[breezybottom]

You're mixing metaphors. Academic prestige is like the complete opposite of "street cred".

[mattkrause]

It's also misses the point. People don't want "glam" papers for ego boosts and bragging rights. They want them to keep the current jobs and perhaps get better ones.

Any replacement system needs to somehow serve as a token for people who can't/won't actually read your papers.