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To populations that enjoy the technological distractions of handheld gizmos and gadgets that reinforce our playful nature, the growth of the social Web (aka Web 2.0) has given them a new playground to enjoy. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and others like them are akin to the swingsets, slides and teeter-totters for this new play area--but they also give everyone a voice, enabling them to provide substance and opinions on a variety of issues.

This growth comes just as it did with the original onset of the Web, with explosive and unpredictable results. Conventional publishing and broadcast mediums are becoming edged out by “as it happens” Web reporters and bloggers who are building their own reputations by virtue of their online identities and customizing the content to accommodate (or, alternately, create) niche markets. But many question the reliability of the new sources and the analysis of data. These publishers are everyday non-journalists, so is it just an opinion rather than fact? There is a strong push within the Web community to define contributor credibility and help identify individuals and the merit of what they produce.

As a result, new territories within the Internet have developed and are evolving beyond the boundaries and regulations of the old standards. Almost anyone with knowledge, access to a computer and the ability to draw an audience has potential to become commentator, pundit and critic--and then progress to mentor, teacher and trusted authority.

Countries and Corporations

As has been evidenced in recent years, voices that were once controlled by strong gag tactics are now finding ways in which to get their message out. Often kept in check by state run communications, heavy-handed politicians and--more mildly--restrictive corporate communications policies, people of the world have nonetheless achieved a powerful degree of recognition with net-enabled watchers, listeners and readers across the globe by filling an informational void.

In the past few months we’ve been made painfully aware of how countries such as China and Iran have tried to bully their technologically connected “netizens” into silence so they cannot inform outsiders of their despair, anger or disagreement with the policies and actions of their respective nations. These people are less intimidated and less likely to be corrupted since their physical identities are often hidden in secrecy for their own protection; they brave more than just a reprimand if they are caught reporting on “touchy subjects.”

While the business world may not employ the same tactics as their nationalistic counterparts, there still is a modicum of strong-arm tactics used by many companies in order to dissuade people from offering dissenting opinions. Legal as well as disciplinary actions such as termination, time without pay and other restrictions are not uncommon. That is not to say, however, that people keep quiet.

For the job-seekers out there, going to websites like Jobster, LinkedIn and Vault provides people with a way to get the nitty gritty on how a company operates--from former and current employees.
Those seeking product critics might look at what is available on websites such as Amazon and Epinions, where reviews provide insight into the personal encounters of consumers.
Other more ambitious sites such as Yelp welcome you to read about and rate a number of other goods and services in your area, albeit aimed more at the cultural side.

Although reviews, positive or negative, are important, equally important is whether or not there is any information out there on a company, service, or product (i.e., no news available may indicate that it does not warrant our attention).

Street Cred

For individuals, goods, services and other entities, a number of online reputation systems help provide ratings through the collection of opinions. Employed on many sites, these systems help compile information and use algorithms that are used to determine a component of trust that can be attached to these articles/units.

Important to the new era of the social Web, thinly masked posters now must act with a clearer head for content, clarity and consistency in order to be taken seriously and valued over the long term. Ranting and flaming is now more easily tracked, dismissed and reported so as to keep the content and tone focused. To be certain, there are always going to be occasional posts from semi-coherent and vitriolic contributors, but even persons with multiple accounts are finding it more difficult to put their spiteful thoughts out somewhere for everyday readership.

Setting up a system where proper and improper writings and actions are tracked and then attached to a reward/penalty system is a good way to inspire proper behavior. Access and other similar privileges can be used as leverage in order to get the right reputation results.

Who do you trust? Who can you trust? Through our evolving Web and the challenges it has imposed, more and more controls are coming into play to help us determine the verity of online statements--making the Web and related services more reliable as a resource and less a dumping ground of falsehoods.

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