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Designing trust in the Internet services

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Abstract

Being a supersophisticated system, the Internet not only gives unquestionable benefits but also brings some problems. These problems are caused by the transparency of the network space for creators and its nontransparency for general users, who experience processing complexity, lack of privacy, and fear of making a mistake. Such problems give grounds for questioning whether users can trust Internet services. We analyze graphic design and public relations (PR) as tools used to generate trust in Internet services under both the circumstances of transparency and nontransparency of the Internet. Our analysis shows that visual, reputational, and contextual factors have crucial importance in generating trust in Internet services under the circumstances of transparency and nontransparency of the network space; graphic design and PR play a critical role. Interactive design develops network images that produce the initial impression and lay the foundation for users’ trust (or lack of trust) in network resources (the perceptual and emotional level). PR tools are used to complete the process of generating trust by turning the initial impression into such qualitative characteristics as goodwill and information transparency with regard to status and social context (the rational level). Such combined application of graphic design and PR tools leads to harmonization of the network environment and generates users’ trust in Internet services.

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Notes

  1. Internet services or Web services are different software systems identifiable by web addresses. They have standardized interfaces, which provide computer–human interaction. Internet services are sites that usually offer Internet users some free services: search engines, mailing systems, free hosting services, and others. They must be distinguished from other online resources: commercial (corporate sites and online shops); informative and entertaining (online media and encyclopedias); and social networks (Facebook, VKontakte, and others).

  2. According to the data provided by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), users’ trust in Internet resources is ranked as follows: social networks (62 %), online encyclopedias (e.g., Wikipedia) (57 %), and online media (56 %) are considered the most trusted. Forums, blogs, and chats enjoy 47 % of users’ trust, and only 32 % of users trust Internet services. (http://wciom.ru/index.php?id=459&uid=112964).

  3. The decision of granting trust is based on faith in the beneficial behavior of a trustee that corresponds to the interests and the requirements of a trustor. This kind of trust is connected with the expectations of a trustor that a trustee will act a certain way (Hardin 1991).

  4. This kind of trust means that permission to take care of something important for a trustor is granted to a third party (a person or an organization); a trustee voluntarily assumes the obligations; and responsive trust can be connected with some kind of authority (Baier 1995: 105).

  5. This kind of trust is formed as a result of the demonstration of the reliability of a trustee.

  6. http://photojojo.com/store/.

  7. http://kontur.ru/articles/402; http://freshit.net/blog/poleznye-materialy/5-sposobov-povysit-doverie-k-sajtu/; http://seo-design.net/raskrutka/how-to-increase-website-trust; http://habrahabr.ru/company/zfort/blog/149771/.

  8. http://www.google.com/design/.

  9. Publicity capital is a specific kind of capital; it belongs to a market participant who functions in public communications. Publicity capital is different from other kinds of capital, but it has largely been derived from them. Publicity capital is a social attitude that is connected with the property and self-expansion of values by means of using the value of the property (Shishkina 2002).

  10. http://mailchimp.com/.

  11. http://www.wufoo.com/.

  12. http://www.housingworks.org/.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tomsk State University, 36 Lenina Avenue, Tomsk, 634050, Russian Federation

    Irina P. Kuzheleva-Sagan & Natalya A. Suchkova

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  1. Irina P. Kuzheleva-Sagan
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  2. Natalya A. Suchkova
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Correspondence to Irina P. Kuzheleva-Sagan.

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Kuzheleva-Sagan, I.P., Suchkova, N.A. Designing trust in the Internet services. AI & Soc 31, 381–392 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-015-0622-7

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