I think the problem I would want to solve is the periodic hook for those students who are not intrinsically motivated by learning and for whom the grades provided through assignments are too infrequent to feel pressing or valuable. 

ablunderfilledlife

Could a SN model work for an online class?

I've come to the conclusion that it's better to learn to enjoy work than to seek some reward that's external to it. So I think it's best to help students learn to see the value in work and learning.

It goes back to what problem are you trying to solve? If the goal of a class is learning, peer interaction and engagement may or may not support learning as well as some other solutions.

As for socs, I suspect this would confuse the purpose of the class. Is it to learn or to shitcoin?