Ah, how touching. I got back to a personalized year-end greeting from Auren Hoffman, the Valley's most avid networker. Boilerplate excitement about 2007, good wishes for the new year, and, at the end a curious graphic, representing Hoffman's reputation. It's promotion for his new company, Rapleaf, which takes the online auction practice of assigning scores to sellers, and applies it to individuals. Fair enough, except Hoffman's 100% rating — 677 instances of positive feedback, and none negative — has all the credibility of an election in North Korea. [Pictured: Hoffman with George Bush, one of several Republican politicians pictured on the Valley connector's extraordinary online egowall. Next election, Republicans should just submit themselves to the verdict of Rapleaf. It's much more forgiving.]