[OpenID] OpenID based decentralized social networking

[tom calthrop]

Hi Peter,



Peter Williams wrote:
>
> Can we go through these statements?
>
> 1.      “A collaborative space with OpenID login, yes”
>
> Ok. This seems to be a simple claim. A collaboration web-application 
> requires users to logon. The OpenID protocol is the method used. Seems 
> simple enough. Jyte asked MyOpenID to (a) repupose my login session, 
> (b) send I&A claims, (c) send persona details.
>

Yes. [our definition] - A place in which people come together to 
collaborate whereby their identity within that place is identified by 
their OpenID.
>
> 2.      “and OpenID server with some social networking stuff, yes.”
>
> But, what does this mean?
>
> Isn’t an “OpenID server” simply (a) an “authentication server” (that 
> happens to use webSSO flows) and (b) an “attribute authority server” 
> (that serves up Registration persona data)?
>

The "OpenID server" as you say is an authentication server. Quoted from 
the 2.0 specification.... :

/ The exchange of profile information, or the exchange of other 
information not covered in this specification, can be addressed through 
*additional service types* built on top of this protocol to create a 
framework. OpenID Authentication is designed to provide a base service 
to enable portable, user-centric digital identity in a free and 
decentralized manner./

This really excites me (and apologies to the authors if I misunderstand 
this) because there appears to be an effort in place to keep the OpenID 
specification only about the authentication process (ie: streamlined) 
and there is acknowledgment that other service types, for instance, a 
social networking service may form from it.

 am making a huge assumption here, but for services to be beneficial to 
the public we will need a way for all OpenID server administrators to be 
able to build their services onto their OpenID server in way where 
common exchange can ensure (messaging would be a bit pathietic if each 
OpenID server used a different protocol to transmit/receive messages). 
We came to the conclusion then that for services that require identity 
to identity based information exchange or content to identity exchange 
we need to devise common standards that support or enhance the OpenID 
specification. We've experimented with social networking, bookmarking 
and messaging, all of which we would like to make available in a way 
that all OpenID server providers can benefit from.


> Or, is there the implied assertion that with “social networking stuff” 
> that group/association functions have been added to the OpenID server, 
> where the design of that is part of the OpenID movement’s work, in 
> controlling and managing “user-centric authorization systems”?
>

I'm not sure i fully understand that (sorry). I suppose a naive answer 
would be.... W3C take on open standards/specifications in support of the 
Internet. The OpenID foundation could take on open service 
specifications in support of OpenID. This would enable people to take an 
OpenID server and build upon it and OpenID based service. W3C have 
working groups and I think now would be a good time to propose something 
similar to the OpenID Foundation  -> a social  networking working group 
who's task it is to produce an OpenID social networking 
specification.... and my next email will be to the board to propose just 
that:)

> For example, our “association management product” (viable only for 
> realty-related  applications, really, like offer/sale contract, title 
> searches, money transfer & escrow, mortgage brokering, handling 
> inspections, handling building contractors …) is a pun.
>
> 1.       It enables a Realty Association to perform member management, 
> and billing for those subscriptions (whereupon the member then 
> services all the above, for you, interacting with professionals in 
> each area (lawyers, county records, bonded escrow managers, banks, 
> safety consultants, building firms) etc.
>
> 2.       But, it also manages associations (relating a member who has 
> associated with others in groupings known to the member as X, Y and Z) 
> – given  realtor needs GOOD REFERALS to compete for the next home 
> transfer, and thus MUST associate to get the next lead. (Is also done 
> non-standard WebSSO, for about 8 years, too J)
>
> In the same sense that XDi.org (at xri.net) manages local and global 
> name resolution in parallel, the product manages local and global 
> names given by folk to the group(s) implied by one’s choice to 
> associate with others for some purpose. From this, entitlements are 
> managed – and are used to drive’s one’s “user-centric” authorization 
> system.
>
> Now, if social networking-based authorization work has produced 
> community standards in this area (even early phase efforts), I can 
> start trying to design an accommodation – where that association 
> management products  adapts to the standard – so (a) as to interwork 
> with others, (b) provide use case analysis from a business community 
> that thrives on and depends on (secure) social networking (and has for 
> 100 years) (c) support the OpenID initiative.
>
As I understand it ,"yes". Do my notes above make sense to you with this?

tom


-- 
Tom Calthrop
Founder, Barnraiser.

dedicated to giving people the tools they need to share knowledge and advance society through social software.

http://www.barnraiser.org/ 

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