It's Me, Honestly!
The social web is a wonderful thing, online communities bring people together, for activities ranging from social networking to online dating. It has never been easier to share your daily experiences, photos and interests with friends and family. But what happens when your social-web interactions extend beyond the circle of friends you know well? To what extent should you trust individuals you've never met in the real world?
Do you really know who you're interacting with?
As the joke goes "On the web, no one knows you're a dog." Funny yes, but there is more than a little truth to this. With the growth of the social web it has become deceptively easy to make new "friends" - but do you really know who these friends are?
Are they who they claim to be?
The identity attributes presented on most social web sites are "self asserted" - meaning you have no way of knowing if they are true. Not everyone asserts truthful information about themselves. That dog might actually be a cat!
Should you be concerned?
For many "low risk" social web interactions this is not a concern. However, there exists a growing class of social web interactions for which knowing who your are interacting with is very important - online dating, e-commerce and sites intended for children to name just a few.
A separate but related issue is that of "identity hijacking". This occurs when someone creates an online identity representing themselves as another (real) person. Then, under this assumed (hijacked) identity, they post comments, photos or make requests that can be damaging to the reputation of the real person or their friends. Although typically associated with celebrities virtually anyone is susceptible to this ruse.
AssertID Identity Verification
AssertID's unique solution is designed specifically for the social web. We allow you to leverage the trust you share with your closest friends to interact with those you don't know as well, promoting trust and civility in your social web interactions. AssertID's solution also makes it more difficult for someone to hijack your identity.
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