Facebook Jumps Onboard with OpenID

OpenID, the widely accepted open digital identity, recently got a huge endorsement by getting Facebook onboard.  Recently, Facebook implemented their own competing authentication system called Facebook Connect that was adopted by about 4,000 websites.  This disruptive presence wasn’t open source and went against the principles of the OpenID Foundation.

OpenID has the backing of major corporate web players like Microsoft, Google, IBM and Paypal, just to name a few.  The Facebook Developer’s Blog announced last Thursday that they will be partnering with OpenID to create a “secure distributed identity framework for use across the web.”  Wired reports on the partnership:

The resulting effects of this partnership on data portability are unclear. And whether Facebook and the rest of the internet are now part of the same big happy family remains to be seen. But for those worried about Facebook Connect derailing OpenID or causing it to die on the vine, this is huge.  Certainly, we can expect OpenID’s public profile and reach to get a boost. Also, a post on OpenID’s website trumpets Facebook’s dedication to improving OpenID’s user experience.

It’s exciting to see the popularity of Facebook join with the positive presence of OpenID, with Facebook even slated to host an OpenID design summit at their offices in Palo Alto, California soon.

[via Wired]