1. Looks good. This is me: sjvilla79.suprglu.com

Posted at 8:05PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Scott

2. This sounds like a YADLA to me...another GoingOn/Flock-like attempt to solve the problem of aggregating one's content from a multitude of sources. For the mainstream user the solution to this problem will never be one that requires a user to configure a dozen userids and passwords as well as continue to maintain one's content on a dozen sites. The solution will be a simple application... one site... one password... that allows people to produce, upload, and maintain, as well as present all their content.

Posted at 8:05PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Michael

3. i don't necessarily agree with that. i don't want one site, one password. i DO want one identity, one password -- able to key me into many distributed sites. i don't want my flickr UI to be my Tribe UI to be my 43placs UI, etc. it just won't work. the sites serve specific purposes and that's great -- i want them to continue to do so -- but if i had a federated identity that lets me be me, simply, between all of them -- that's the optimal solution, in my mind.

Posted at 8:05PM on Dec 18th 2005 by barb dybwad

4. That’s why I had written “mainstream user.” There will always be those, that whether due to profession or hobby, appreciate the subtle nuances of narrow offerings and spend their time exploring the latest gadgets and tools. But this group is a small minority. Likewise, as there’s more consolidation and convergence among the various vertical applications being aggregated, the audience for these 3rd-party DLAs becomes even smaller.

I’m confident, based on the feedback we’ve received, in stating that people who don’t have the time or the technical savvy to constantly evaluate new tools are just looking for an easy way to share media and build an on-line presence. Signing up and learning how to use six different sites is not an attractive option, let alone a seventh to aggregate information from those other six.

Posted at 8:05PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Michael

5. i think there will always be an audience for both, and i agree with you the mainstream user will gravitate towards one service to rule them all -- for the next while, anyway. until the overall cultural web-savviness reaches the next level.

but, when it comes right down to it, i don't care how friggin' cool that company is that can aggregate all those services -- i'm not comfortable with them owning my data. i want my own identity, and i want access to the data and metadata that i painstakingly "contribute" to the "community" that the CEO/investors/shareholders/whoever are profiting from.

Posted at 8:05PM on Dec 18th 2005 by barb dybwad

6. Ownership and accessibility are different concepts and neither support single-purpose sites over multi-purpose. A one function site can have draconian policies and provide limited access, and a robust application can have the most open policies and systems.

Sure, trust is a factor, and people will more likely continue to use a service they already trust when that service incorporates new functionality, than seek out a new service to trust for the same functionality. Wouldn’t you be more likely to upload your videos to Flickr (aka Yahoo- a site with plenty of profiting “CEO/investors/shareholders”) than to start trusting one of the “Flickr of videos” you’ve written about?

Trust is one dynamic of the convenience of using an aggregated service rather than multiple services. When we added video sharing to Multiply, our users jumped right in because there’s no barrier to entry…they didn’t need to sign-up and get another password, didn’t need to learn a new interface, and they already trusted us.

Posted at 8:05PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Michael

7. "Wouldn’t you be more likely to upload your videos to Flickr (aka Yahoo- a site with plenty of profiting “CEO/investors/shareholders”) than to start trusting one of the “Flickr of videos” you’ve written about?"

It depends. If it's a good service, then sure, of course. But... I could be swayed by a Flickr of video that did video well AND supported open identity. In fact, I could be swayed away from Flickr by a photo-sharing service that supported open identity, and I'd be likely to switch *even if* that service were lesser in features and functionality. This is because open identity is rapidly ascending the scale of what's most salient to me in web services.

Posted at 8:05PM on Dec 18th 2005 by barb dybwad