The video really says it all - plus, you get to hear Ben's booming voice (always a treat) - but if you're more the written sort, let me break it down for you right here...

Influence is a real-time measure of your contributions to a project. Maybe the product idea sprang from your mind, maybe you suggested a winning name, maybe you just rode the rating and favoriting gravy train and helped secure a sweet logo, maybe you took a research survey, or committed to a product in its pre-sales phase, or referred your friends through our social sales program - makes no matter, it all influences the final product and it all gets you a percentage.

Now let's get mathy - for each product made and sold, the quirky community receives 30% of the total earnings. So let's say this week's product is...disco balls handmade by gorillas in the wild...and we're selling those bad boys for $40 a pop. Suppose you've earned 13.2% influence along the way, and we end up selling 35,000 of them (turns out loads of people want a disco ball handmade by gorillas in the wild) - you've just earned $55,440. Seem crazy? Check it out for yourself:

your earnings: $12,000
So for your reference, in case you're new to the product game...when Ben started his first company to sell the Song Sling for the iPod Shuffle, he invested $185k to get things rolling. The product retailed for $40, and they sold 10,000 units - leaving the company with over $100k in debt. Ouch. But remember, Ben had to set up a company, pay out for tooling, manufacturing, marketing, sales force, travel, building a website, etc. In comparison, had Ben-then known that Ben-now would come up with quirky, well, he could have launched the Song Sling here and with even just 10% influence, he would have earned $12,000. And being in the black is so much cooler.