Monday, December 30, 2002

Social Identity Distribution The debate over the meaning/implementation of digital identity has continued in email between Doc, David, Bryan, Eric and AKMA. An open user-owned identity system would empower customers and resolve the problems Doc refers to, that of comparing prices, but it would raise the bar substantially in terms of the value of the identity. We can trade on the exposure of our identity or lack thereof, getting discounts for sharing more information, just as David says. That bargaining will never stop, because companies always want more information about us. None of the systems vying for market acceptance acknowledges the sovereignty of the individual identified, placing the ultimate decision about what to do with user information in the hands of people who view that information as an asset. As we already know from the fluid "privacy policies" of Web sites, which can be transformed overnight by management fiat or a merger that replaces the old policies with new ones, no organization, except one owned by the identity owners--individuals--is safe from that threat... People must own every aspect of their identity, guys. Design from that principle outward--the company or non-profit that does this will eventually win. [RatcliffeBlog: Business, Technology & Investing] This thing has to start with the individual, and proceed out to the marketplace from there. Ownership is critical. [The Doc Searls Weblog] Concur.  A sovereign identity begins with an open profile for personal use.  Personal use can begin with how you relate to your own information assets, both on your client and those available in the commons.  From there it is shared through one-off transactions.  Where a basis of trust is explicit, these transactions do not require additional reputation/credit/policy to reduce risk.  So the next sphere identity is extended to is the first degrees of your social network.  As your friends add to your profile, you retain control and transparency.  Participation of individuals who don't view your information as an asset in defining your identity enables a more than zero-sum game.  Small groups enhance individual information assets. 11:13:45 AM    comment []

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