Gustav Klimt dancer painting

Gustav Klimt dancer paintingGustav Klimt Adam and Eve paintingFrederic Remington The Cowboy painting
of credibility on the Internet in general.
The same accessibility that makes the Internet such a great medium makes credibility hard to establish. Where it used to be that anyone who wanted to do Business with you needed at least enough capital to establish an office, print stationery, and put a listing in the Yellow Pages, nowadays you can set up shop on the Internet for free – there’s almost no barrier to entry, or to deception. In 20 minutes I could set myself up as, say, a legal consultant, an aerospace technologist, or an environmental lobbyist – regardless of whether I was actually working as any of those things or not.
In time, all but the most skilled con artists will have a hard time keeping up the illusion that they are competent experts, but how do you get people’s attention long enough to prove that you are what you claim to be? Here are a few ideas, some abstracted from the discussion