Egoboo

Egoboo is a colloquial expression for the pleasure received from public recognition of voluntary work.

The term was in use in science fiction fandom as early as 1947, when it was used (spelled "ego boo") in a letter from Rick Sneary published in the letter column of Thrilling Wonder Stories. It was originally simply used to describe the "ego boost" someone feels on seeing their name in print. As a reliable way for someone to get their name in print was to do something worth mentioning, it became caught up with the idea of voluntary community participation. As a result of this, in later years, the term grew to mean something akin to an ephemeral currency, e.g., "I got a lot of egoboo for editing that newsletter."