idAuth Proposal, Take 2
After some feedback, I revised my idAuth proposal [original post, first proposal] to include a better end-user experience, via cookies.
A Gothic Fantasy Poem
Gothic doesn’t mean “goth”, but just “dark and weird”… in this case, anyways. This came to me while making breakfast:
I tripped on a velveteen horse,
and accidentally killed the bear.
The doctor wasn’t anywhere close,
so I made him a candygram.
His weasel outside of the door,
is wishing that I had some ham…
A wizard and Panamanian snake
leave me a note on my car.
The note suggested I leave
or else the sky might die.
I ignored his fanciful fears
while drinking some unicorn tears.
But at the end of the day, I still
still live in a bleeding sky.
An Email to RW/W
I just fired off an email to RW/W about a certain problem I’ve noticed… and, well, I’ll let the email speak for itself:
I’ve mentioned that I prefer RW/W over alot of the other competitive blogs because of the more thoughtful posts/articles, and diversity of content (comparatively). So I feel obligated to share this with you:
I removed TechCrunch from my Google Reader list a few months ago, for two main reasons:
- I have a personal dislike of Mike Arrington, how he runs his operations, and the manner in which he conducts himself on a professional level.
- TechCrunch has a tendency to promote only things that Mike has personal investments in, what Mike is in love with at the moment, or repeat things that are already getting massive (and most times unwarranted) coverage.
The second point is why I email you: I’ve noticed in the last week or two that RW/W is (to my eyes) degrading. I *cannot* open up Google Reader without seeing a mention of FriendFeed and it’s “wonderfulness” at least 5 times across my whole feed subscriptions, but RW/W is covering it often. Too often. Yes, they released some new feature called “rooms”… but does that deserve a huge writeup? How they might take over Twitter? What’s next, how FriendFeed is the future of the world?
I don’t mean to belabor my point, but even in non-FriendFeed writeups, it still gets mentioned, and many times unnecessarily.
This is very annoying to me. I understand I have a small bias, but it still brings up a question of journalistic integrity when something is repeatedly covered just because everyone else is talking about it. You don’t see the NYT covering Apple and their world-takeover attempts every day… why should a blog? It’s not just a problem at RW/W, but it’s a problem with the legitimacy of the journalistic blogging world, and I’d hate to see RW/W suffer for it.
And, keep in mind, I’m a fan… I’d hate to think what newcomers or “haters” think.
[Disclosure: I’ll be posting this on my blog (http://www.kyle-brady.com) and I am part of OneSwirl, a semi-competitor to FriendFeed]
Google Me
I’ve been trying to associate the search terms “kyle brady” with me and this domain for awhile now, which is more difficult than your average person searching for themselves… I have to compete with the football player.
I occasionally search my name just to see where I happen to stand in the results for that moment (since Google’s results list can change drastically, depending on which sort algorithm they’re testing on you, it’s never a “for sure” position)… and I just came across myself in the #4 slot on the first page. I was pretty excited (how’s that for geekiness?), and took a screenshot so I have proof if other people can’t reproduce the results:
Hopefully this trend continues, and I owe a “thank you” to the feed subscribers, the actual-site-visitors, and the people that link to me (even though it’s sometimes only images that aren’t even mine).
Channeling Bob Dylan
I just wrote a note to my cousin on MySpace, entirely consisting of “lyrics” I made up on the spot…it’s a little Bob Dylan/Beck-ish:
The monkey said to the cat said the tree to the bush, a needle in the hand - a hand on the tush, ceremonious juggling of the mind and the wheel, don’t let the foot in your ear know how you feel.
In the termites living on the Earth of the mole, there was a monkey who swung from a pole, right from the top of the table to your shirt, he welcomed you with a ketchup squirt.
Turtles on top of a baseball mitten, looking and tasting alot like kittens, reveal the prophecy taken from the bees, hopefully that elephant massages your knees.
Woodpaper cut on the back of a loveseat, silicon fiber dancing with the meat, you’ve got a spyglass watermelon sitting with the airplane terminal… potatoes.
Awwwwwww yeah.
idAuth Proposal
Update (5/26/2008): idAuth Proposal has been revised
————————–
Here’s a digital (and nicer) document about my proposal for an identity-data relationship method, idAuth, in three formats:
Data-Identity Relationship Proposal
At IIW2008 this week, there was some talk about using OpenID to be able to label data across the ‘net (like blog comments) as yours, verifiable by machine, in order to better aggregate/access the data you create. There appears to be a large amount of interest in this, but people are more interested in discussing semantics or complex details… not enough people who are willing to just do it.
So I thought I’d take a stab at it. After all, I’m not only someone who wants to have my data easily identifiable… I’m also part of the other side who wants to aggregate all the data (OneSwirl).
But one of the problems is that while there are millions of users with OpenIDs, there’s only a small portion that use them. To create a system (which I’m going to tenatively call “idAuth”) around OpenID would be something that won’t see results for a long time… if ever.
Why not create an intermediary solution, that includes low-level support for OpenID (as an identifier, not as a login or authentication protocol), but also includes a more basic and accessible ID method? Why not implement this now, or at least create a proof-of-concept?
My proposal has potential solutions to these questions, using microformats and XML.
I believe the best place to start with all of this is blog comments, so that’s the usecase scenario I’ve chosen here… it also means that we could easily create some plugins for Wordpress/MoveableType/etc. to do this, without having to whine and cry to people about why this is important.
Until I get this typed up and all digital, here it is in handwritten version (PDF): idAuth Propsal - Handwritten.
Update: a digital version of the proposal can be found here, in three formats
Update (5/26/2008): the idAuth Proposal has been revised
[This is also be referenced and talked about over at the SID Group - the thread is here]
Internet = Stalker Friendly
Being the nerd I am, I was talking to someone on IRC, and they dared me (through a series of semi-insults) to try and track them down.
So I did.
I came within an hour’s drive of their actual location (country + city), found two email addresses, a full name, what OS they were running, their ISP, a photo, their blog, some projects they’ve been a part of, and a few other things… all within 20 minutes.
Isn’t the Internet wonderful (when you know what you’re doing)? 
Marketing/PR Internship Position
[also found as a Facebook Marketplace listing]
Position: Marketing/PR Intern
Type: Summer Internship
Location: Silicon Valley, CA
Company: Intuitive Industries LLC
Company Type: New Tech Startup, Software
Description:
Looking for a creative individual to help jumpstart our marketing/PR division. Not interested in the “usual” answers to marketing and PR problems… very interested in creative solutions and ideas from “left field”.
If interested, please send resume, photo, and contact information to brady.kyle@int-ind.com
Wanted: Self Promoters
My company, Intuitive Industries LLC, wants to talk to certain people: shameless self-promoters and “internet celebrities”. We’re looking for opinions on some aspects of your self-promotion (what you like, what works for you, etc.), and want to talk to you… even meet you if you’re in the Bay Area.
Mr. Cat, you’d be perfect!
So, if you think you meet those qualifications, email me with some details: brady.kyle@int-ind.com
(Sorry, but if your name is Michael Arrington or Jason Calacanis… you don’t count)