Maybe mk can way in here. Which came first? Where did you get the idea for badges? No offense to hubski (you know I love it), but I find it hard to believe that the behemoth Reddit was browsing hubski and copied one of its features. I wouldn't completely rule it out though.
We added badges one year ago: http://hubski.com/pub?id=11743 I haven't checked these Reddit Gold badges out yet. Anyone know how they work? I know about Reddit Gold, but is this something different than buying or gifting a premium feature?
When you hover over it it looks like this: http://www.reddit.com/r/TheoryOfReddit/comments/14unl6/reddi... I guess it is a way to publicly show the reddit gold gifting. I remember there used to be posts that got a lot of attention and there would be an "edit: Wow, 3 months of reddit gold for this comment! You guys are awesome!" Now there is a badge.
It's a smart move on their part. I can see someone over there having seen our badges, and being inspired, but I could also see them coming up with it on their own. I do know that the Reddit admin are aware of us. At any rate, it's funny to see Reddit doing something like Hubski.
When you said we added them a year ago I thought that's impossible, I have not been on hubski for a year and I remember when badges were added. Well time flies because I have been on hubski for 470 days. That aside, whether or not they function the same they look exactly the same.