Roast this idea: A site that confirms ‘Yes, this is really me’ on the internet
I'm building a "digital passport" page for the Internet.
People brands etc are on more and more platforms. Between fake accounts, fan pages, and name similarities, the need for a verified and unified online presence has become real.
What if I made a site that validated your ownership of your accounts - a verified and transparent page of your entire digital footprint?
In theory you could use this page anywhere you wanted to make sure people found the real you (e.g. in your bios, on your linktree, when doing brand deals, etc).
As a benefit of coming on board, I scan all your accounts and give you optimizations around how you link to and from accounts to drive more traffic to you, expose your content more efficiently, and make your online footprint look more professional.
Curious - Would you use this? Why or why not?
The issue of social media account verification primarily affects public figures. For these individuals, celebrities, and influencers, verified badges are an essential and sufficient tool for confirming their account's authenticity. These badges act as a reliable source of truth, distinguishing their genuine accounts from any potential impersonators. It's enough, and it works; I don't see a reason or need to develop something beyond it.
As an average person not in the public eye, I don't face the issue of others creating fake accounts in my name. The motivation for impersonating someone like me, who doesn't have a significant public presence (which is the majority of the world population), is minimal. Therefore, I don't see a pressing need for measures to verify my social media identity.
Even in the case of being a micro-influencer without a verified badge (let's call this a grey area), a situation that might place me in a more vulnerable position regarding impersonation, your idea of creating a webpage to direct/guide people to my genuine accounts, only serves as a bandaid fix. That does not address the root problem of impersonation (it doesn't stop it); that's more of a 'nice to have' than a critical necessity/solution.