[OpenID] Purpose of OpenID Foundation and the Elections

[Eran Hammer-Lahav]

When trying to decide if I wanted to run for a board seat, and when deciding
who to vote for, I asked myself two simple questions:

1. What is the purpose of the OpenID Foundation, what role should it fill,
and how is it different from the community?

2. Which individuals are best positioned to fulfill this role both in
experience and available resources (time, travel, influence)?

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My view on the foundation role is grounded in the legal reality of doing
standards work, as well as my experience with the required support needed to
foster successful communities (with OAuth as my personal example). The
community can be (and has been) successful dealing with the technical
details of the specification. It is not equipped to handle the legal
framework required to write standards.

While communities CAN produce successful marketing campaigns (just read
about Chris Messina's projects in the past few years), the OpenID community
has failed the marketing test. Since in this era marketing is a must for any
effort, it puts the burden on the foundation to lead.

This gives a pretty clear definition of the foundation role (and hence, the
board's): to manage the legal framework and logistics needed by the
community, and to manage the OpenID brand. What it does not solve is what
that brand means.

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The two main contenders for the meaning of the OpenID brand are: technology
and product. It should not be both. Either OpenID is an interop
specification like HTTP, or it is a product like Facebook Connect.
Developers don't care how the product is used, just that their code will
work with other vendors. End users don't care how the product is
implemented, just that they get the functionality they want.

The reason why I think it should not be both is because it undermines our
success. OpenID cannot try to compete with the Facebook Connect or Microsoft
Passport products, while at the same time trying to become their underlying
technology. A product implies an end-to-end approach where the experience
and functionality is consistent. An interop protocol implies a
product-neutral approach.

Based on what direction we want to take, technology or product, the
foundation will need to adjust itself to accommodate it. I think OpenID as a
product is a hard sell, but where the most potential is and a direction more
aligned with the original vision behind the community. I think there is also
great value in a standard SSO solution, even when not used as a consumer
identity open-web product.

I am confidant that my experience will allow me to contribute to either
direction, and I would like to at least try the product approach one more
time before shifting focus to the technology. So far the product direction
has failed, but I would like to make sure it is not simply due to poor
execution. In this context, the foundation becomes the main marketing and
brand management branch of the community, and takes the role of
spokesperson.

To sum my position: the main role of the OpenID foundation in the coming
year is to help OpenID become a well understood brand and successful product
that has the features desired by the market. It is also to review the
current infrastructure (legal and logistical) and ensure it fits with the
objectives of building the best possible product. If that attempt does not
show sufficient sign of success, the foundation should shift its focus to
the technology and ensure the establishment of OpenID as the primary SSO
protocol on the web (driving other products).

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I obviously consider myself a suitable candidate to promote the above
viewpoint on the role of the foundation and board. My technical experience
with OAuth, OpenID, Potrable Contacts, HTTP Link header, /Site-meta, and
XRDS(-Simple), is directly relevant to this work. My legal experience with
OpenSocial, OAuth, and the Open Web Foundation allows me to protect the
needs of the community and fight for the principals of the Open Web.

I also have the luxury of having a day job that is directly aligned with
investing time and energy with the OpenID foundation. My job if focused on
increasing Yahoo's involvement in standards and open communities. This give
me the kind of flexibility required for an active board involvement.

I really wanted to list the other 6 candidates I voted for, as I have done
for any other election I have ever participated in, but since I had more
friends than available spots, I do not want to offend anyone. When it came
to the last vote, it was a very hard call.

EHL