We Need More Coverage of OpenID

by Logan Antill

Reading some blog posts and comments about OpenID there always seems to be one central theme: it is too difficult, too technical. Obviously, I don’t think it is. I mean, even I understand the basic functionalities of OpenID. But if some people really don’t understand it, they should look for information on the internet. There are many tutorials and even blogs about it that explain the concept very well. Well, that’s what I thought. But are there really so many sources available? Sources for end users? Blogs which cover the topic regularly?

Beginners Are not Adressed

Of course, there is Planet OpenID which is tracking quite a lot of blogs. But looking at those blogs two problems for end users become obvious:

• Many blogs are not updated regularly.
• The content of the posts about OpenID is often very technical, including code snippets and other rather technical stuff. Actually that’s not really a suprise as most of those bloggers are developers.

By the way, there is no direct link from the OpenID frontpage to Planet OpenID. So it is difficult to discover for users unfamiliar with it.

Users who are new to OpenID or want to learn more about it are often left out in the rain. Occasionally, some good and informative articles appear here and there in the blogosphere, though not regularly. Yes, Planet OpenID includes a feed, OpenID Buzz, which is comprised of shared items from a Google Reader account maintained by David Recordon, if I got things right. However, it is almost impossible to discover a new blog there that covers the topic frequently.

OpenID needs more regular coverage for beginners (We – Thomas and I – try to do that with Spread OpenID. The site will be updated regularly again after it lay dormant for a few months. Sorry for this!). It needs more visual appealing explanations like screencasts, diagrams, and charts which are easy to understand (note to self: learn that visual stuff yourself!). Maybe that’s an issue the new board of the OpenID Foundation should tackle the next few months.

More Positive Coverage

Also OpenID needs more positive coverage. I don’t want to suggest blind positive coverage – not everything is cool with OpenID – but coverage that is supportive of the technology while staying critical and addressing the weak points as well. Currently, it seems like mostly the negative articles keep in people’s minds (see also Chris Messina’s excellent article about perception of OpenID). For example, there is the almost legendary article by Stefan Brands that is still quoted rather often when people write about the (security) flaws of OpenID. As Joseph Holsten noted on the OpenID mailing list recently, many of the sources mentioned in that article are supporters of OpenID (by now).

It is about time to prevail in the discussion again!