OpenID Danmark
Frisk initiativ fra Facebook udvikler
fre 12/12/2008 - 16:40 — henrik.biering
Luke Shepard, der netop har lanceret Facebook Connect, stiller nu op til bestyrelsen for OpenID Foundation i et valg, der også vil blive generelt omtalt på OpenID.dk bloggen. Det er et friskt initiativ da Facebook Connect ellers opfattes som en konkurrent og trussel mod udbredelsen af OpenID:
Luke skriver følgende i sin kandidat-præsentation, som bringes her med hans tilladelse:
"I am on the engineering team at Facebook that implemented Facebook Connect. The way I see it, OpenID is an interoperable protocol, like HTTP or TCP. It is one of a collection of protocols that can make up a powerful product. Facebook Connect is a product offered by a single company. Do most web users know what HTTP is? No, but every web site uses it. Likewise, there's no reason that Facebook Connect shouldn't be able to use OpenID, OAuth, or any other open standard under the covers. In the past year, I have been the biggest promoter of OpenID within Facebook. I have created prototypes and demos to educate and convince folks within the company that OpenID, OAuth and other technologies should be adopted. And if elected to the OpenID board, I would continue to evangelize internally, as well as bring my experience with a large identity provider to help aid OpenID adoption.
I first heard of OpenID from Scott Kveton two years ago, when I was working at Amazon.com. I became captivated by this new concept of federated identity. I moved to Facebook largely because I saw it as my best chance to be a part of implementing that concept. I not usually politically inclined, but I am running for the board because I believe that OpenID represents a truly open and user-centric web that is just plain better for the average person. I believe that I am uniquely positioned to help turn that vision into a reality.
What do I think OpenID needs to do to succeed? First, I recognize that OpenID is not a compelling value proposition by itself; only when combined with other parts of the "open stack" does it provide significant utility to relying parties. I wholeheartedly agree with Eric Sachs' belief that addressing the needs of the "Top 100" websites is critical for ensuring OpenID adoption across the web. First off, the top websites need a product that provides value to them and their customers. But even if the product is great, most of the time they need someone to convince them of why OpenID is good and what value it brings. We need to figure out a way to give companies information, support, and guidance while they test out a new technology, and hold them through to the end. It's not enough to just put it out there and hope it succeeds.
I also think a different approach is needed for the "long tail". Instead of convincing people to use a library like Janrain's to implement OpenID, we should work within the community to develop robust, usable software that can be plugged into major websites in a single click. For example, any MovableType blog can accept OpenIDs trivially. That needs to be true for pretty much every consumer web software that's out there.
I have worked closely on usability and adoption for Facebook Connect and I can bring what I've learned to the OpenID community. As an example, in November I pushed to have Facebook present our user experience findings from Connect at the OpenID Usability Summit. Just logging in to openid.net with my Yahoo ID for this election required me to pull out my HTTP proxy to debug an error. A one or two-click reliable signon is not only possible, it's absolutely necessary if we are to put OpenID in every browser and every mobile device in the years ahead. Should we put OpenID in a popup? Can we figure out a standard way of sharing user interface? And can we hide all these URLs that creep users out? My experience with Connect and my passion for OpenID will help me guide the answers to these questions."
Luke skriver følgende i sin kandidat-præsentation, som bringes her med hans tilladelse:
"I am on the engineering team at Facebook that implemented Facebook Connect. The way I see it, OpenID is an interoperable protocol, like HTTP or TCP. It is one of a collection of protocols that can make up a powerful product. Facebook Connect is a product offered by a single company. Do most web users know what HTTP is? No, but every web site uses it. Likewise, there's no reason that Facebook Connect shouldn't be able to use OpenID, OAuth, or any other open standard under the covers. In the past year, I have been the biggest promoter of OpenID within Facebook. I have created prototypes and demos to educate and convince folks within the company that OpenID, OAuth and other technologies should be adopted. And if elected to the OpenID board, I would continue to evangelize internally, as well as bring my experience with a large identity provider to help aid OpenID adoption.
I first heard of OpenID from Scott Kveton two years ago, when I was working at Amazon.com. I became captivated by this new concept of federated identity. I moved to Facebook largely because I saw it as my best chance to be a part of implementing that concept. I not usually politically inclined, but I am running for the board because I believe that OpenID represents a truly open and user-centric web that is just plain better for the average person. I believe that I am uniquely positioned to help turn that vision into a reality.
What do I think OpenID needs to do to succeed? First, I recognize that OpenID is not a compelling value proposition by itself; only when combined with other parts of the "open stack" does it provide significant utility to relying parties. I wholeheartedly agree with Eric Sachs' belief that addressing the needs of the "Top 100" websites is critical for ensuring OpenID adoption across the web. First off, the top websites need a product that provides value to them and their customers. But even if the product is great, most of the time they need someone to convince them of why OpenID is good and what value it brings. We need to figure out a way to give companies information, support, and guidance while they test out a new technology, and hold them through to the end. It's not enough to just put it out there and hope it succeeds.
I also think a different approach is needed for the "long tail". Instead of convincing people to use a library like Janrain's to implement OpenID, we should work within the community to develop robust, usable software that can be plugged into major websites in a single click. For example, any MovableType blog can accept OpenIDs trivially. That needs to be true for pretty much every consumer web software that's out there.
I have worked closely on usability and adoption for Facebook Connect and I can bring what I've learned to the OpenID community. As an example, in November I pushed to have Facebook present our user experience findings from Connect at the OpenID Usability Summit. Just logging in to openid.net with my Yahoo ID for this election required me to pull out my HTTP proxy to debug an error. A one or two-click reliable signon is not only possible, it's absolutely necessary if we are to put OpenID in every browser and every mobile device in the years ahead. Should we put OpenID in a popup? Can we figure out a standard way of sharing user interface? And can we hide all these URLs that creep users out? My experience with Connect and my passion for OpenID will help me guide the answers to these questions."
