-- This blog will not be updated anymore and comments are closed. Thanks for reading and please visit cybette.com --

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Fun with Vox, OpenID and Zooomr

Have you heard of OpenID yet? It's an "open, decentralized, free framework for user-centric digital identity." In a gist, it works like this: say you want to create accounts at 10 websites. Instead of creating and having to remember 10 pairs of usernames and passwords (well, you could theoretically use the same ones, but sometimes different websites have different requirements for ids and passwords, or perhaps your desired username is taken, or...) -- you only need an URI to identify yourself. This is provided, of course, that all 10 sites support OpenID authentication.

Assuming such, your username at all 10 website is the same URI that you've selected. You will also need an OpenID provider that can authenticate and prove your ownership of the URI (possibly through a password or other credentials). Once that's established, you can use the same URI (+ credentials) to log in and get access to any other OpenID-enabled sites.

This barely scratches the surface, and for more details you can go to the official OpenID site. But the main thing I want to get to is Vox. Vox is a fairly new blogging platform by Six Apart (which also brought us MovableType, TypePad and LiveJournal). I think it is really cool the way it integrates the handling of photos, videos and audios into and in addition to your blog. You don't need a separate Flickr or Youtube account to upload your files to and then link the objects in your blog entries, you do everything right there in Vox. But if you already have those accounts, you can add and link to them too. No problem.

There's also a greater degree of control on your content. From setting permissions on individual blog posts, to who can view the various details of your profile, etc. While it is not the most powerful platform out there, the main draw I think is that Vox is EASY to use. Plus.... it is an OpenID identity provider! That is not all... Vox has partnered with Nokia to make it extremely easy for you to update and upload stuff to Vox using Nokia Nseries devices. Prompted by the Nokia N95 that I'm currently using (it can be very persuasive), I've created yet another blog: cybette's VOX (for lack of a better title).

The focus of my new blog will probably be more geeky and techie in nature, to relief some of the burden on this main blog, so I can write more about .... my travels maybe? Gosh, I can barely find the time for one blog... now two? Who am I kidding? Ah well... let's see how it goes. Maybe with the N95 it'll be more convenient to blog on the go. E.g. when I'm driving to/from work.... JUST KIDDING! Maybe not...

Lastly, with the Vox account I'll have an identity provider, and so I can finally use OpenID login with Zooomr (which I wrote about almost a year ago). But try as I might, I could not merge my Zooomr account with my new OpenID (which is actually this URL delegated to the Vox one). I've emailed support so let's see what happens. In the meantime, perhaps an upgrade to latest version of MovableType is in order, so that I can accept OpenID comments? Actually, are any of my readers using OpenID even?? :)

cybette wrote this at 06:59 AM
Comments

It sounds cool for VOX blogging. I'd like to get started with that. Thanks tho. I am heading for another diving trip to Thai next week, and looking fwd to seeing Whale Shark:P
Happy Anniversary of course!!

Posted by Ruby -- February 7, 2007 04:00 PM

It's only a matter of time before an embedded barcode in our heads will open doors and unlock passwords with the simple swipe of our noggins.

Posted by Texas T-bone -- February 7, 2007 11:27 PM

Ruby! Thank you! You actually remembered! Hope you have a great time in Thailand and look forward to seeing your whale shark pics on Flickr! And maybe see you at Vox too? :)

And T-bone, what if not all barcode systems are compatible? Then we'll end up with several barcodes on our heads... for the first one, you have to nod your head, another one you have to shake your head, and the third one requires you to stand on your head...

Posted by carol -- February 9, 2007 03:39 AM