TrustFabric Protects as well as Connects
Ever since Joe Botha told me about TrustFabric at some or other event months ago I’ve been itching to share it with you in a way non-tech people would understand. TrustFabric is actually a VRM or Vendor Relationship Management Tool. What Exactly is VRM? According to Wikipedia it’s a category of business activity made possible by software tools that provide customers with both independence from vendors and better means for engaging with vendors. These same tools can also apply to individuals’ relations with other institutions and organizations. That doesn’t sound sexy does it? Hopefully this video explains what TrustFabric is…
Would that not be a blast? If TrustFabric becomes ‘mainstream’ and more companies start using it, changing banks would be easier than Mobile Number Portability. The whole RiCA, FiCA and whatever-iCA they come up with next would not require as much time and as big an advertising budget the RiCA deadline just did. To me, not only will a VRM tool like TrustFabric save me time but it will save the corporations millions, that’s a win-win. It can be used as the South African Opt-Out registry and can even spell the end of SMS Spam which I complained about yesterday.
It doesn’t end there. TrustFabric this week announced a new service called TrustFabric Child
Protect.
Their new service helps protect children from inappropriate content by
letting parents associate a date of birth with the mobile phone number or
email address of their child.
Approved content providers or social networks can query the Child Protect
registry to find out if a mobile phone number or email address belongs to an
adult before access is granted to certain content or features.
Parents can start using Child Protect by signing up for TrustFabric Connect. Imagine having your kids mobile numbers connected to the Child Protect service. Those late night ads on freE TV offering you XXX rated material with a simple SMS & subscription service could simply ping Child Protect to verify the user or the mobile phones age. I can even picture MXit users parent’s, who are concerned about their children’s safety in chat rooms meant for a more mature audience, control with who their kids converse on Africa’s largest social network simply by setting up Child Protect. Those parties that are not organised by cigarette tobacco companies, just by event management companies with very similar humped wavy logos could even use Child Protect to ensure minors do not get exposed to their brands. The possibilities are endless and with it I agree with Tyler Reed this is the most ambitious stat-up to come from South Africa… ever.
PS: TrustFabric Child Protect is a free service. Find out more here