This is a reasonably clear and relatively straight-forward account of the concept of distributed identity. There's a strong blockchain slant to the discussion, but ignore that - the concepts remain the same with or without blockchain. As the article goes on it gets more technical, so feel free to bail when your comfort level is exceeded.

'Decentralized Identifiers' is a new World Wide Web Confortium (W3C) specification. " Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) are a new type of identifier for verifiable, 'self-sovereign' digital identity. DIDs are fully under the control of the DID subject, independent from any centralized registry, identity provider, or certificate authority." This is a technical document, so for most readers it's only useful to read Section 1.

A decentralized ID is basically a URL that points to some data about yourself. This data includes cryptographic material, authentication suites, and service endpoints. It's worth noting that the DID specification "has produced two specific requirements for a new type of URL" which "SHOULD NOT require a centralized authority to register, resolve, update, or revoke the identifier." We will get to what that might look like in the next module, on Resources. 

8 page academic paper on identity, giving us yet another perspective on the concept. "In returning to the idea of identity as a meeting place it is possible to see identity as relational – formed and played out in relation to those who are similar and those who are different....  it is possible to detect shifting emphases in relationships to past, present, future. Finally, identity is never complete and can incorporate aspirational and fantasy elements."

This articl introduces you to the concept of the identity graph. This is a graph created by advertisers linking all your identifiable information together to create a picture of a single individual out of distributed data. This article is a leisurely read and doesn't get too complex, though it's a bit long. For more on identity graphs: What is an Identity Graph, 6 Things Every Marketer Need to Know. Note that while the identity graph originates as a marketing concept, it is not exclusively a marketing concept, and something people and organizations can take control of in their own right.

I am recommending a read through the first part of this short course from OpenLearn. It looks at questions like "How are identities formed?" and "How much control do we have in shaping our own identities?" Of course, the next few sections (on gender, class and origin) are also useful, but they go beyond the scope of this course. While reading, consider this: "the importance of marking oneself as having the same identity as one group of people and a different one from others." Is identity based on group? Or....?

Our research revealed that teachers can create identity-safe classrooms, defined as places that foster belonging and value for students of all backgrounds. This assumes that schooling is a social process that depends on trust, a process in which their social identity is an asset to school success.

This study looks at whether education can help develop national identity in Malaysia. "Education provides knowledge and skills to the population, as well as shaping the personality of the youth of a nation. Nevertheless, can education shape the youth's national identity? Can education cultivate the person's identity or sense of belonging to the nation?"

From her blog Reflecting Allowed. " I think over the course of a day and depending where I am and what I'm doing, different dimensions of identity come to the fore or background. And online it is the same. What we choose to show of ourselves online and share openly (or not so openly) makes a difference." See also @Bali_Maha.

Seven-week MOOC on themes related to identity and digital culture, including this one: "The internet and pervasive use of online information has changed the global learning landscape. The rapid acceleration and adoption of digital content for learning is a pressing catalyst for digital equity.
So what does it mean to be a "good" digital citizen in a globalized context."

"The purpose of Virtually Connecting is to enliven virtual participation in academic conferences, widening access to a fuller conference experience for those who cannot be physically present at conferences. We are a community of volunteers and it is always free to participate."

As explained on the Yubico website, "U2F is an open authentication standard that enables internet users to securely access any number of online services with one single security key instantly and with no drivers or client software needed.  FIDO2 is the latest generation of the U2F protocol."

This is my Keybase page. Here's what Keybase says about itself: "Keybase is a new and free security app for mobile phones and computers. For the geeks among us: it's open source and powered by public-key cryptography. Keybase is for anyone. Imagine a Slack for the whole world, except end-to-end encrypted across all your devices. Or a Team Dropbox where the server can't leak your files or be hacked." See also (very technical) Keybase for Everyone. And Keybase writing to the blockchain.

Public-key cryptography, or asymmetric cryptography, is any cryptographic system that uses pairs of keys: public keys which may be disseminated widely, and private keys which are known only to the owner. This accomplishes two functions: authentication, where the public key verifies that a holder of the paired private key sent the message, and encryption, where only the paired private key holder can decrypt the message encrypted with the public key.

One meaning of 'identity' is just 'the same'. If I am a user who has never logged in into a certain server, a 'cookie' just tells the server that I am the same one who visited the site before. Nobody knows my name at this time.
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The topic for Week 4 of Stephen Downes’ E-Learning 3.0 MOOC is Identity. The focus of this topic is on digital identity – exploring questions such as: ‘How do we know who someone is?’, ‘How do we project ourselves on… Continue reading → Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

So I tried to guess what advertisers know about me, from (1) the Twitter "Interests" and (2) my LibraryThing tags.
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In our course E-Learning 3.0 (#el30) facilitator Stephen Downes asked us to create an identity graph. We should not use a node “me”, “myself” or similar. I made a mind map using Mindmaster, but I dislike the fact that the format seems to impose a central node. I put buddhism/humanism central, since that are core […] Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

We are now in the fourth week of this E-Learning 3.0 open course/MOOC. The task for this week is to create an Identity Graph, which Stephen Downes (convener of this course) has outlined as follows: Identity – Create an Identity Graph We… Continue reading → Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

For the E-Lit 3.0 course, Stephen Downes has us pondering identity and graphs, with a focus on Identity Graphs. These are used by marketers to fine-tune who we are, using our data trails, in order to push their products our way. Stephen envisions a different way in the Web3 world, where data will be used […] Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning … Continue reading → Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

So, here I am, first attempt. I thought I’d show the complexity of being a. an architect, b. in Greece, c. during crisis. Graph shows a multiplicity of roles and some of their interconnections (dotted lines): for example freelance self-employment leads to a certain amount of knowledge in construction which leads to an educational position […] Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

In this video Stephen Downes, convener of the E-Learning 3.0 MOOC explains that in the future our safety and security online will be managed through the use of identification keys. We will each have a private key and a public… Continue reading → Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

This week the topic on the E-Learning 3.0 MOOC has been Identity. We have tried to answer questions such as: How do we know who someone is? How do we project ourselves on the internet? How can we be safe… Continue reading → Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

(Warning: this is a bit of a ramble) In EL30 (E-Learning 3.0), Stephen Downes has us now thinking beyond notions of identity, and into the future of digital authentication. Stephen, our navigator, explores the notion of private and public ‘keys’ as a way to keep our identities and our data private, and firmly in user […] Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

My internet identity journey started with Web 2.0/CCK08 and the beginnings of trying to internalize what Stephen meant when he said “that knowledge is distributed across a network of connections, and therefore that learning consists of the ability to construct and traverse those networks (of people and machine). Exposed for the first time to the … Continue reading "Frank’s Identity Graph – Week Three 2nd Task" Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Last week, Stephen Downes assigned an identity graph for those participating in #el30. Like Jenny Mackness and Mathias Melcher, I was initially perplexed that the graph "should not contain a self-referential node titled 'me' or 'self' or anything similar". Surely, I thought, any picture of my connections should include me, right?

With a topic like identity, it’s very tempting to wax philosophical, but hopefully, I’ll be able to, if not avoid that, at least rein it in a bit and focus on the subject of the creation, maintenance and curation of … Continue reading → Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

This is a technical post in response to the useful provocation Stephen provided with his video for #el30 exploring Yubi keys and Public / Private keys. Stephen began by saying it is not his area of expertise (mine either). There is a LOT in these topics and I have a friend who is a specialist […]

I did it! Got out the metaphoric gardening gloves, and dug around to figure this graph business out. I'll admit that the thought of making a 2D representation of me as a graph did not instantly appeal, but I also realise that there is HUGE benefit to seeing other points of view, and to learning […]

"Who are you?" the small child asks, looking up with curious eyes. I am a growing fractal, a friend you haven't met (yet), a dreamer tethered to the ground by a thin thread like a balloon and rooted like an old old tree. I am a reflective surface that smiles back at […]

Week 4 on Identity in Stephen Downes’ E-Learning 3.0 MOOC has come to an end. It was another very interesting week. Stephen has summed up the week with a video and a paper, both of which I will link to… Continue reading → Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

If you want to see even more identity graphs, have a look at this funky video by the facilitator of our E-learning 3.0 course (#el30), Stephen Downes: He also offered a reasonably clear presentation about identity, keys and authentication. If identity, online and offline, is ultimately also about possibility, aspirations, hopes and dreams as much […] Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

The world changes. Some people don’t.You learned things that were true back then, but now they’re false.You got successful doing things one way, but now that way is moot.You still consider yourself an expert, but that expertise has expired.You dug so deep into something that you lost perspective, and didn’t realize the landscape had changed.Sometimes … Continue reading "#EL30 Week 4 – Identity" Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

So, here I am at last, coming out of the digital woodwork (not to anyone’s annoyance, I hope!) as a follower of Stephen Downes’s “E-Learning 3.0” MOOC. I know, the course is already half-way through — but I’ve been rather too overwhelmed by other tasks to actively chip into the fascinating discussions going on around … Continue reading "#EL30 – On the Narrative Identity, and our Obsession with Stats" Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

(part of my reflections on week 4 #el30 The E-Learning 3.0 MOOC from Stephen Downes) My identity Vahid Masrour’s concept mapHigher resolution version I’ve tried my best to reflect my identity on the previous graph. Over the past couple of decades, i’ve made a few mindmaps, (google “Vahid Masrour mindmap”), one particular series of mindmaps … Continue reading E-learning 3.0: Identity (Vahid in a concept map) Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

This week in the #EL30 course with Stephen Downes, we are looking at identity. Stephen really surprised me by connecting graphs (which I thought I understood) with trust (as in trusted networks and connections — and BitCoin) and identity. This week’s task (really, it was the task was last week or the week before, but […] Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Week’s 4 activity consisted on creating a graph based on the marketing definition of an identity graph. The rules: without a self-referential node, from your own point of view, and it could be partial. To create my graph, I first thought about how I would describe my online identity, and contrasted that with my online …
Sigue leyendo Week 4: Activity – Identity Graph #identityGraph Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

This post is part of my reflections on week 4 topic, Identity, on Stephen Downes’ E-Learning 3.0 MOOC   #el30. Though the topic got to an end some days ago, I found writing my first blog post a bit daunting, (!). As things are, I am now ready to join in the online conversation.  Initial thoughts This …
Sigue leyendo Week 4: Identity – E-Learning 3.0 MOOC #el30 Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]