ContentSignals

The thread from what content does to what it is worth

Every piece of content gives off signals. People read it, share it, cite it, rate it and gather around it, and its owner can now say in robots.txt how machines may use it. ContentSignals is a model, run by Swomi, that follows those signals into a graph of influence and authority, puts a value on what the graph holds, and turns that value into points people can use on rewards.

The ContentSignals threadThirteen signal lines, labelled reads, listens, shares, re-posts, citations, links, ratings, reviews, comments, follows, votes, contributions and the owner's Content-Signal line, flow into a graph of nine connected nodes, one of them much larger than the rest. From the graph a single thicker line runs over seven bars that shrink step by step, the discounted value of each later period, and ends in a grid of dots, the points, filled most densely where the line arrives.readslistenssharesre-postscitationslinksratingsreviewscommentsfollowsvotescontributionsContent-SignalThe ContentSignals threadThirteen signal lines, labelled reads, listens, shares, re-posts, citations, links, ratings, reviews, comments, follows, votes, contributions and the owner's Content-Signal line, flow into a graph of nine connected nodes, one of them much larger than the rest. From the graph a single thicker line runs over seven bars that shrink step by step, the discounted value of each later period, and ends in a grid of dots, the points, filled most densely where the line arrives.
Signals shown: reads, listens, shares, re-posts, citations, links, ratings, reviews, comments, follows, votes, and the owner's Content-Signal line in robots.txt.

  1. Signals

    What content gives off: reads, shares, citations, ratings, community actions, and the preferences owners publish in robots.txt.

  2. Graph

    Signals connect people and content. Together they form a graph of influence and authority.

  3. Valuation

    What the graph holds can be valued by Graph Modeling for Valuation, a customer-equity method adapted to graphs.

  4. Points

    Value comes back to people as points they collect and use on rewards. Never cash.

What ContentSignals is, and what it is not

It is

  • A model that explains how the signals content gives off can be counted, valued and returned to people as points.
  • The thread that ties Swomi's sites together: where content is published, how it is found, where assets are valued, and where points are used.
  • Built on open standards that site owners and search engines already use, from robots.txt to schema.org.

It is not

  • A product for sale: nothing is offered or sold on this site, and there is nothing to sign up for.
  • A source of money: points are never cash and never income, and no points exist on this site.
  • Cloudflare's Content Signals Policy: that is a separate, open robots.txt policy, which ContentSignals reads as one signal among many.

On the record since 2002

The ideas behind the model were filed as patent applications in 2002 and 2012. The applications were published and later abandoned; their priority dates are what fix the ideas on the public record.⁠[1]

Read the record: the three filings and the name

  1. Points valued and settled between loyalty programmesUS 2003/0225619 A1⁠[2]
  2. A governed vehicle with named roles and protectionsUS 2004/0054613 A1⁠[3]
  3. Signals, the social graph and its valuationUS 2013/0290226 A1⁠[4]

Where the thread runs

ContentSignals is the thread for every kind of metric, event and valuation around content on Swomi's sites.

swomi.com
Where creators publish. Their content gives off the signals the model starts from.
GSERP, on swomi.ai
Swomi's search, which reads signals to find and rank content. swomi.ai is being rebuilt.
swomi.io
The marketplace for digital assets and modules, where assets will be valued with Graph Modeling for Valuation. Not open yet.
swomibuzz.com
Rewards, in community: where members will use their points. Not open yet.
cryptopoints.co
A concept site, run by MarkCrest, on a governed ledger that could one day carry points between programmes. Not open yet.

How the model relates to Swomi's sites

References

Numbered in the order they are first cited on this page; each entry links back to the places that cite it. Every source was opened on 4 November 2026.

  1. ↑ MarkCrest: A family of value-exchange filings. maynardldokken.com.
  2. ↑ US20030225619A1: System and method for dealing with loyalty program points. Google Patents. Two inventors, one of them Maynard Dokken. Priority 15 March 2002; filed 14 March 2003; published 4 December 2003. Status: abandoned.
  3. ↑ US20040054613A1: System and method for depositing and investing illiquid or restricted assets. Google Patents. Inventor Maynard Dokken. Priority 30 April 2002; filed 30 April 2003; published 18 March 2004. Status: abandoned.
  4. ↑ US20130290226A1: System and method for social graph and graph assets valuation and monetization. Google Patents. Inventor Maynard Dokken. Priority 5 April 2012; filed 5 April 2013; published 31 October 2013. Status: abandoned.