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Torreum: A decentralized professional reputation network
Abstract: Research has shown that people's professional reputations are being fragmented and siloed by several online platforms. LinkedIn, for example, has built a so-called ‘walled garden’ and institutes legal action against entities trying to access it even when users have authorized such access. Networks like Uber, Upwork, and Airbnb, don’t allow their users to port recommendations they have earned to other services. Switching platforms is difficult. These actions can be said to reduce the socioeconomic mobility and freedom of people. This paper seeks to propose Torreum as a decentralized professional reputation network that enables people to build and use their curricula vitae and recommendations anywhere. Torreum adds the concept of recommendation weight, a PageRank-like link-analysis algorithm. Weighted recommendations come from people who have been recommended by others. They add trustworthiness and relevance to each individual. Recommendation weight is scarce. Torreum uses blockchain for decentralized access, integrity, and transparency. People authorize apps to add and read their data to and from the Torreum blockchain. In turn, apps use this data to improve, automate, and accelerate processes such as job matching, recruiting, lead scoring, career advice, and professional networking. Torreum may enable new functionalities over time, such as recommendations for limited interactions as well as new ways of networking. Ultimately, Torreum’s goal is not only to assist in the broader empowerment of people so they are in full control of their professional online reputations but also to contribute towards making work fulfilling for all.
Full paper at: https://torreum.org/s/torreum.pdf
