However, I still think OpenID is the way to go since nobody wants to subscribe to yet another webservice. Ofcourse, you can still integrate it with OpenID.

@Arjen
Why do you think it’s limited to identity information only? If for example, Del.icio.us uses OpenID and I login at a Digg it should be able to access my bookmarks and suggest related stories. Sure it’s not the way it currently works but if people want to share this data I’m sure this will happen and OpenID is in my opinion the best way to do this since it’s the least obtrusive.

“And using an external openId server does not enable me to broadcast my identity to all sites I visit, that is what Nameo is about.”
Well these website should at least have to add some Nameo-related code right? If so, why wouldn’t they use a (proven) open standard like OpenID which can handle the same think?

I’m not saying Nameo is a bad idea I just think it’s basically something that’s already included in OpenID but we just have to wait for it to become mainstream for it to work.

So my suggestion for Nameo is to start developing standards to exchange data using OpenID.

However, I still wouldn’t sign up for Nameo. Why? Nameo would maybe only transmit my name to all websites, but isn’t that the same as my IP address? I mean, that already makes me identifiable. Any website can detect I am a returning visitor and show a message “Welcome back!”. Can you give me an example of the added value Nameo could provide? And which personal data will Nameo transmit to the web?

My feeling is that people often mistake ‘Privacy’ for ‘Anonymity’. Of-course I want to have privacy and I hope people respect that. But I don’t need to be anonymous. When I meet people in a bar the first thing I do is say my name. In a networking environment I wear a name-tag and exchange business-cards. I’m happy when people in stores know my name as a returning customer.

On the web, I always seem to be anonymous.

Nameo.org would be the digital equivalent of a name-tag. It isn’t a business-card and my privacy is still save. But sites can offer me services based on the information I am willing to share.

I’m not shy about my birth-date, first name and town and country that I live in. I also don’t mind saying that I speak Dutch but also understand English. My credit card information, sexual preferences and email address I would like to keep for myself.

That information would benefit the sites I visit and the services I use. And that, in the end, would benefit me.

Regarding Nameo: what’s in it for me? I don’t see any advantages for the average web user.
Everyone has already created accounts at the big sites, or they will create them if the site offers something worthwile. (socializing with friends, buying products, etc). Next to that, most sites don’t need any personal information to offer me a worthwile service. Cookies are sufficient in most situations.

I think OpenID will be the way to go for the future. That will make personal information portable, in a decentralized way, while also allowing people to control what sites may use what information.

Last but not least, 15 minutes of fame is so 1960’s. It’s 15 seconds of fame in this age, and the best way to achieve that is to do something stupid while being completely oblivious of the fact someone is taping your actions and uploading the results to youtube (or sending them to GeenStijl et al.). Signing up for a reality tv show is another option, of course.