One thing that bothers me when surfing around on the web, is that much of the information I seek can seem inappropriate or untrue. I admit, having been a professional in the field of internet communication for several years, I have developed a keen eye for sorting out these things when I surf around: The way text is written, the layout of the site, the results I see when using a search engine etc. And I guess this is the case for many people surfing the net.
Bu one of the major issues with, for example WikiPedia, is that people do not always know if an article is true or not. Who has written this entry? Is she to be trusted? The same things goes for, say, product reviews: Is this review ‘paid for’, by advertisers, or is this guy behind this blog really a tool geek, refurbishing his bathroom every other week, or is it the first time he talks about tools?

In comes Content Certificates. What if we had a system, like the security systems we usually find when we want to use our credit card online, for content reliability? What if I, as a certified usability analyst could get a so-called Content Certificate regarding articles I post on my blog about usability? Or one of my friends, who has been working with game reviews for years could get one for such a subject? Sort of a ’scout medal’ for web content. These Content Certificates could then be reviewed, just like the security certificates we see on e-commerce sites. In that way, you could trust the information displayed on a web site, just as you can trust, say, a newspaper.

Now I really don’t know how all this should be practised. Who should be the judges? How should it be implemented? Nevertheless, the thought of being just a tad more certain of who you’re dealing with on the net - in the rare circumstances you need a professional opinion - is intriguing. Of course we should not forget that we’re all human beings, and per se, we should be able to trust one another. And we can already look at the mere writings on web pages to determine who or what we are dealing with, no doubt about that. The certificates should not become ‘universal boxes’ we can judge people by, but merely act as a proof of knowledge on specific areas, that craves the need for reliability.