NICK sources

Where will all this information come from?

First off: not from us. Grass Commons’ mission is to serve as a conduit, not as a source. We may produce some sorts of research internally, for example automatic corroborations of redundant information or a disinterested “certifier certification” program to help users choose reliable sources. Also, we may serve as the face of information produced by our website users, but generally we will concern ourselves much more with trasmission than with content.

So where then? Well, anywhere we can get it. You may be wondering how we will guarantee the accuracy of information on the NICK. The answer is we won’t — our approach is far more democratic. Rather than filter for data that we have deemed reliable, we will do everything we can to help network users perform those filters themselves and share what they’ve learned. To do this effectively the NICK must clearly identify the source of every datum. We stand by the reliability of two things: (1) data of which Grass Commons is the source, and (2) accurate identification of all sources. Though we won’t censure data content, we will treat any falsification of source with utmost severity.

Here are some of the sources we hope to bring onto the NICK. A listing here does not imply any sort of contractual agreement with Grass Commons, only that we would like to see their data better integrated with the rest and more convenient for citizen-consumers to use.

Socially Responsible Investing (SRI)

Currently, perhaps the greatest repositories for information about corporate social responsibility (CSR) are the researchers that provide data to socially responsible investors. If you have invested in a socially responsible mutual fund, for example, your fund investments were screened using CSR research. The following list comprises investment firms and research providers represented by at least four members in the Social Investment Research Analyst Network.


Because their data is proprietary, they could choose from many ways in which to present their data on the NICK. They might choose to sell data on a subscription or pay-per-click basis, they might arrange for transaction-based fees with e-commerce sites, or they might provide some portion of their data for free in hopes of attracting more business. At any rate, they produce a wealth of information that could greatly alter the consumer landscape if it were made conveniently available to shoppers.

Certifications

A growing number of groups are offering product certifications, but certification labels are scarce in ecommerce. We hope to address the issue by publishing certifications on the NICK. The following list is but a small sample, and includes both government and nonprofit certifications.


Other certifications apply to the company, rather than the product:

News media

It will be possible to provide teasers for news stories, blog articles, books, and anything else tied to a company or product on the NICK. Network clients will not necessarily include news readers, so users will often link to other software for detailed content, but this way if a company has a toxics spill on a cancer ward, you won’t accidentally purchase a flower pot from them later in the day — and you will learn as you shop.

A few examples of the thousands of news providers that often offer content related to products and companies:

Advocacy groups

This is one of the most exciting realms of NICK information. In addition to normal news releases, advocacy organizations can also produce action alerts tied to products and companies. More importantly, they can advocate through the NICK, encouraging social change through simple changes in purchasing decisions. Here are jsut a few of the many advocacy groups that might develop NICK-based strategies:

Self reporting

The term “self-reporting” is used very broadly here, and is intended to include everything from corporate social responsibility reporting to product specs, inventory, vendor prices, marketing materials, and anything else offered by a “first-party” source. Furthermore, the term “reporting” is not intended to imply that the company will actively offer data to the NICK. This information might be gathered by crawling manufacturer and merchant websites, through webservices (such as the Amazon Web Service), or from bodies that collect corporate reports, such as the Global Reporting Initiative.

The NICK does not hope to suppress first-party information, only to put it into proper context. A great deal of valid consumer data comes from interested sources, as does a steady stream of cruft — we hope the NICK will help us tell the difference. Importantly, self-reported data is handled differently from third-party data on the NICK, and all of Grass Commons’ NICK client interfaces will clearly relay the distinction. We will encourage other interfaces to do the same.

Voluntarily offered information that passes through other hands without manipulation will still be considered “self-reported” so long as those relaying the information do little or nothing to insure its accuracy.

Government reporting

Even though government data is often “self-reported” by companies, it will be treated differently from other self-reported information on the NICK because (a) it is not generally voluntary and (b) there are often severe consequences for misrepresentation. The NICK will support information from any government, but the following examples are all from US agencies:

Other business information providers

In addition to social investment research, there are many other business research groups at work. Some conduct surveys, some conduct interviews, some are not very forthcoming about their methods, some are quite open. They may provide details about anything from CEO salaries to corporate filing dates to business locations. A few examples:

Expert product research / reviews

By far the most famous name in product reviews is Consumer Reports. With over a million online subscribers, they have shown that there is no shortage of online interest in consumer information. However, as a Consumer Reports subscriber myself, I understand how difficult it can be to weigh their reviews against other important considerations. The NICK will address this problem by integrating CR reviews with prices, news, and everything else. No more clicking back and forth between websites to compare notes.

There are few other reviewers with the same breadth, but specialists’ work will also be sought. This includes art reviewers, car reviewers like Motor Trend, electronic product reviewers like PC Magazine and Popular Photography, and many others.

One especially encouraging new project in this arena is the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT).

User research / reviews / responses

This category has huge untapped potential. Individuals will likely be the most powerful force shaping the NICK, whether by helping establish the credibility of a source, contributing to open source software projects, reporting errors, testing, shopping, or providing original content. There may eventually be ways to remunerate significant contributors, but projects like Wikipedia have aptly demonstrated the abundant interest in freely sharing highly useful information.

Many e-commerce outlets are already tapping into this generosity by soliciting user ratings and reviews of products, services, and companies. Unfortunately, they are all doing this independently, so they all suffer from small sample sizes and limited expressivity. If these websites were part of the NICK, they would all be able to pool their reviews and ratings to produce far more valuable data to consumers. Some will also begin to tap into the expressive power of the NICK in order to make greater use of network tools and give their users greater voice.

Here is a small sampling of services currently offering user reviews:

data source suggestions are always welcomed

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