Imagine a public ledger in a small town where all transactions are recorded. This ledger is kept in a place where everyone can see it, like the town square. Once something is written down, it's permanent and can't be altered. Now, instead of being in one location, this ledger is constantly copied to multiple places and checked by many people, ensuring its accuracy. This makes the system transparent and hard to tamper with.
In the context of the Social Web, imagine that each person has a special key to the community bulletin board. With this key, you can decide what to post and who can see your postings. You have full control over your own section of the board. Since the community verifies each post, what you put up is secured and trusted.
Once it's up, it can't be altered or removed by anyone else but you. Even the town council, who usually governs everything, can't change or remove your postings. This gives you more control and ownership over your content, making the system not only transparent but also empowering for individuals. However, keep in mind that there are laws that protect people from harm online, and even though you have control over it that doesn't mean you can violate these laws.