Reputation

Reputation is one of the things to be gained through free work, and is actually something many individuals manage to convert into monetary compensation. The following link is a document by the New Media Department, University of Maine, called "Promotion and Tenure Guidelines Addendum: Rationale for Redefined Criteria - New Criteria for New Media". It looks into the mechanisms that generate academic recognition in the realm of New Media and how those differ from traditional ones.

http://newmedia.umaine.edu/interarchive/new_criteria_for_new_media.html