Writing
Notes on identity, privacy, and age assurance — how credible membership works when nobody has to hand over a document.
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Online, Your ID Is A Copy: Identical To Every Other
A photo of your ID is a copy, identical to every other copy. Online, trust requires an anchor to the source: the databases that already hold your identity.
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Masquerading Costs Your Platform and Your Influencers
Influencers go where their audience is safe from impostors. Give members a portable identity they own, while your platform stores nothing private.
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Merit Recognition and Reward: The Role of Valor in Your Platform
Why a visible ladder of trust, like a military ribbon rack, motivates members more than an ID gate ever could.
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Why Does LinkedIn Pay to Verify You for Free?
Platforms are priced on the lifetime value of their accounts. They should be priced on the credible ones — and credibility does not require surrendering your privacy.
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A.I. “Vibe” Coding; Adopting Trust APIs
Credible members are worth several times more than ‘Unknown’ ones. The trust API is small enough for an AI agent to implement in one sweep.
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The Value of Credibility — Twitter by Numbers
In 2022, Twitter had roughly 250M daily active users and agreed to be acquired for $44B.
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The Child Who Has No ID Still Has an Identity
Australia requires platforms to keep under-16s off. How do you prove a child is 14 without building a database of children?
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Most of Your Users Can’t Upload ID — Now What?
Uploading ID excludes most of your members — 800M people have none and most cards do not work online. Let members bring their own proof instead.
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Bluesky Doesn’t Need Another Identity Authority: A Window into Trust and Transparency
Origin isn’t confidence. Bluesky proves continuity — TruAnon adds a privacy-preserving way to express confidence about it.
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Mastodon -The Cutting Edge of Trust?
Portable, badge-based trust for the fediverse — verify once, carry it everywhere, reveal only what you choose.
