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?

I (along with Harry and Sylvain from the Praized Media team) will be attending the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas. It starts on Friday and lasts until next Tuesday. If you’d like to connect, send me an e-mail, seb AT praized.com. See you there!