Balancing Trust Projection and Digital Footprints

Let's bash the champagne bottle against the bow of this ship!

The maiden voyage of any blog (and for any blogger) is both exciting and purposeful – in that it's a fresh platform to shine the spotlight upon driving passions. And this is it for me – focusing upon two key passions of mine:

1. advocating for the proactive projections of organizations' digital trustworthiness, and
   
2. elevating everyone's awareness of their digital footprints and online identities.

This blog will capture my thoughts of the moment on either topic (or both as they conflict or peacefully coexist), and sometimes those thoughts will be simply be as I've shared on social media like LinkedIn and X fka Twitter.  We'll see.

The Projection of Fundamental Trust

For yearrrrrrrs as a Trust Strategist at organizations like Symantec and DigiCert, I've spoken about this topic at trade events, on podcast and webinars, on live and syndicated news segments, and to my employer's customers, prospects and partners.  The internet is a threat-filled place, with risks extending on any configurable digital platform (your iPad, your Android phone, your Windows PC, anywhere where Siri or Alexa speak to you, and even your connected home and car), so the credibility of every organization's digital presence is paramount. 

OMG I feel like that sandwich-board-wearing windbag on the corner who's always yelping about this, but it's a passion:  I firmly believe that businesses must embrace transparency, security, and ethical conduct across their websites, apps, code, and devices – but not stop there.  Companies must be proactive about projecting the trustworthiness of their digital properties, including websites, apps, code, and devices (and doing so in a way which validates the legitimacy of their voice and those properties). 

This blog will delve into the essentials of projected digital trustworthiness – exploring its components, challenges, and triumphs. Together, we will discover how organizational digital trust and individual identity can flourish in harmony.  We are all in this together.

Reclaiming and Owning your Digital Footprints

Alongside what's above, I'm deeply concerned about the profound lack of awareness among everyday ordinary people (yes, YOU) regarding their online footprints and their digital identities - because both of them are already out of control – more correctly, out of YOUR control – and you need to fix that, like now, like chop-chop, like pronto, like wiki-wiki.  

The consequences of ignoring this ownership are profound, so let's start with 2 profound statements: 

• Your online identity is yours.  No one else's.  YOURS.  But others own pieces of it already.  You cannot afford others owning or controlling any aspect of it.  You must get those pieces (and all of it) under your own control.   
• Your digital footprint is yours.  No one else's.  YOURS.  But others own pieces of it already.  You cannot afford others owning or controlling any aspect of it.  You must get those pieces (and all of it) under your own control.  
  

Notice the commonality?  Yeah.

Now, don't get all tangled up in the terminology here, as convinced by where you work, what you prefer, and what you've read. The core concepts are simple – that a version of you (and all the components thereof) exist in a realm which you don't control, but that version/those components are yours regardless.  YOURS.

I have not been the outspoken evangelist on this topic, as I have been about projecting trust.  So through this blog, take pity and mercy as I stumble through the news and some intricacies of digital footprints and personal data exposure. The aim isn't just for me to learn at you - it's to share insights, tips, and tools, so that people just like you (meaning: you) can also navigate your own identity/privacy navigation more confidently.

Two Great Tastes that Taste Great Together?

Being concerned about individual control of identity and privacy might seem to be at odds with being emphatic about organizations' need to establish, project and protect their own digital trustworthiness.  Businesses fostering trust and individuals bolstering control don't have to be orthogonal at best or oil-and-water at worst.  Those ideas can be connected and aligned, as ultimately both are about taking ownership and responsibility of how you show up online, in-hand, on-device, and so forth.  

As much as I love sharing what I know, I'm always learning.  And you have a role in that. I invite your insights and corrections.  By reading this far, you're on this boat with me, and I'm eager to take this voyage with you – because we are all in this together.

To a future of digital landscapes flourishing with trust and empowered users,

Jeff

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffbarto/ 

Reel @ youtube.com/jeffbarto/playlists

 

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