Why We Launched The Stamp

In 2007, I was part of a small group who signed the Bill of Rights for Social Web Users. The purpose of the agreement was to acknowledge that users should be in control of their personal information. It was broken into three fundamental parts that all users of the social web are entitled to: 

• Ownership of their own personal information, including: their own profile data, the list of people they are connected to, the activity stream of content they create;
• Control of whether and how such personal information is shared with others; and
• Freedom to grant persistent access to their personal information to trusted external sites.

This was 15 years ago, so a lot has changed with the internet since then. But one thing remains the same: all users are entitled to the privacy of their personal information. Companies have a duty to ensure that information and data is only used in accordance with what users have agreed to. With so much business being done digitally, which is only going to continue to grow, consumers need to know that their information is safe. And companies need to be hyper vigilant and forthcoming when it comes to data/fraud protection and how/when they share data for the internet to stay a safe place to do business.

Our mission at Notarize is to bring trust online. The ability to transact online has countless benefits for consumers and businesses alike, but it can come at the risk of anonymity and fraud. By moving commerce online, you no longer directly interact with the people you’re engaged with. But with the Notarize platform and the concept of  online notarizations (which we’ve championed across the country), our customers can gain the benefits of online commerce AND fundamentally improve the trust in their most important transactions. And as people turn to us to trust who they transact with, it’s critical that they can trust Notarize, too.

We’re at the point of no return in internet history

There are so many ways in which we risk our personal information online. From bank account information to health records, we’re increasingly comfortable with sharing our most personal information in order to complete transactions digitally. And we have no choice but to trust that organizations will safeguard our data.

We’ve seen the implications of sharing personal data with businesses. From selling information to third parties to data breaches and hacking — consumers’ personal information is at the mercy of how companies decide to handle it.

But we’re at a point of no return in internet history. We’ve moved so many aspects of our daily lives online — and for good reason. Doing things digitally from both a business and consumer perspective typically saves time and money and is almost always more convenient. As an online notarization platform, we encourage digital transformation and digitizing traditionally in-person processes to do things easier and more efficiently. And we also stand behind data protection and privacy.

That’s why we’ve created The Stamp: a newsroom that covers topics like authentication, cybersecurity, and digital trends/transformation that are happening within specific industries to make getting business done more efficient, while maintaining trust with consumers. We aim to be the source companies come to for the latest in digital trends that improve business and enable consumer confidence.

It has been 15 years since the creation of the Bill of Rights for Social Web Users, and now it’s up to all of us to bring trust online in an increasingly digital world.