The Praized Blog

As I stated in my last yearly predictions, I think 2008 will be the year of identity, where we start solving the problem of having to create (and remember) multiple username/passwords to access all the sites we visit. A panel yesterday morning at SXSW08 offered us a glimpse into what could be THE solution for solving this issue: OpenID.

What is OpenID?

• A decentralized mechanism for SSO (single sign on) that tries to solved the username/password problem
• It’s a URL (an identifier) - the OpenID protocol lets you prove you own the URL
• Simple registration
• You can read more about what is OpenID here.

Why OpenID?

• Many people in the past have tried to solve the issue: Microsoft Password, TypeKey, Facebook
• But SSO with a single controlling authority betrays the principle of the web

Yahoo! & OpenID

• Yahoo is now an OpenID provider (has been since January)
• It means you can log-in to OpenID-compatible sites using your Yahoo log-in information (the reverse is not true though).

How to implement OpenID?

• See this presentation.

What it means: I think the consensus is that OpenID as a technology is ready to go, but it still lacks “marketing” and “user-friendliness”. Companies including Clickpass are trying to address that problem. See today’s coverage on Techcrunch for more details. Expect this technology to make waves in the next 12 -18 months. My Praized partner, Sylvain, is already talking about organizing a OpenID DevCamp in Montreal. Anyone else interested?