Credibility is having the characteristic to be believed and trusted. A user has confidence in an internet resource if it has credibility. Therefore, credibility should be important to both those resources as well as the users who utilize those resources. After all, developers don’t produce internet resources (and by resources I mean all types of websites, blogs, social media, articles, academia, etc.) to be perceived by internet users as not trustworthy or believable. What would be the point?
There are so many people (try hundreds of millions) that use the internet and nearly as many who produce resources of some sort. As you can imagine, along with such diversity comes copious amounts of misinformation, propaganda, and outright criminal activity. Even those that that don’t necessarily have mischievous intentions may not be the most trustworthy source.
So how does the average internet user looking for specific information evaluate the trustworthiness and credibility of these resources to accurately find the information he or she is looking for? Well, there is a lot involved in the subconscious of the seasoned internet user who knows that there are many intricacies involved in finding reliable information in our digital world.
Being able to accurately assess the credibility of internet resources enables users to avoid the aforementioned misinformation, propaganda and scams that are highly prevalent on our open global internet. But open credibility of internet resources can do so much more for the average internet user.
Removing barriers to the evaluation of credibility can have profound effects on not only the internet’s ease of use, productivity and efficiency, but also the evolution of the internet itself. When users can easily tell where the information they consume originates, and whether the originator of that information has a reputation for being credible, then they open themselves up to being more trusting and able to find information in a more productive and efficient manner not having to worry about whether or not they can trust the source. With this enlightenment, users can avoid the money making commerce driven initiatives on the internet –if they so choose- and cause the internet to evolve in more open, efficient and trusting manner.
Credibility is already a very important aspect of our digital lives and the internet. The purpose of our community is to discuss this importance, and how to make it more prevalent to users and easier to understand and evaluate. As always, I look forward to your feedback.
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It has become increasingly apparent to the technological world in recent years that we are indeed amidst not the dawning but the blossoming of the digital information age. The internet, which has increasingly become an integral part of our lives for better than a decade has begun to be put into the perspective of time.
From where I sit, I see the internet has become more than a worldwide network of computers. It has become a springboard to the birth of all kinds of digital technologies allowing us to communicate information in ways that wouldn't have been conceivable even a few years ago. These technologies have been directly injected into our everyday lives, literally affecting all of us in very significant ways. Of course, much of the impetus for these new technologies revolves around commerce and the generation of wealth among companies and individuals alike. Personally, I feel this is perfectly acceptable. It is imperative that the internet remain open to all forms of information exchange including commerce and those activities that are enabled by digital businesses (ie Facebook, Twitter, etc.).
However, it becomes quickly apparent that when these new technologies (and consequently our digital way of life) are driven in large part by the generation of wealth, the interests of the everyday digital user may go by the wayside. This is where I remind you that the internet belongs only to the collective whole of its users and should be driven by the interests of those same users. Here is where I make my proposal: The Credibility Revolution.
Aside from the obvious necessities of identifying propaganda, misinformation and hidden agendas, assessing the credibility of resources on the internet (to include commerce) will in effect put the power into the hands of the people. That is, enable the users of this digital age to put their interests first and ensure that they are calculated into its continuing evolution. Developing a means to make these credibility assessments I term The Credibility Revolution.
As a concept I hope you see the benefits of a revolution in the assessment of credibility in a digital age. The question remains, however, how do we turn this concept into action? I have come to believe that the first steps to making this happen is to provide the means to internet users a way to assess the credibility of at least certain aspects of certain types of internet resources. The thought is that as participation grows, we will see the benefit of having credibility in the consciousness of the internet user and the benefits will be self serving to the credibility revolution and the internet user.
As I write this, I must reiterate that at this point the credibility revolution is merely a concept, and I look for your feedback.
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