IronWil Blog » Laporte

Online Authentication

Iron Wil — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:47:17 +0000

This is a huge subject that covers many aspects. We have Facebook pushing Facebook Connect, we have Open Authentication, a small group looking at delivering a distributed ID system, and browsers taking a crack at possible ways to deliver our online identities. There are opinions all over the map from guys like Jason Calacanis, Leo Laporte, and Steve Gibson.

I am not sure what the answer is; but I have to admit that I like Diaspora and am interested in what they end up doing. They received massive amounts of cash to deliver a product they came up with. Each person will hold their own ID and control how it is used. Mozilla has presented Thirdparty and Fingerprinting. Jason Calacanis has also ranted his displeasure on Facebook‘s Privacy while Leo Laporte has walked away from Facebook because the Privacy Policy has changed several times.

Facebook has now reached 500 Million daily users and is showing very little slowdown. Twitter is great for short messages and sharing right now news. Google is now working on a not so secret project titled ‘Google Me‘ a potential competitor to Facebook. Then we have Open Authentication or Open ID which is designed to deliver single sign on across the web; something that Microsoft tried to deliver years ago with Passport. There is such confusion over what the best solution will be.

Diaspora seems to bring the best ideas together by allowing the users to own the server, software, and information. It provides a single sign on that is controlled by the user.

What should the solution be?

That is a really good question. One, I have been considering for weeks, which is obvious since I am just getting this article finished & posted. I think that the best solution will allow for cross platform compatibility and easy user deployment. Software that can be installed similar to WordPress or Joomla. Plug-ins to enable additional features and content or games and video. It should be easy to update and take care of so that the average web user can manage their account and software. I imagine that several hosting companies, like DreamHost and SquareSpace, will provide managed installs. I hope that it will interface with Facebook and Twitter and several other services. It would make sense to me, that is always the hitch, that in order to compete and over take the competition; it will have to be very open and powerful. It would also need to provide Open Authentication [Open ID] like access to websites and deliver single sign-on services to a multitude of sites and services.

When it happens … the next social network evolution will change the way we communicate and interact. It will also change who owns the data and where that data resides. My personal hope is that projects like Diaspora will finally overcome the larger social juggernauts.

iron wil

Where’s the Brand?!?

Iron Wil — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:57:45 +0000

I was reading in Wired this morning about Mr. Kutcher, yes – Ashton Kutcher, and his work with UStream and his own company Katalyst Media. As some of you may know he is a huge Twitter user and has over 4 million followers. He was interviewed by Scott Brown in Don’t Laugh: Ashton Kutcher Is The Future of Video. I can’t say that the article was very insightful except for one comment, “The consumer is the brand“.

Now this is the correct concept when it comes to reaching the consumer and ‘selling’ products to them. It can also be called smart advertising, Leo Laporte “gets this” concept which can be seen by the growth of the TWiT.tv network that he has built over the last several years. Those, like myself, that listen to TWiT network shows understand the content and are not blind buyers. We are people that research and look into products that we purchase. Leo said once in a talk that advertisers are seeing real returns from those that listen [& now watch] shows on the TWiT network. I am an Audible subscriber now because I love to read, but I have a long commute (sometimes) during the week and my physical book reading time is reduced to nill. Now, I read books while driving or taking the train. It has allowed me to read Tarzan, Free, and John Adams in the last few months.

There are other products that I have been made aware of via the NetCasts from TWiT because they covered and talked about, not because they were a sponsor of the shows. I am not interested in everything mentioned on the shows I listen to; however, I do spend time on the pages of the products mentioned so that I can get a better understanding of them and become more informed about that product.

So, the Brand is the Consumer, the products that we use and consume key to us for a reason, they resonate with our culture or our needs. They maybe something that we are already using; like on TWiT’s book pick section of the Audible ad it extends our awareness of something that we maybe interested in. I have picked up Free: The Future of a Radical Price, Ringworld, John Adams, and The World is Flat from listening to Audible ads in the NetCasts. These books are not something that I would have picked up on my own.

What the future holds will be in show ad placement and ads that reflect the audience you are trying to reach. The days of TV commercial ads are going out and companies will have to be able to adapt to the changing consumer. Smart, engaging, and doing research on the things they may want to purchase. That is social media and that is the future.

iron wil

New TWiT NetCasts – 2009.12.28

Iron Wil — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:00:02 +0000

TWiT 226: The Sacred Straw Man

Hosts: Leo Laporte, John C. Dvorak, Lisa Bettany, and Andrew Warner

Guests: Adam Jones and Johnny Worthington

The inside story on the Crunch Pad, mandatory ISP filtering in Australia, and the 3D tech in Avatar…

IronWil Blog » Laporte

Online Authentication

Where’s the Brand?!?

New TWiT NetCasts – 2009.12.28

New TWiT NetCasts – 2009.12.21

New TWiT NetCasts – 2009.12.14

New TWiT NetCasts – 2009.12.07

New TWiT NetCasts – 2009.11.30

New TWiT NetCasts – 2009.11.23

New TWiT NetCasts – 2009.11.16

New TWiT NetCasts – 2009.11.09