I really am interested in a transferable universal ID for the Travel Industry. It could help authenticate user content and review sites like TripAdvisor; giving credibility to most user generated content. There is going to be a consumer backlash to it, when there is data tracking (think beacon) consumers feel as if it is an invasion of privacy, and that their anonymity has been violated. Authentication will increase as more reliance on peer reviews and community sites expands.

I agree, however it would take much time though it is a pretty good idea

I think this is a more generic issue than just related to travel. Sorry if this comment is a bit long.

Technically, the few who could get beyond critical mass and make something for universal authentication would be the Googles, Microsoft (Passport), Facebook &co, all with their open APIs and SDKs.

But from a societal point of view there are signs suggesting the masses would not be so interested in one Universal ID. For example, we all have multiple email accounts to relate with family, friends or business relationships. I can't point to the exact piece of research but I have read today's teenagers own anywhere between 7 to 15 email/online accounts. Accounts are becoming a proxy for relationships. We don't want to mix everything together. We want to keep some of our moves anonymous. We want to let some people know about our steps, but not others.

Rather than permanently linking an authenticated name to an object such as a travel review, technology should do the opposite - i.e. allowing to link a review object into an account.

For example I could first post a review on TripAdvisor with an undetectable name (I don't want all hotels in the world to track my name, start sending me offers, etc). Then I can decide that I want to let my Facebook friends know about the review, and I post it to my FB account. This way the review is totally authentified for my friends (who are the ones who value my review more because they know me). The review remains anonymous to other readers, but even if they knew my real name, they wouldn't value it highly because they don't know me personally. Got it? You should know of course that FB already allows this - but not many have understood how it works.

In summary, the core of the issue is where is the trusted relationship. Currently the trusted relationships are - as parallel webs - inside the social networks, FB, Linkedin, Myspace, Xing and you can name it (there is a new social network every day). That's where everything will happen, and we will keep belonging to several parallel social networks just as in real life we belong to many different cultures and groups.