Dapsem is Whuffie in an app – and it might just work

First a quick culture lesson for anyone not aware. To ‘Dap’ someone is to ‘fist-bump’ them, a la Michelle and Barack Obama in a famous move during the last US election. It’s about giving someone some appreciation or respect.

So what would happen if you put that natural human behaviour into an iPhone app? Well for starters you might just create the kind of economy that the Whuffie Bank tried to kick start but this time is a far more natural manner. Why not “Daps’em” instead of just Tweeting you like someone or some thing?

How it works: You log into the app via Facebook Connect. To Dap something you just type what it is you are Dapping, add a category and then Dap. The dap goes to Dapsem but can be distributed across to other networks like Twitter. You only get three chances to Dap something a day, to prevent people gaming the syste, but if you are very active and people Dap you a lot you get to unlock the ability to dap more.

Dapsem allows people to distribute ‘Daps’ which are effectively points. It’s a bit like taking Facebook Like to next level. It’s not Liking it’s connecting.

Every post is appreciation between two entities. Like the – largely failed – ‘pay it forward’ concept. Say someone gives you a LinkedIn recommendation – you Dap them back. It’s similar to Hashable in making intros – just done through an app.

In theory people will be incentivised to Dap people because it’s a vanity action: you’re publicly giving someone or some thing some appreciation, but subtley drawing attention to yourself at the same time. Gone are the days when you might do something worthwhile and expect no reward. Now your rewards will be in Daps, not waiting in heaven (if Dapsem has it’s way).

There is also a ‘Hall of Fame’, like a leaderboard.

Of course, the business model here is that brands and celebrities might want to gain Dap points, like Foursquare gives badges but without the location aspect. Brands will get a channel to offer discounts and get insights about their customers.

I can see Dapsem doing well. Writing LinkedIn Recommendations for people is too hard – Dapping someone with Dapsem is easy.

The team consists of Hamutal Meridor Benny Vaksendiser and Nimrod Gat.

Dapsem is launching soon on the App store but if you want an advance invite to the app then tweet mentioning @dapsem and @techcrunch.