responders campaign?

The First Responders campaign is a phantom MeritBuilder account that people can use to thank the nameless thousands who rush in when everyone else is rushing out. What would our lives be like if it where not for the police, firemen, and EMTs. You can send your thanks by clicking: www.meritbuilder.com/firstresponders

The staff at MeritBuilder will ensure that your thanks make it to the troops. Please feel free to include pictures of what their sacrifice means to you.

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How can I suggest / create a campaign?

You can create your own campaign by creating an account. Instead of a personal username - use the name of your campaign. Then begin promoting the campaign to your family, friends, and supporters.

If you want the MeritBuilder team to throw their marketing and promotions machine behind a campaign, just send your idea to campaigns@meritbuilder.com

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I did not request a MeritBuilder account, so how did I get one?

Anytime someone sends you a Merit, it is captured and stored. If the receiving email address does not have an account associated with it, one is created. You may receive a couple of emails as a result. One will tell you that you have a new Merit. The other will provide you with you account activation details.

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I logged in for the first time, where did all these Merits come from?

Chances are you have been receiving emails from MeritBuilder for a while now. These emails may be lodged in your spam filter.

Once someone sends you a Merit an account is created for you. It is not active and we don't allow any Merits from that account to be displayed publically. The system will continue to log Merits to this account even if you have not activated the account.

Then one day you find MeritBuilder, create an account with your email address, and find all those MeritNotes. At this point you can choose to display them publicly or keep them all to yourself.

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If I send my friend a Merit and they don't have an account, what happens?

MeritBuilder will automatically create an account for anyone receiving a Merit, let the recipient know they have received a MeritNote, and store their MeritNote permanently online. Once they activate their account, your thank you can go on encouraging the recipient for years to come.

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What are tags & where is my public page?

Tags provide a simple way to organize and share your merits.

Every new account begins life with a default tag. This tag cannot be deleted. Merits tagged default can be viewed at:

http://www.MeritBuilder.com/YourUserName

Clicking the Add a tag link, located just under your profile image on your home page will create a custom tag. Custom tags can be used to display MeritNotes of a given type or for a given purpose. For example a tag called “Work” (Might be used to store only work MeritNotes). Custom tags can be access by appending your username with your custom tag name. Like:

http://www.MeritBuilder.com/YourUserName/Work

Display groups also allow targeted syndication. For example, you might create a group named "MySpace" containing only the MeritNotes from your friends. This group could be accessed by your link:

http://www.MeritBuilder.com/YourUserName/MySpace

Or it may be accessed using an RSS reader on your MySpace page by adding “RSS” to the end of the link.

http://www.MeritBuilder.com/YourUserName/MySpace/RSS

But don’t worry you don’t have to remember all this… These links are available from your “Tag Management” page.

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Why are my new Merits automatically tagged default?

When a new account is created a tag called Default is also created. To simplify your experience all your new Merits go to your default group. If you want to keep these Merits private, you can mark your default group as private.

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How do I make a tag private?

From your home screen, click on the name of the tag. You will be taken to the tag management screen. There you will see a "Padlock" icon. Click it until it looks like it is locked! You are done.

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How do I make a Merit private?

Currently Merits cannot be made private at the group level.

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How do I put my Merits on my blog?

Blogs that support RSS readers can display your Merits. Just point your blog's RSS reader at one of your public RSS links (these can be found on your syndication page).

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How do I display my Merits on my MySpace page?

www.rssonmyspace.com Just point your blog's RSS reader at one of your public RSS links (these can be found on your syndication page). MySpace supports a number of RSS readers - feel free to explore other readers.

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How do I display my Merits on my FaceBook page?

www.howtoforge.com/rss_facebook_app_php Just point your blog's RSS reader at one of your public RSS links (these can be found on your ss yndication page). FaceBook supports a number of RSS readers - feel free to explore other readers.

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Where else can I display my Merits?

Anywhere that you can put a RSS feed - you can display your Merits. However, we are working on other really cool ways to display your Merits... Just sit tight because it is about to get pretty cool!

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