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OpenID Goes to Washington

by xolotl | 10 August 2009 - 10:37pm

Today we learned from RWW's Marshal Kirkpatrick that the US federal government is considering the adoption of OpenID and other related open identity technologoies and practices for citizen identification on government websites.

This is big news for several reasons. First, by adopting OpenID, the governement would be putting the ownership and control of digital identity exactly where it should be: with the citizen. Second, a very large and conservative player—the US federal government—is taking OpenID seriously, which will do much to support OpenID's continued adoption and evolution. Third, the government will work to establish criteria for OpenID provision that may help us all select credible and worthy identity providers. I'm sure there are more implications as well that will start to surface as government support for OpenID becomes better defined.

OpenID, Wherefore Art Thou?

by xolotl | 7 July 2009 - 8:13pm

I'm a strong supporter of OpenID, the personal identity management technology that let's you take charge of your own online identity, usernames, and passwords instead of farming yourself out willy-nilly to every site on the web. I don't support OpenID for the technology itself—OpenID is just a collection of tools that are part of the machine that will enable something way more important: the user-centered, open web.

What's the user-centered, open web? It's the web you already know and love (and hate), made better with extra you, right at the center of it all. I could go on about its advantages for people, business, government and communities of all shapes and sizes, but others have done a much better job and I'm really trying to get to a different point here.

Lately I've started to worry a bit about OpenID. We've seen some recent promise realized to be sure, like Facebook's progress toward adoption, logging in to Sears with OpenID, and local Portland OpenID pioneers Janrain hiring @peat. Progress like that balances the sad demise of Vidoop, Portland's other OpenID darling, which I've commented on elsewhere.

Yet something else has been gnawing at me for a while. Back in February, 2009, the OpenID Foundation (OIDF) that coordinates and supports OpenID development and adoption hired a new Executive Director (ED), Don Thibeau. I don't know Don and I'm sure he's a fine and capable person, but I was expecting someone more, well, open, and webby. Don's background didn't seem to match OpenID's open, webby provenance, community, or future.

The Fall of Vidoop

by xolotl | 5 June 2009 - 5:45pm

Chris Messina just posted a long, thoughtful and informative blog on the rise and fall of his erstwhile employer, local Portland identity provider Vidoop.

For those of us in the Portland tech community who welcomed Vidoop, saw our friends and colleagues go to work for them, and—in my case at least—starting using their OpenID provider service myVidoop—the whole series of events is mostly sad. I truly liked everyone I met from Vidoop and really appreciated their work and contributions to our community, like their hosting of the CyborgCamp 2009 pre-party.

I strongly agree with Chris that the fall of Vidoop can not be read as a failure of OpenID or other open web technologies, standards, or practices.