OpenID, my new favorite thing!
I’ve had an OpenID for nearly 2 months now, and I have to say I’m really enjoying the ease and simplicity it offers.
From the OpenID Wikipedia page:
OpenID is a shared identity service, which allows Internet users to log on to many different web sites using a single digital identity, eliminating the need for a different user name and password for each site.
I’ve been using it for as many online sites/services as I can, including my Basecamp projects with 37Signals’ Openbar which ads simple project switching and even product (to Highrise) switching!, online mind mapping at MindMeister, and will soon get some plugins for Wordpress to use it on my blogs.
As a site or product owner, I’m not sure how easy it is to enable it’s use yet, but I do know it does a lot to lower the bar for signups and participation. How many times have you stopped reading an article, downloading something, commented, or even join a new service because you didn’t want to go through a long painful signup process? It certainly has stopped me.
But OpenID makes it easy to join any online community activity, as you can control how long your authentication lasts, how much data/info is shared, etc.
There are several providers, but you can also use the url of many common services you may already be on, from Blogger, flickr, Technorati and AOL. I went with VerisignLabs Personal Identity Protection, part of the website security/trust company Verisign.
I’m certainly going to be recommending an optional OpenID implementations to all my clients with sites. If you own a website with logins, what’s keeping you from implementing OpenID as a login/password option and making it easier for new signups/users?
openid, open id, data portability, usability, product management
Technorati Tags: openid, open id, data portability, usability, product management
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Glad to see OpenID working out for you Charlie. I work for Vidoop and we have an OpenID provider at http://myvidoop.com that aims to help you eliminate passwords altogether.
myVidoop offers a two factor authentication solution using our ImageShield technology. We also have a browser plugin for managing your traditional logins/passwords, support OpenID delegation and have lots of other neat features.
For site operators interested in implementing OpenID we run an affiliate program at http://affiliates.vidoop.com which gives you an easy way to refer members to myVidoop to get their OpenID account.
Hope all continues to go well for you!