Pirates, Librarians, and Standards Development - Spherical Cow Consulting
What do pirates and librarians teach us about standards development? More than you’d think—especially when it comes to leadership.| Spherical Cow Consulting
I've been having an intellectually fascinating time diving into Internet fragmentation and how it is shaped by supply chains more than protocols. There’s another bottleneck ahead, though, one that’s even harder to reroute: people. Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It requires human talent that builds systems and sets standards. The post The People Problem: How Demographics Decide the Future of the Internet appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
I had one of those chance airplane conversations recently—the kind that sticks in your mind longer than the flight itself. My seatmate was reading a book about artificial intelligence, and at one point they described the idea of an “infinitely growing AI.” I couldn’t help but giggle a bit. The post Why Tech Supply Chains, Not Protocols, Set the Limits on AI and the Internet appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Most digital systems were built around a simple model: one user, one identity, one device, one intent. If you need more than that, that's what password sharing is for, right? (Note: that was sarcasm.) Who needs delegation? Reality, which has definitely included sharing passwords, has always been messier. The post Acting on Behalf of Others: Delegation, Consent, and Messy Reality appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Welcome to A Digital Identity Digest, an audio companion to my weekly blog. This podcast provides summaries of timely identity policy, AI, and internet topics, about what’s changing and why it matters. Join me each week for new episodes. The post Trailer appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
When we talk about introspection in digital identity, we’re not just talking about what happens in OAuth 2.0. Yes, there’s a token introspection spec, but this post is about something broader: the idea that platforms—especially browsers—can inspect and influence the identity data being exchanged. Is that a good thing? Apple and Google disagree on just Continue Reading The post Is Introspection a Bug or a Feature? appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
The open standards development process, whether at the IETF, W3C, or OpenID Foundation, has always been a balancing act. While politics inevitably plays a role (where there are people, there are politics), technology has historically held at least an equal seat at the table. At least, it did. With shifting geopolitical priorities and radical changes Continue Reading The post The Future of Open Standards: Politics, Sovereignty, and the Role of SDOs appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Academia is facing challenges in managing non-human identities (NHIs), which are essential for modern research systems but often treated like human users. As NHIs grow in complexity, issues like token sprawl, access management misalignments, and compliance difficulties arise, especially in collaborative environments like high-performance computing. Traditional directories fail to manage these identities effectively due to their static assumptions and lack of context. To improve NHI management...| Spherical Cow Consulting
The journey of developing Internet standards is a complex yet fascinating process that combines personal creativity with collective teamwork. It begins with identifying a problem and brainstorming solutions, often involving multiple stakeholders to create a consensus. This requires navigating various interests within diverse Standards Development Organizations (SDOs), which may range from treaty-based to industry-based groups. Engaging a broad audience is vital for adoption, ensuring the stan...| Spherical Cow Consulting
This is the transcript to my YouTube explainer video on why privacy and personalization are so hard to balance. Likes and subscriptions are always welcome! The post Privacy and Personalization on the Web: Striking the Balance appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Moving towards a passwordless future is crucial for cybersecurity. So many high-profile breaches highlight the vulnerability of relying on passwords. Embracing passkeys, digital credentials tied to user accounts, and applications, offers a more secure and user-friendly alternative. Organizations should advocate for enhanced security, cost savings, and smoother user experience. In the meantime, implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) can mitigate risks associated with passwords. Transit...| Spherical Cow Consulting
Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) is a system architecture guiding tech choices, not a software or service. It prioritizes the individual, allowing them to control their own information. Blockchain technology, as a decentralized database with data spread across nodes, seems a fit for SSI as it ensures accuracy and security. However, it has limitations like being computationally expensive and complex. Various alternatives like Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and OpenID for Verifiable Credentials ...| Spherical Cow Consulting
The W3C is becoming more involved in the digital identity credential and wallet space due to the growing use of web browsers for various digital activities. This involvement includes addressing how browsers interact with identity wallets. An incubation effort is taking place within the Web Incubator Community Group (WICG) to investigate these issues and establish standards. The post Standards, Browsers, and Identity Wallets appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Your brain is a beautiful thing. Your brain after dealing with digital identity for a few years might need therapy. The post This Is Your Brain On Identity appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
The Great Myth of Job Portability The news these days is full of announcements about massive layoffs. There are stories about the people left “holding the bag” at companies that are, by all reports, purely toxic workplaces. I’ve seen the sentiment, “why would _anyone_ stay there? They should all quit! That’ll show those horrible bosses Continue Reading The post “Why don’t they just quit?” appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
When not distracted by AI (which, you have to admit, is very distracting) I’ve been thinking a lot about delegation in digital identity. We have the tools that allow administrators or individuals grant specific permissions to applications and service. In theory, it’s a clean model. The post Delegation and Consent: Who Actually Benefits? appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
What do pirates and librarians teach us about standards development? More than you’d think—especially when it comes to leadership.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Not all bots are bad, but they all cost something. Identity isn't enough and incentives must reshape automated traffic management.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Governance in decentralization is often the real blocker—not technology. Learn how trust structures decide whether systems succeed or stall.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Centralization vs decentralization isn’t about tech, it's about incentives. What if success looked more distributed?| Spherical Cow Consulting
Centralized vs decentralized? The smartest architectures can shift. Learn why flexibility is key to resilient system and identity design.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Get a better understanding of Non-Human Identities (NHI) and how they differ from human identities. NHI require more from IAM.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Read my rant about the challenges faced by identity federations and their relevance to the world of wallets.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Discover how AI is revolutionizing digital identity security, enhancing online safety, and addressing new challenges in today's digital world.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Learn about the looming threat of quantum cryptography and its impact on Internet security. Will our digital world be left vulnerable?| Spherical Cow Consulting
Dive into the world of non-human identities, uncovering the challenges and standards shaping the future of digital authorization.| Spherical Cow Consulting
