OpenID: technology or solution?
There’s been some talk on the OpenID mail lists about positioning OpenID - as they await the hiring of their first executive director of the OpenID foundation.
I participated in a little debate at the recent IIW (Internet Identity Workshop) on this very subject.
I made my feelings very clear:
- that OpenID is NOT a full solution - it is an important piece of the identity puzzle (I don’t think anyone would argue this point)
- that users are confused about that, as they typically don’t see the whole picture or understand that ID is really hard. So when they hear the term ‘OpenID’ - they assume it’s a panacea solution
- but OpenID can - actually solve all these issues - by embracing other complementary technologies (like oAuth, OpenSocial, Portable Contacts, microformats, FOAF and RSS/Atom) to create a wrapper solution oriented approach - focused on simplifying the the whole ID conundrum for end-users. Barriers of entry, usability issues and confusing messages can all be solved by OpenID positioning itself as a single point-of-contact solution.
- to do all this the community had to decide “Yes - this is what we want OpenID to become” - and therefore the Executive Director you hire better be up to the task of pulling this off.
- and the OpenID Foundation are the folks who are supposed to make all this happen and at least solve this image impression issue.
Just what will OpenID be?
- a technology - which is part of the overall solution
- a solution - which embraces a suite of identity standards, protocols, etc. - delivering a one-stop “user centric” solution to a wide range of use cases, platforms, market sectors and userbases.
Guess which is my vote?
For me, it depends what you mean by ‘embrace’. It’d be awesome if OpenID could support the use of those things, and anything new that came along, perhaps even with a best practice list of standards for different markets - but on the other side of the coin, I’d worry about anything that tried to tie down the complementary technologies.
For me, it depends what you mean by ‘embrace’. It’d be awesome if OpenID could support the use of those things, and anything new that came along, perhaps even with a best practice list of standards for different markets - but on the other side of the coin, I’d worry about anything that tried to tie down the complementary technologies.
One example of a solution-based approach is JanRain’s RPS http://rpxnow.com which is a hosted platform that makes it easy for website operators to deploy OpenID on their websites in a couple of hours, integrates the benefits of all the services provided by each OP, and wraps it all in an intuitive user experience. Additionally, RPX supports non-OpenID authentication and data sharing from providers like FaceBook. As more OPs come online (MySpace and Microsoft LiveID are the two major ones that have been announced), those capabilities will instantaneously be available to any website using RPX. JanRain also plans support for hCards, Portable Contacts, OAuth, and other user-centric identity technologies to provide more comprehensive, integrated, seamless benefits to website operators and end users.
We look forward to ongoing discussions like this and feedback from end users and website operators on how OpenID can be leveraged to create meaningful and sustainable benefits in the market.
One example of a solution-based approach is JanRain’s RPS http://rpxnow.com which is a hosted platform that makes it easy for website operators to deploy OpenID on their websites in a couple of hours, integrates the benefits of all the services provided by each OP, and wraps it all in an intuitive user experience. Additionally, RPX supports non-OpenID authentication and data sharing from providers like FaceBook. As more OPs come online (MySpace and Microsoft LiveID are the two major ones that have been announced), those capabilities will instantaneously be available to any website using RPX. JanRain also plans support for hCards, Portable Contacts, OAuth, and other user-centric identity technologies to provide more comprehensive, integrated, seamless benefits to website operators and end users.
We look forward to ongoing discussions like this and feedback from end users and website operators on how OpenID can be leveraged to create meaningful and sustainable benefits in the market.
I think that Open ID is a technological revolution. It facilitates the everyday use of the world wide web and is very helpful. The user can save time by using Open ID. They already did a great job and I hope they will hear the users’ voice while enhancing it.
Furthermore I find your points very important and think it would be really great if they would consider your points.
I think that Open ID is a technological revolution. It facilitates the everyday use of the world wide web and is very helpful. The user can save time by using Open ID. They already did a great job and I hope they will hear the users’ voice while enhancing it.
Furthermore I find your points very important and think it would be really great if they would consider your points.