I'm a strong proponent for online dating companies embracing the concept of identity verification and management. It makes sense in this day and age that safety play a a larger part in online introductions. People say that nothing awful has happened to anyone dating online. I always append the word "yet" to those statements. At some point things will go terribly wrong between two people who met on a dating site. That's the reality of life.

Identity verification/management/background checks is where the industry is heading at the moment. Ever since SITRAS in December, the back rooms at major dating companies have been abuzz with executives and consultants trying to wrap their brains around the implications of online safety, from a customer service, legal and financial perspective. I'll have more on this in the upcoming weeks. Some of what I'll share will have you shaking your heads in disbelief.

I started this post because I wanted to bring up a concept that's been bouncing around in my head for some time now. It's not as du jour as background checks, but reputation management is alive and kicking on a number of large websites with large customer bases and it's relevance to online dating shouldn't be overlooked. Think of Greatboyfriends.com, think of eBay, think of Amazon sellers. I'm not saying there aren't tremendous hurdles to a workable reputation management application that fits into the online dating space, all I'm saying is that it's worth understanding and exploring, for it merits and problems.

Today I read that Overstock.com is gunning for a slice of eBay's auction action. I'll let Chris Saunders take it from here:

Overstock.com's play for auction dominance is most centered around integrating the popular trend of online social networking -- as popularized by sites like Friendster, MySpace, Orkut, Ryze, and a slew of others -- in which users rank each other and refer friends and contacts to others.

Like eBay, Overstock.com will use a feedback system to rate buyers and sellers. However, in connection with the referral concept inherent in social networking, Overstock.com Auctions will rely instead on what it calls "reputation networks."

"These 'reputation networks' will work particularly well for on-line auctions, where buyers, sellers, enthusiasts and experts are traditionally anonymous -- and opinions are often biased," Byrne wrote. He added that anonymous bias is responsible for "the declining value of ratings and the increasing tendency for retaliatory and spiteful ratings."

Specifically, users give each other a numeric rating (from -2 to +2) following a transaction indicating satisfaction with the deal. (Users can also enter comments alongside ratings.)

The sum of those ratings is a user's Business Rating, and users with whom a buyer or seller has done business become part of their Business Network. Meanwhile, Overstock.com Auctions will also feature a separate "Personal Rating," wherein social contacts can rank each other on a one- to five-star scale.

The upshot of all this is that users can see others' with relationships to their own Business and Personal Networks -- ideally making trading easier, less worrisome, and safer.

Will reputation networks solve all the safety issues relating to online dating? Probably not. Does it make sense to pay attention to how other industries are experimenting with it? Absolutely.