Web depth

Information flows easily on the web which has greatly solved the information distribution problem, which also pushes a need to verify that information in many ways, including authenticity. And thankfully, ease of information flow does also over time enable ways to check authenticity including on depth of history, as well as authority.

Like became fascinated recently with how long have been doing my blogs like this one, with a history maintained by others, as Blogger provides that service along with my ability to present like with this post. And is easy to check so just did for this post and see I got started April 2005, and was just talking some generic things around my open source project.

That depth to information certainly helps in figuring things out as noticed with myself when coming across someone new, would automatically search for it from that person, as can quickly get a feel for someone. Without it? Am more guessing or wondering how much to trust what is presented.

Is MUCH more a big deal when need information, and wonder on what authority something is being presented. History helps, as you can look back over time. Without it? Yup, more guessing. And web search is a subject have talked a LOT as part of web authority, where information one needs is found through it.

But web search has often faced criticism, as to how rankings can maybe be gamed, or when people are upset at how certain things can trend high, when should not. While with myself, admit do not JUST depend on web search ranking, but also check authority and authenticity by other means.

Like there are situations where will go to a government website regardless of where find it ranking in search as looking for it, if expect government has one covering the needed area. Though in my experience they DO usually rank highly. And notice, those government websites tend to have a LOT of web depth, including histories that develop over time. Governments unlike humans are less likely to be endlessly creating and deleting web sites, one would think.

Web depth to me is increasingly important as we watch the web become more stable.

And web depth gives a benefit to sites like Blogger or others where you get a stability which can be lacking with the people who use the service. Am mentioning them as using their service here, but could loop through a list of web companies where I feel safe in clicking on links because of them as the portal to that information, even when I may question the source thereafter.

Like here certain things you know because am on Blogger, but still you can have to do effort to check information I share on a post.

We are increasingly needing to be able to check authority in our times. And will offer a free idea, as years ago suggested on social media where follow them to my alma mater Vanderbilt University that they give some kind of web badge which would authenticate that a person actually graduated from there. Will admit am not sure how one would do it, especially to prevent fraudsters, but badges of some kind are a subject in social media.

Maybe even would be nice if social media companies might band together to create some kind of non-profit repository of such information. Which could be the source for links, to do things like, have a badge showing whatever is needed.

Regardless a history of efforts can tell a LOT about what a person actually knows, even if there isn't that additional verification which am thinking will arrive in time. Is just so much information can gather quickly just looking over a history, which is very hard to hide. Which I think is great.

As information flows freely around the web will admit am gratified that my own strategy of picking places and building forward from there, has a benefit can describe. Like here, over a decade of information available with posts! That at least those in checking me can see quite a bit if they wish, which is a depth that takes time.


James Harris