I really wanted to write this post from a long time. But with lack of Blogging time, I was covering more of current issues. I just read about Government sites implementing OpenID and even Facebook is doing it, so I said I will write this post at once. There have been similar posts over the course of time, but now this topic is getting more interesting. So here it goes…
As the internet is growing at a rapid pace and everything is heading to the cloud, the number of website memberships increase. Right from E-mail, Online Banking, Shopping, Forums, Blogs and of course Social Networking. With so many login credentials to remember, OpenID came up with the strategy of 1 login for all websites. You can use your OpenID to login to your E-Mail, Online Banking, Shopping, Forum, Blogs and Social sites. This is indeed a great way to go. You also have several OpenID providers to choose from, so you can get OpenIDs of your choice.
However, with the advent of Facebook, things began to change. Almost the whole internet is on Facebook posting updates. And there comes Facebook Connect, Facebook’s service that allows users to connect to other websites with their Facebook login credentials. In short, Facebook’s OpenID. Facebook Connect is getting really popular with more and more websites implementing it.
This leaves us with the question, What about OpenID? OpenID started this venture so it is obviously dominant. Even Facebook is adopting OpenID on their site! Recent news also say that Government sites will allow logins with OpenID. I will really not be surprised if Government sites allow Facebook Connect for login over a period, but that’s another thing.
So here is my view. No matter how its shown that Facebook Connect and OpenID are different, they are the same! And that makes them rivals. It is studied as a complicated relationship.