Maybe you have read about OpenID in the past and wondered if there were any more benefits to it than signing up to various websites and blogs with just one ID. Well, there are.
Jyte is a new service by JanRain, the company running MyOpenID, an OpenID provider. With Jyte you are able to make claims about other users as well as about yourself. Claims can be everything, from more simple ones like ‘Carsten Pötter likes football’ to more meaningful ones like ‘Carsten Pötter is reliable’ (I doubt someone will claim this, though 
).
Also users can assign credibility to other users. If you think someone is an open source evangelist you can tag him or her with ‘open source’ and ‘evangelist’ for example. You can also add users as contacts.
I think associating OpenID with claims, credibility, and contacts is a significant step to build an online reputation system. Jyte is also working on an API which will allow publishing of contact lists as XFN and FOAF. So a social network based on OpenID is possible.
Jyte is a great service but they probably have to find ways to block some trolls who are abusing the system at the moment. Though if you already have an OpenID give it a try. Well, even if you don’t have one yet.
Tags: API, JanRain, MyOpenID, online reputation system, social network
