Trust and Reputation in the Google World [HD BizBlog 1.2]

I first discovered the concept of reputation as a sort of currency for social status in the book “Distraction“, by Bruce Sterling. It has stuck with me and influenced much of my thinking about emerging media, web 2.0, and the future of communication and personal interaction.

There is a new, non-fiction book about this very subject by Daniel Solove, called “The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet“. There is a short review and links to download the first chapter here.

Professor Daniel J. Solove warns that this new world demands new thinking about the nature of privacy.

Teeming with chatrooms, online discussion groups, and blogs, the Internet offers previously unimagined opportunities for personal expression and communication. But there’s a dark side to the story. A trail of information fragments about us is forever preserved on the Internet, instantly available in a Google search. A permanent chronicle of our private lives - often of dubious reliability and sometimes totally false - will follow us wherever we go, accessible to friends, strangers, dates, employers, neighbors, relatives, and anyone else who cares to look. This engrossing book, brimming with stories of gossip, slander, and rumor on the Internet, explores the profound implications of the online collision between free speech and privacy.

Solove explores how the Internet is transforming gossip, the way we shame others, and our ability to protect our own reputations. Focusing on blogs, Internet communities, cyber mobs, and other current trends, he shows that, ironically, the unconstrained flow of information on the Internet may impede opportunities for self-development and freedom.

I have read the first chapter, and look forward to reading the rest. What do you think of the changes in the nature of privacy and communication that the internet has brought? Please discuss in the Comments.

Related posts here:

The Importance of Trust…
7 C’s of Productive Leadership
Invest in Your Relationships

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Original post here: Stephen

7 November 2007 | Community, New Media, Web 2.0 | Comments