What online communities inspire you? How about online affinity spaces using digital badges in novel ways? *Help us crowdsource further online spaces where we can investigate social expertise and online interest-driven communities: *http://www.indiana.edu/~badges/survey/ Digital badges are a promising and interesting new means of capturing, assessing and motivating learning. Badges can serve as both inspiration for future learning in informal learning environments, and as recognition of expertise in ways that are not easily captured with traditional means of assessment. The Connecting Badges Project investigates how badges and other recognition systems work in the overall learning and participatory ecologies of online communities. How do participants in interest-driven online spaces conceive of these systems, and how do they evaluate the legitimacy of them? Do digital badges capture expertise in online affinity spaces, and if so, what kinds of expertise? And for what ends? The Connecting Badges Project is directed by Dr. Sean C. Duncan, and housed in Indiana University’s Center for Research on Learning and Technology<http://crlt.indiana.edu/>. The project is funded by HASTAC <http://hastac.org/> through the Digital Media and Learning Research Competition on Badging and Badge Systems Development<http://www.hastac.org/blogs/slgrant/2013/01/18/winners-announcement-digital-media-and-learning-research-competition-badg-0>, and is managed through the Digital Media & Learning Research Hub<http://dmlhub.net/>. For a detailed description of the project, please visit the project proposal<https://www.hastac.org/blogs/dml-competition/2013/03/06/connecting-badges-and-expertise-interest-driven-affinity-spaces-sea> . Sean Duncan is an Assistant Professor in Indiana University's Learning Sciences program and a Research Scientist at Indiana University's Center for Research on Learning and Technology, where he directs the Playful Culture Lab (http://playfulculturelab.org). In a recent Digital Media and Learning Research Competition, Sean was awarded a grant to pursue a year-long project entitled "Connecting Badges and Expertise in Interest-Driven Affinity Spaces." You can find out more about the project at http://www.indiana.edu/~badges/. Sheryl Grant Director of Social Networking HASTAC/MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning Competition sheryl.grant@duke.edu Duke University 114 South Buchanan Blvd. Smith Warehouse Durham, NC 27708