Closer to What I Think ID is About
Fred’s concept of managing my online ID is much closer to what I was envisioning when I tried out Verisign’s PIP.
Nice job Fred Stutzman! And thanks Noah Brier for your sidenotes.
Tagged: internet RSS
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Bill Rice
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Bill Rice
Identity, Relationships, Conflict of Interest–The Internet Dilemma
I came across an article on the Pentagon and NSA’s potential use of social networks. It is meant to scare, shock, and alarm you, but I think it highlights some very important concepts in online identity:
- 1. Managing Your Authorized Identity
- 2. Managing Your Relationships
- 3. Detecting Conflicts of Interest
Managing Your Authorized Identity
The Internet is a highly effective and sticky communication channel. Therefore, you can leverage it to build a portfolio and a reputation, but with that will evolve peripheral perspectives of your identity. Some of these perspectives will, by the nature of the Web, have higher attention ratios. Therefore, I have found it is critical for you to maintain an authoritative, or at least authorized, version of your identity. Here are a couple of mine: billrice.org and my LinkedIn Profile. Why is this important? And how do you do it? Well the ongoing debate over Fred Wilson’s self-edit to Wikipedia regarding his identity highlights both questions. It was important because another Wikipedia entry referenced him, but linked to an incorrect “Fred Wilson” identity, which causes confusion at the least and at the worst in a different contest potential identity theft or slander. As to the important question of how do you properly correct your identity when it is misrepresented–we have a dilemma what is authoritative. Do we trust the embellishments of a proud self or the third party perceptions of the community around the identity?
Managing Your Relationships
This is an important component to identity and increasing hard to manage, particularly as it occurs on the Internet. Social Networks like LinkedIN, Plaxo, and others encourage indiscriminate weak relationship building. I am just know thinking about this concept, but I think it is a dangerous practice as our relationships often define us or at least contribute to the perception others form of us.Detecting Conflicts of Interest
I think detecting conflicts of interest (pdf) is going to become a crucial and very important body of research for Internet commerce. Most consumers are using the Internet as a research tool to investigate their decisions and purchases. So, know what happens when your buying research and decision incorporates information from a hard to detect conflict of interest? This is best demonstrated with an example:Let’s say you are looking for a lead management solution (full disclosure: this is the business I am in). So, logically you go to Google and search for “compare lead management software” and on the front page of the search result you find the perfect site: http://www.compare-lead-management.com and on the front page it confirms you have definately hit the jackpot.
You need a lead management system now. Which solution is best for you? We can help you decide.
You continue your research and you see a great feature comparison chart that firewalls Leads360’s product and Leads360’s gracious acceptance as the best product in the market. Notice their top competitor, icoSales (full disclosure: my company) is not listed.
Who do you think authors this site? Well let’s take a look:
http://www.compare-lead-management.com
http://www.leads360.com
http://www.lead-management.com
http://www.thinklogic.net
http://www.betterleadmanagement.comSee the inherent conflict of interest that is very hard to detect by the average consumer looking for a lead management solution?
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Bill Rice
Net Neutrality–Danger of Legislating Markets
The debate around Net Neutrality should not only focus on barriers to entry and discrimination of content. We should consider all of the unknow effects inherent in regulating and legislating markets.
I think we should let free markets do their thing. If the market determines that it is not getting enough out of the infrastructure providers then incentive will emerge. For example, if Google or Yahoo do not think Verizon or AT&T are providing sufficient infrastructure performance they will strike a partnership and create mechanisms and business arrangements to produce the results. If consumers are clamouring for faster content then charge them and see if they buy it. It worked with cable and satellite TV. I now pay for what I used to get free on TV and I pay four times what I would pay for dial-up Internet because I want higher performance.
Markets work these incentives out not legislatures–dangerous times for free markets.
Noah Brier 4:11 pm on July 5, 2006 Permalink
No problem Bill, glad you enjoy them.
Terrell Russell 12:39 am on July 7, 2006 Permalink
Bill, thanks for the kind words. We’ve gone out of our way to make sure claimID is what makes sense to real people trying to manage their real world issues concerning how the network views them.
ClaimID is about helping people manage that public view.
Glad you like it. Tell your friends.
Terrell
http://claimID.com/terrell