Dutch startup for online reputation management: Trustier introduces Trustcoins

Trust is the basis for every relationship. However, rating and review systems have their limitations, and Trustier, a Dutch startup with ambitious plans, sees great opportunities in this. We look at the importance of online reputation management, the Chinese interpretation and how Trustier will work exactly.

Without trust, every transaction remains risky. Whereas in the past you simply went back to the seller who had put on a worthless jerk, that is completely different online. We google, we select and buy. Often from a provider with whom we have never done business before, because getting products in your own environment is typically more expensive and cumbersome. We don't have it in stock right now. The online competition has already chased the Kijkshops, V & Ds and Aktiesports from our shopping streets.

As a retailer you also have to go online, with a full range and a competitive price. And you also have to be trustworthy. For this, consumers look at logical and emotional factors such as: familiarity, Thuiswinkel logo, iDEAL logo, reviews and reviews (read more about review marketing), testimonials, stated number of customers and sales, contact details, photos and the Chamber of Commerce number. Are you not known nationally because you do not have a millions budget for branding? Then you have to build that trust in a different way. With Trustier this will soon be possible in a better way.

Trustier from Trustier
The objective of the startup Trustier is the "making trust transferable and measuring the reliability of both individuals and organizations.For that the company introduces Trustcoin: a digital currency for trust that users give to friends, colleagues, customers, partners and organizations. And who pass that on. This creates a confidence indicator, the Trust Tier. It goes like this:

Trust Tier can soon be used in all sorts of ways: when applying for a job, hiring a freelancer, selling, acting or donating. It is not limited to one platform, such as Airbnb. But Trustcoins can also be taken back if the trust is damaged. And you cannot buy Trustcoins, as is currently the case with reviews and on a large scale. Your Trust Tier also provides insight into how people and organizations trust you as a person or organization.

The Chinese interpretation
The Chinese plans for a social credit system prove that there is a worldwide need for online reputation management. From 2020 every Chinese citizen will receive a certain score based on his or her behavior. A bad score? Then you can be blacklisted and lose all kinds of social rights, such as being able to travel abroad, access to schools and social services, the chance of a good job or the possibility of borrowing money. Criminals, addicts, scammers, disorderly people or fighters are nailed to the digital shame.

Fortunately this is not where Trustier wants to go, and now China is a country of extremes. In China, people who do not belong to your network are simply not trusted in principle. The social credit plan also entails all kinds of bureaucratic, technological and cultural challenges. For example, the Chinese don't even have a word for 'privacy'. And how far could the implications of this social credit system be, this satirical episode Nosedive from the British series Black Mirror proves:

Trust in the Netherlands
Back to the here and now of the Netherlands. Trustier is currently being tested by a hundred users in various countries, based on invitation. With this they want to grow organically and go viral. Trustier will soon be free for private individuals. The schedule for going live is at the end of May and the first large companies will be linked. Trustier also sees applications in politics, crypto currency, medicine and charities. To validate transactions with Trustcoins, Trustier uses blockchain technology, with verifiable logs so that errors can be found and corrected afterwards.

Personally I am curious how they prevent people from giving each other Trustcoins without a real basis. Such as a review for a friend with a company, or two employees who give each other a LinkedIn reference. And the biggest challenge I see before them was recently cited by someone as comment on this article about Google reviews. Why would you start with it if it mainly involves risks? Why not the old one trusted go on foot? To be continued.