| Company | OpenID Foundation |
| Website | openid.net |
| Blog | planet.openid.net |
| Stage | Live |
| Launched | 5/05 |
For users attempting to manage a long list of log-in credentials for a variety of websites, OpenID attempts to eliminate that need by giving users a single digital identity through which they control their information. In its simplest form, the Open ID protocol allows a user to distinguish themselves via an identity-specific url and then log on to any website that supports Open ID with that single URL, rather than trying to remember a user name and password. The 2.0 version of OpenID also supports an authentification form called an XRI, which marries an i-name (similar to the original OpenID url) to an i-number(unique identifier which never changes), thus allowing for a more secure form of identification. Perhaps Open ID’s biggest win was Yahoo’s decision to allow Yahoo users to convert their Yahoo id’s into Open ID’s in January 2008.
