• Topic 6 - Exercise 3

    Posted on September 25th, 2009, 7:43 pm by admin

    Trust and Reputation - How is it achieved?

    Analyse and comment on other aspects of online trust and reputation  that you feel are worth discussing across any TWO online communities. Consider how design for usability, sociability and sustainablity can help to foster trust and build a reputation among users especially the pragmatists, conservatives and skeptics.

    When we say we trust someone or that someone is trustworthy, we implicitly mean that the probability that he will perform an action that is beneficial or at least not detrimental to us is high enough for us to consider engaging in some form of cooperation with him.

    Diego Gambetta

    http://wiki.uni.lu/secan-lab/Trust+($28)Diego+Gambetta($29).html

     

    Beginning as a closed network for American students, Facebook was perceived as safe by users who networked solely with friends. Opening Facebook up to the rest of the world brought issues that challenged user trust.

    Seemingly from other users -

    • phishing scams - WALL postings linking to urls mimicking Facebook accounts
    • friend spam - people asking to be friends but really wanting you to sign up for other services

     Others from within the facility -

    • text alerts sent to the wrong people
    • linked advertisement systems - broadcasting user purchases made from affiliated sites on their WALL.
    • Treatment of personal data such as   
      • inexplicable loss or disappearance
      • inability to delete personal data from deactivated accounts

    Discovering these glitches, I questioned participation and wondered why Facebook is still well trusted, was recently announced within Truste’s top 10 sites - www.truste.com and  a world user-base topping 300million in Sept.2009. 
    Both usability and sociability are high on the reasons why. 
    Facebook is easy to join and use, offering  ‘connection’ to others across the world.  It caters for  fast moving lives, where computer use is ever present,  allowing frequent message posting and reciprocation to WALLS - rather than making contact less frequently by other methods.
    Facebook has encountered problems, yet the privacy section covers them, stating age limits and user rights and responsibilities - how many people actually read the fine print? 
    There is also a page at     http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=555062239&ref=name#/facebook?ref=pf   dealing with  current software or user problems and there is no fear of media releases  such as
    http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90781/90877/6742651.html  reporting on Canadian legislation set to change how all personal data will be dealt with on the site.
    Acceptance by sites like Truste build Facebook’s reputation and credibility in user eyes, showing that they are working on problems adds to perception of expertise and honesty - “we aren’t perfect but we are doing something about it”.  Users also perceive that the majority of experiences are positive and decide to ‘follow’ - taking risks with the site, which they might not have taken otherwise and add constantly to the overall level of trust in the site.

    Diigo is a social bookmarking site enabling users to keep track of visited websites, using ‘tags’ to describe pages and making it easier to return to them.  It differs from other bookmarking sites by allowing text on a site to be highlighted and comments left for other Diigo users to view in the form of sticky notes. Tags can be shared with others -allowing for comment and communication on common topics and ideas. In this way groups can be formed, hosted and used in many ways, potentially becoming active social communities.
    Creating an area for online storage of information such as bookmarking sites could have problems, not the least of which is complete meltdown and loss of all information. Bookmarking sites have had problems with this in the past and this could cause users to be hesitant in leaving information only in one place -suggesting the need for ‘backup’ systems and not “putting eggs in one basket”.
    Personally, I haven’t used diigo for long and found it difficult to find information about other people’s experiences with it.  I did discover that bookmarking is used as an element of trust building for individuals by creating spheres of influence.  It is becoming one part of online use in a plethora of sites and communities that build a trusted personal identity. 
    My own experiences with diigo have been positive - making connections with others with similar interests and discovering useful and thought provoking resources for use in personal and professional areas. It is easy software to use, has good help sections and discussion areas and I want to use and recommend it to others.  These are typical actions that will build on diigo’s reputation and add to its potential for becoming a powerful and credible online community.
     
     
     

     

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