The Cranky Geeks episode 124 with Mr. John C Dvorak, Head Crank - as cranky as ever, Sebastian Rupley, Co-Crank, Editorial Director, PCMagCast.com, John Markoff, Senior Writer, The New York Times, and Tom Goldstein, Former Dean, UC Berkeley and Columbia’s J-Schools, discuss a number of different topics, the lead story dealing with journalism, blogging, and accountability.

Here is the summary - “There have been many people calling for more accountability among bloggers, along the lines of the rules that journalists usually have to observe. Is there a fundamental difference between bloggers and journalists that should put the kibosh on this? Should bloggers be allowed more freedom than journalists?”

A couple of relevant comments were made by John Markoff making the parallel of blogging to the CB radio’s of old (something he first said years ago) and the rest of the panel taking about anonymous blog posts. What standards should be applied to bloggers, should we/they be as accountable as traditional journalists, and if in fact they are journalists.

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Since we launched with Identity.net we have upgraded our blog to support OpenID, through the WP-OpenID plugin (extremely easy to install and turn on). Not only should this cut down on spam, but also, with OpenID’s from Identity.net, will enable users to prove their identity. An example is

madsen.identity.net

Which is not only my OpenID URL from Identity.net, but also is tied to my RepSheet - or profile - which can include any number if identity attributes on it. The above shows that my first and last name have been verified, via Trufina. Other RepSheet’s can contain other pieces of ones identity, given the context of what it is used for (DOB, address, background check, etc.)

Stay tuned for more OpenID news from Identity.net in the coming days, and let them, or us, know what you think.

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Posted via PRWeb:

Washington, DC (PRWEB) July 8, 2008 — Trufina Inc. (http://www.trufina.com), the leading provider of online identity verification (http://www.trufina.com) services is partnering with Identity.net, a web identity platform. By partnering with Trufina, Inc. for identity verification, Identity.net provides users with the option of verifying their identity attributes once and then reusing that verified identity information across the Internet. The combined solution puts the user firmly in control of their identity information, and allows them to share their data on the web as they see fit, without having to verify their identity information over and over again.

Identity applications are going mainstream and the Trufina partnership with Identity.net offers additional ways to securely share their identity information online. Interestingly, according to JanRain, a leader in the OpenID community, there are presently over 13,000 websites accepting OpenID’s, a leading Internet Identity Protocol. This represents a growth of a growth of 50% since the beginning of 2008. The Identity.net platform is the first to empower users to share (in a verifiable way) what they want with who they want using open, portable technology.

“As with all Trufina partners, Identity.net contractually adheres to Trufina’s data use policies, and Trufina’s commitment to the consumer, to assure individuals maintain full control of their identity. Trufina, in turn, adheres to industry leading security practices, as well as identity verification standards, to ensure we provide our partners with accurate identity information,” said Trufina’s President/CEO, Chris Madsen.

Identity verification is a prime building block for the identity-based services that drive the development focus for Identity.net. “Our research has identified 20 significant transaction types on the web where identity is a major consideration of people deciding whether or not to enter into a transaction. The partnership between Identity.net and Trufina is an important step towards enabling internet users to build trust in their online interactions, by establishing verified identities on the web that are portable across the growing array of ways that people use the web”, said Identity.net’s Chairman and CEO, Rob Monster.

“Identity.net is giving consumers unique ways to present their identity information, and control its use - setting the stage for flexible and powerful applications. Utilizing Trufina’s ID Server API, Identity.net is providing verification of individual customer attributes seamlessly. Notably, the Identity.net team completed integration utilizing Trufina’s API’s in less than a week,” says Jim Adler, President and CTO of Identity.net.

About Identity.net

Identity.net is the first identity platform to deliver a compelling value proposition to consumers, and publishers, while enabling the consumer to remain in full control of what is known about their identity. The company’s technology is protected by more than 53 issued patents, and based on more than a decade of advanced research in the field of online identity.

About Trufina, Inc.

Trufina is the leading provider of online identity verification and identity management services, enabling individuals to verify their identity attributes online, and providing the identity management tools for sharing that verified identity information with individuals and websites across the Internet. Trufina offers a unique method of building trust on the Internet. As the independent “trusted source” for id verification, Trufina protects the privacy of the individual while limiting the opportunity for fraud and identity theft from partnering websites. Based in Annapolis, MD, Trufina can be found at http://www.trufina.com.

Contacts for Press and Analysts:

Jim Kinchley

301.951.8998 x3

pr(at)trufina.com

###

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There’s lots of good stuff in the article - New Scientist article Don’t let cyber-spite ruin your good name, and a bunch of great companies mentioned - ClaimID, TrustPlus, and ReputationDefender . The issue is not just reputation, and the protection of your reputation (which is certainly the end result), but is the person posting a comment, negative or positive, really real or completely anonymous?

Just like in the real world, someone is more likely to shout some craziness from the bleachers, versus in an in person forum, where they have to introduce themselves in some fashion but they do have to prove they are identifiable.

Don’t let cyberspite destroy your good name

 

YOU buy a television on eBay. When it arrives, you eagerly unwrap it, only to find it is badly scratched. You return it, and leave a negative comment about the seller on the site. The next day, you find the seller has retaliated by posting a nasty comment about you, branding you as a time-waster. Suddenly, no one wants to sell to you and your reputation is in tatters.

 

Until now eBay’s rating system, which allows users of the auction and trading site to leave good or bad comments about their trading partners, has worked well. Sellers who ship out damaged goods, or items that do not match their online description, rightly get a black mark against their name. However, this system has recently come under increasing pressure from an all-too-human failing: spite. Sellers can easily retaliate against buyers who have named and shamed them, leaving unwarranted but highly visible comments - perhaps claiming that the buyers do not follow through with purchases, or needlessly return items they have bought.

 

Fear of this retaliatory “negging” can deter buyers from posting negative comments about their trading experiences. In turn, this threatens to undermine the trust that buyers place in sellers’ ratings.

 

So severe has the negging problem become that this month eBay was forced to change its rating system, preventing sellers from posting negative comments about bad buyers on the site.

 

In an online auction site like eBay, your reputation is your livelihood. Economists Daniel Houser of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and John Wooders of the University of Arizona, Tucson, have shown that sellers with positive ratings are able to sell items at higher prices, because buyers will willingly shell out greater sums just to be sure they are buying from a trustworthy source. And more people are likely to bid on items offered by those of good standing (Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, vol 15, p 353).

 

In a study to be published in the Journal of Consumer Research next month, Amar Cheema of Washington University in St Louis also found that when a seller’s reputation is less than squeaky clean, bidders are more likely to scrutinise additional costs such as shipping charges and bail out if they are too high. When the seller’s reputation is good, however, buyers are less interested in such surcharges, and sellers are more likely to secure a deal.

 

Trading websites are not the only place where nasty comments can have serious financial implications. When someone writes something malicious about you online it can be read by anyone typing your name into a search engine for years to come - including potential employers and university admissions staff. And as the number of websites that people use to buy and sell or make new friends and business contacts increases, so too does the need to guard against such acts of cyber-spite.

 

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Along similar lines of the Linkedin Trufina Verified groups, we have also come up with respective Trufina Verified ID and Trufina Verified Background groups on Facebook.

Facebook has been touted as the next big thing, and has become one of the center of attractions for the online community, especially among adolescents. All that said, due to its huge numbers, and like any other site, Facebook too has the capability to succumb to online predators and fraudsters.

In an effort to avoid this, and to build a circle of trust among the Facebook community, Trufina has initiated the groups as mentioned above. If you are a Trufina verified online identity, and would like to project your “you are who you say you are” self on Facebook, please join the group using: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=13076469612, and email us at facebook@trufina.com.

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We have recently been receiving requests from users about initiating a Linkedin-Trufina verified ID and a Linkedin-verified background group. The groups have been initiated along with a view point of enrolling users with a verified ID and/or verified background.

The initiative is another effort at increasing the population of verified online identities, and we believe that Linkedin as a networking site is the perfect benchmark; primarily because Trufina verified users can now connect with fellow verified members personally and professionally, and be assured of their identities.

To join the groups, please use the following links: 

1)      Are you Trufina ID verified? Click here to join: http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/35353/2370FD28CA65

2)      Are your Trufina verified background? Click here to join: http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/69510/145F6A7B5B27W

We would be appreciative of anything you would like to add or recommend. So, if you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to write to us. 

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We’re excited to announce that we rolled out a new feature which allows a Trufina user to share an ID Card with anyone they want. Previously an ID Card could be shared only if both the sender and the recipient were Trufina members. Now, a Trufina member to share an ID Card with anyone who has a valid email address. Total control of the ID Cards is still entirely in the hands of the Trufina user - you control each piece of your identity -

name, age, street, city, state, email/IM addresses, background check, as well as all the others    

Each item can be individually included, or not, as well as showing the details or just that it has been verified (i.e. your actual age, or just that your age has been verified). You can also revoke access to your ID Card at any time.Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions.-Chris 

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I was really moved by the FrontLine news story - Growing Up Online , and found it incredibly insightful about todays internet and social interactions. It highlights MANY positive, as well as negative, ways people interact online. Some for the better and, in some cases, for the worse. One comment by Rachel Dretzin was most interesting - “… it became clear that the supposed anonymity and immediacy of the Internet had led him to say things he never would say in “real” life — and didn’t even mean. It was a game, an exercise, a way of trying on identities. …”

It is clear, not just from the above piece, but news stories to numerous to mention, that traditional forms of social interaction are being replaced by virtual socializing. We thought we were busy when we were kids, yet it seems to be so much faster these days, and given traditional human traits we tend to do the easy things first - and socializing online is one of those. It’s faster and it allows you to multitask while you’re doing it. It doesn’t replace traditional hanging out, but it does present our society with a new set of social norms and challenges
Trufina, and other companies like Naymz, TrustPlus, and initiatives like OpenID and CardSpace, can certainly help fill the void that exists today regarding virtual identity, but we’re only part of the solution. Some of the burden, or atleast responsibility, lies with the websites that give unlimited tools to people online, the media, as well as each individual, parent or child, to continually educate ourselves on our hyper evolving society.

As a follow on to the piece, the Washington Post published a discussion with the the producers which well worth reading, too.

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Several weeks ago we rolled into production a new set of API’s which allow partners to integrate Trufina services into their websites, and makes it easier for our users to share their information with websites. We’ve updated our website with some basic information about the API’s, and we’ll be adding more information to the API section of our site over time.

We have also rolled out our API’s with the folks at Naymz. Now Naymz users can access and utilize the Trufina services in a seamless manner – seamless being the keyword. If you are an existing Trufina user, you just have to log into your account and grant the information to Naymz. If you are not, you can go through our verification process. In either case, you can then pull back verified identity information into your Naymz accounts via the Trufina API, and post a verified shield to your Naymz profile. Additionally, users will receive 50 RepScore points if they go through the verification process.

We’re honored and proud to be working with Naymz, and are excited to be part of their offering, as well as providing a great additional service to our members.

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Just a quick note - we noticed that Linkedin has added a cool new Group feature, and we asked Linkedin to create a group for Trufina. If you want to join the group, check out the section of our web site where have examples on how to include your Trufina ID at various sites. A request will be sent to Trufina, and we’ll verify you are a member, and add you to the group.

It’s pretty way of creating a directory of verified individuals. Please let us know if you have any questions or ideas…

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