The Cranky Geeks episode 124 with Mr. John C Dvorak, Head Crank – as cranky as ever, Sebastian Rupley, Co-Crank, Editorial Director, PCMagCast.com, John Markoff, Senior Writer, The New York Times, and Tom Goldstein, Former Dean, UC Berkeley and Columbia’s J-Schools, discuss a number of different topics, the lead story dealing with journalism, blogging, and accountability.

Here is the summary – “There have been many people calling for more accountability among bloggers, along the lines of the rules that journalists usually have to observe. Is there a fundamental difference between bloggers and journalists that should put the kibosh on this? Should bloggers be allowed more freedom than journalists?”

A couple of relevant comments were made by John Markoff making the parallel of blogging to the CB radio’s of old (something he first said years ago) and the rest of the panel taking about anonymous blog posts. What standards should be applied to bloggers, should we/they be as accountable as traditional journalists, and if in fact they are journalists.

Since we launched with Identity.net we have upgraded our blog to support OpenID, through the WP-OpenID plugin (extremely easy to install and turn on). Not only should this cut down on spam, but also, with OpenID’s from Identity.net, will enable users to prove their identity. An example is

madsen.identity.net

Which is not only my OpenID URL from Identity.net, but also is tied to my RepSheet – or profile – which can include any number if identity attributes on it. The above shows that my first and last name have been verified, via Trufina. Other RepSheet’s can contain other pieces of ones identity, given the context of what it is used for (DOB, address, background check, etc.)

Stay tuned for more OpenID news from Identity.net in the coming days, and let them, or us, know what you think.

Posted via PRWeb:

Washington, DC (PRWEB) July 8, 2008 — Trufina Inc. (http://www.trufina.com), the leading provider of online identity verification (http://www.trufina.com) services is partnering with Identity.net, a web identity platform. By partnering with Trufina, Inc. for identity verification, Identity.net provides users with the option of verifying their identity attributes once and then reusing that verified identity information across the Internet. The combined solution puts the user firmly in control of their identity information, and allows them to share their data on the web as they see fit, without having to verify their identity information over and over again.

Identity applications are going mainstream and the Trufina partnership with Identity.net offers additional ways to securely share their identity information online. Interestingly, according to JanRain, a leader in the OpenID community, there are presently over 13,000 websites accepting OpenID’s, a leading Internet Identity Protocol. This represents a growth of a growth of 50% since the beginning of 2008. The Identity.net platform is the first to empower users to share (in a verifiable way) what they want with who they want using open, portable technology.

“As with all Trufina partners, Identity.net contractually adheres to Trufina’s data use policies, and Trufina’s commitment to the consumer, to assure individuals maintain full control of their identity. Trufina, in turn, adheres to industry leading security practices, as well as identity verification standards, to ensure we provide our partners with accurate identity information,” said Trufina’s President/CEO, Chris Madsen.

Identity verification is a prime building block for the identity-based services that drive the development focus for Identity.net. “Our research has identified 20 significant transaction types on the web where identity is a major consideration of people deciding whether or not to enter into a transaction. The partnership between Identity.net and Trufina is an important step towards enabling internet users to build trust in their online interactions, by establishing verified identities on the web that are portable across the growing array of ways that people use the web”, said Identity.net’s Chairman and CEO, Rob Monster.

“Identity.net is giving consumers unique ways to present their identity information, and control its use – setting the stage for flexible and powerful applications. Utilizing Trufina’s ID Server API, Identity.net is providing verification of individual customer attributes seamlessly. Notably, the Identity.net team completed integration utilizing Trufina’s API’s in less than a week,” says Jim Adler, President and CTO of Identity.net.

About Identity.net

Identity.net is the first identity platform to deliver a compelling value proposition to consumers, and publishers, while enabling the consumer to remain in full control of what is known about their identity. The company’s technology is protected by more than 53 issued patents, and based on more than a decade of advanced research in the field of online identity.

About Trufina, Inc.

Trufina is the leading provider of online identity verification and identity management services, enabling individuals to verify their identity attributes online, and providing the identity management tools for sharing that verified identity information with individuals and websites across the Internet. Trufina offers a unique method of building trust on the Internet. As the independent “trusted source” for id verification, Trufina protects the privacy of the individual while limiting the opportunity for fraud and identity theft from partnering websites. Based in Annapolis, MD, Trufina can be found at http://www.trufina.com.

Contacts for Press and Analysts:

Jim Kinchley

301.951.8998 x3

pr(at)trufina.com

###