

Craig Newmark on the Web’s Next Big Problem - raghus
http://gigaom.com/2010/03/18/craig-newmark-on-the-webs-next-big-problem/

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shadowsun7
For the large part, such a trust network already exists with Facebook. Yes,
it's not perfect, and yes, it probably can be better, but when you want some
form of trust it's usually very powerful to use Facebook Connect to allow a
user to see another user's FB profile.

I've been recently involved in creating a site for sports meetups (like, say,
for a casual game of tennis), and FB Connect came up pretty early on in our
discussions as a way of getting people to trust each other.

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jf
Trust networks are too important to leave in the care of one company.

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derefr
But because of the network effect, they'll always be in the care of one
_something_.

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jswinghammer
It's an interesting idea and I was with him until he said the government
should be involved to enforce this. The government doesn't regulate any
meaningful relationships in my life so why should it regulate who I decide to
trust? Seems like a fantasy to even suggest that it could do so.

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theBobMcCormick
Really? so you don't have any "meaningful relationships" that involve
contracts, laws, things like that? You don't drive a car? Use a phone? Benefit
from Police and Fire protection? Those things are all government regulated.

Really when you think about it, government has a lot to do right _now_ with
regulating trust. Think of how much more difficult trust between businesses
would be if contracts didn't have the force of law? If disputes couldn't be
settled in the courts?

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jswinghammer
Meaningful might be something else to you than it does to me. The meaningful
relationships in my life include my wife, my child, my family, my friends, and
of course spiritual relationships. The government does nothing in these.

I don't want a relationship with the police department, the fire department
and I don't see a purpose for the government to regulate phones.

Then there is also the issue that contracts can be voided if the government
decides to.

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davi
At <http://ycombinator.com/ideas.html>, pg speculates that ideas 4 (outsourced
IT), 18 (the WebOS), and 19 (application and/or data hosting) can be bundled.

I think Newmark's vision may belong in this bundle as well. It somehow feels
like part of the same domain. Though as pg says, "the way to find such a
grand, overarching solution is probably not to approach it directly, but to
start by solving smaller, specific problems, then gradually expand your
scope."

So the real problem is how to crack it open? What are the first steps that
lead fruitfully into the bigger problem domain?

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benologist
It's a great idea ... I bet it ends up just like openid though .... every big
company competing to be _the_ provider and hesitant to accept anyone else on
their own platforms.

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benwalther
Check out CouchSurfing for an example of how to solve this problem. Craig is
just talking about how to make it universal rather than site-specific.

CouchSurfing provides enough trust data that you'll have someone into your
home based on a web profile. Some of the mechanisms include personal
references, friend lists, community awards (that are meaningful and hard to
get), and unrevokable vouches.

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sutro
Cafe Reverie FTW.

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gibsonf1
They have pretty good lunches - he's in the patio in back.

