Websites such as twitter, Facebook, UpDown, and various others allow you to create a "badge" containing limited profile information that you can post on other websites. The problem being who has a personal website that they're posting their 10-15 badges from all the social networking sites they're members of?

Web badges originally came about to serve a purpose similar to a blogroll. People would post small advertisements for other websites or blogs on their front page somewhere to help draw people to the sites. By having a flashy little picture they could accomplish free advertising. It became a you rub my back I'll rub yours. If you put my little image on your website, I'll put yours on mine. This was also back in the dark ages of webrings and other assorted wizardry.

Now however it doesn't seem to matter. If I want to connect with you on Facebook I'm not going to see your badge and suddenly be thrilled to join and find you. If I want to be your friend I can easily find you through their search engine, and chances are that if I'm browsing your personal website with your collection of badges I'm already your facebook friend.

As an advertisement for the website as a whole it fails. Facebook doesn't need additional advertisement through badges. Everybody who is anybody already knows about the website and how to join, and seeing a badge on somebody's blog or personal website isn't going to make them want to join.

I guess my confusion comes into what is the purpose? Well I have served that gaping hole by creating a badges page on my website and putting badges up from social networking sites I belong to.