Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Wanted: an identity management service. Business model included.

I have many digital identities. Some are loosely connected (facets?), others are distinct personae. The varied identities each have their own managed reputations, with the facets sometimes sharing the same emergent Google-derived reputation. Even I have trouble keeping track of them. Personae are also susceptible to cloning; requiring either identity recovery or identity termination.

I'm not alone in this swamp.

We need more identity management tools that let us rapidly switch our personae (visible identities) and facets, while tracking our associated reputations and providing a visual cue as to our current identity. These tools can also remind us what each identity is designed for; it's not hard to forget the purpose or a persona, and thus to misuse it.

Obviously such a tool should have a biometric component, though it would need to be optional at first. One way to generate a revenue for such a service would be to provide the service free, but charge for the associated token*, biometric authentication component, or personal VPN add-on.

Needless to say, the service could not be hosted in the United States.

Denmark perhaps?

* Personally I'd like a token embedded in the well recognized geek watch.

PS. If you do create this business, I'd love a one-year free subscription :-).

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Here is my choice for a geek watch!
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/07/30/beautiful-nooka-watc.html
Alan