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<p class=MsoNormal>Dear OpenID Foundation Members:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I am pleased to announce the opening of the 2010 OpenID
Foundation Board nomination and election process. The information below shares
some context for the election and is intended for you - the person out there
considering running, nominating or voting in the upcoming OpenID Foundation
election. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>This election will hit the refresh button on OIDF for 2010.
I am pleased to report the “foundation” of the foundation is solid.
New financial, administrative and legal measures are in place. Our budget was
carefully mapped and still able to respond to the government’s open
identity initiative. Because of all that and more, the newly elected community representatives
will have a major influence on 2010 plans, priorities and budget. The focus on
security and usability at last week’s OpenID Summit at Yahoo! and follow
up discussions at the IIW reflected the key concerns of the current board. The
“state of OpenID security” work Jeff Hodges, Ashish Jain and others
did inventoried the security challenges we still face. Allan Tom, Breno de
Medeiros and others laid out key issues in presentations on the “state of
usability.” New “product” improvement initiatives like
those discussed in Dick Hart and David Recordon’s IIW session on V.Next
and new “cloud” and active “client” selector demos all
point to renewed energy for building on core OpenID technology.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Just as OpenID technology is evolving, how the board works
must change. Organizations that have transitioned from specification
development to market adoption (the space we entered this year) have evolved
their governance and membership programs to meet operational and financial
objectives. In order to improve the core technology
“product”, drive RP adoption and increase member services, we need
to find ways to offer more membership value and create diversified sources of
income. 2010’s board members will consider how best to balance
competing priorities with still unfolding value in the trust framework and certification
work to do with the US government and others. We’ve been told by
experts that demand for certification is a leading indicator of the growth and
maturity of a technology standard. How we do certification will, in part,
shape our future. Our discussions have us looking beyond the US government
requirements to broader market adoption dynamics. The IIW community’s
“acid test” greatly improved the working hypothesis that RP
adoption can be best served by a synchronized and phased focus on both
technology interoperability and policy certification. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>In an organization like ours, leadership must come from all
quarters. As an essentially volunteer run organization, change –
whether to a website page or working group – is in the hands of those
motivated to act. The OpenID foundation remains a unique mash up of democracy,
meritocracy and technology. A few months ago, I took great pride in
introducing the OpenID Board to Vivek Kundra, the US CIO at the White House. I
made sure Vivek knew the people he was meeting were not the usual suspects of lawyers
and lobbyists, but the engineers and computer scientists who wrestled daily
with the most challenging problems of internet identity. The government adoption
provided a forcing function for OpenID technology, community collaboration, and
a bit of history making. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Over a glass of wine, Nat Sakimura, Andrew Nash and I were
riffing on the OpenID Foundation’s “mission.” We kept pushing
beyond: “stewardship of intellectual property.” “Enabling
trust” wasn’t good enough but the Japanese translation of “trust”
into “a feeling of safety” and being “at ease” began to
capture what OpenID might someday bring to users. It hints at how important our
work can be. For myself, I believe an “open” reliable, “trusted”
identity standard can be the next key operational piece of Internet
infrastructure. It can be to the identity layer what DNS is to the Web layer
and IP is to the packet layer. In that way, the mission of the OpenID
foundation and the leadership of its board can build something sustainable and
important on behalf of internet users.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The contribution of your leadership on our board and active
engagement as members of our foundation is highly encouraged. Employment
in any company is not a barrier. Please carefully consider your nomination and
those of others. A FAQ with specific details on the election process is
available at <a href="http://www.openid.net">www.openid.net</a>. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Thanks for your support. 2009 has been an extraordinary
year, 2010 promises much more. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Don Thibeau<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>don@OIDF.org<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Executive Director<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The OpenID Foundation<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>http://openid.net<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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