Google, IBM and VeriSign in talks to join OpenID
Google, IBM and VeriSign are all in talks with the OpenID foundation with a view to joining imminently, according to a highly-placed source. Digg, Technorati, Microsoft, AOL, Plaxo and WikiPedia have previously announced their intention …
Context & Ripple Effects
OpenID has been assembling an unusual coalition: Digg, Technorati, Microsoft, AOL, Plaxo and Wikipedia have all already stated their intention to join the foundation, and the reported Google–IBM–VeriSign talks — still unconfirmed, per a single highly-placed source — would add the largest consumer identity holder plus two enterprise-trust heavyweights to that roster.
The pattern rhymes with Google's autumn 2007 play on cross-site social data, when MySpace, Bebo and SixApart signed onto OpenSocial rather than fight Facebook alone: assemble a neutral standard fast, then make participation the default. Identity is the next layer where that coalition logic is being tested.
First-order effects
- If the talks conclude, the OpenID foundation gains Google, IBM and VeriSign alongside Microsoft and AOL — turning what was a developer-community spec into one governed by the companies that hold most consumer web accounts.
Second-order effects
- Sites running proprietary username/password systems face pressure to accept OpenID credentials, while AOL and Microsoft shift from gatekeeping their own logins to competing as identity issuers for third-party sites.
- VeriSign's involvement points toward a trust-and-assurance layer atop OpenID, pushing rivals to differentiate on verified-identity guarantees rather than mere compatibility.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, federated identity becomes table stakes for any major web property, eroding per-site account silos and shifting platform competition toward whoever controls the portable identity layer — the same coalition-over-walled-gardens logic Google applied with OpenSocial.
The trend: Web identity is consolidating around open federation standards, with the largest platforms racing to serve as both issuers and acceptors of portable logins.