Is eBay the future of Web politics?

Business Web sites that foster an aura of community trust may hold the key to the future of online politics.

A panel of Internet gurus gathered on Friday at the fifth annual Votes, Bits & Bytes conference in Cambridge, Massachussetts, held by the Berkman Centre for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School to discuss the impact of Internet business models on online politics.

The panellists said the most valuable lesson online campaigners may be able to garner from Web-based companies is that building a sense of trust remains at the centre of winning loyalty from customers or political followers.

Among the panellists were Web luminaries including Esther Dyson, the former head of Web governance body ICANN, and Craig Newmark, the founder of classifieds and community site Craigslist. Dyson currently serves as editor at large for CNET Networks, publisher of ZDNet UK. Newmark works in customer service at Craigslist.

"The golden rule is really how people want us to operate," Newmark said. "They want business sites and political sites to adhere to our shared values of being fair with one another and treating each other with respect."

Joining Dyson and Newmark on stage were Tod Cohen, deputy general counsel for government relations at online auctioneer eBay; Jonathan Zuck, the president of the Association for Competitive Technology, an IT industry group; and Debora Spar, a professor at Harvard Business School.