While interoperability of virtual worlds, social networks and the 2D web in general continues to improve, the confusion and clutter surrounding these various worlds with different identities increases. Many virtual worlds and networks still have their own unique features behind mandatory sign up processes, each world requiring a new identity (avatar).
Of course each new sign up requires a tedious process of filling in the information over and over again, then making sure you remember the world/network and the login as one of many, and then having all these ‘walled garden’ networks throughout these worlds. Different friendslists, different representations, different environments, different inventories etc. This problem is far from unique to virtual worlds, social networks such as mySpace, LinkedIn and Facebook are already dealing with these issues, and are struggling with he solution as provided by ‘OpenSocial‘ for instance, centralizing the login for many Google services and social networks such as Hi5 and MySpace.
The solution to the problem of these dispersed identities that can’t communicate seems to be a centralized, single online identity as proposed by OpenSocial - the problem being the value of these networks is in its users and the data they provide. Turning that data over to a centralized organization does not only increase the risk of tribal migration (entire groups leaving your social network/virtual world for the next best thing) but also deflates the value of your network as the information will no longer be hosted inside these walled gardens.
Furthermore, holding the ‘key’ to managing these centralized identities is a prize worth fighting over - and it only makes sense a Microsofts ‘evangelist’ by the name of Zain Naboulsi sees a place for the Software giant here.
“No one’s really sure yet how avatar identities will be managed in a chaotic world filled with thousands of interoperable OpenSim grids. But Microsoft believes it has a solution: its own Windows Live ID.”
In a recent Reuters interview Zain expresses the interest in integrating three key Microsoft services into the OpenSim project (OpenSim is now able to communicate with the Second Life beta grid - transporting avatars, but not their friendslists or inventories for example). Zain proposes the following solutions:
- C Sharp Express - A coding platform to make OpenSim compatible with other applications.Right now SeconLife and OpenSim can communicate with the web and in-world through Linden Scripting Language, a language written specifically for Second Life scripts. This makes the compatibility with desktop or web applications fairly limited. C Sharp could create a better data exchange between Desktop applications and virtual worlds for instance.
- SQL server express - Microsoft’s database platform to handle external inventory ‘calls’. Right now the issue of being able to transfer items from Second Life (controlled environment) to OpenSim (uncontrolled environment) is a major issue due to the rights Second Life enforces on these items, such as the restrictions to not copy them freely, or distribute them freely. Obviously in external environments such as OpenSim - who have no obligation to follow these protocols, this could lead to problems for the economy in virtual property.
- Windows Live ID - A Microsoft service that allows you to store all data connected to your online identity such as profile information, pictures, friendslists, interests etcetera in one place - through one login. Microsoft already uses this identity for a various number of their own applications, Livemail (hotmail) and Live Messenger (MSN messenger) being the most commonly used applications.
To me the whole ‘one online identity’ thing sounds logical from a consumer perspective, but realistically I think we’ll still be some time away from such an ‘agreement’. All parties involved have to turn over a significant part of their ‘value’ and stickiness of their network to possibly one of their competitors (Do you see Google outsourcing their Lively identities to Windows Live?). The ongoing efforts in the 2D social networks are encouraging none the less - as is the thought of having such a major player as Microsoft ‘involved’ in solving the problems for a truly interoperable grid.
Source: Reuters - Microsoft eyes integration between OpenSim and Windows live ID
Posted on: July 20, 2008 | Share on:
Abhishek Saxena on 
Sophie on 
Justin Gibbs
said on July 21st
This reminds me of when instant messenger services talked of interoperability. It has yet to happen and Microsoft was a member in all of those discussions as well. First it has to make business sense, second the businesses have to be smart enough to recognize it. In my opinion all the talk of interoperability will amount to just as much as it has in the messaging world, a whole lot of nothing. Our best bet for interoperability is the growth of open source virtual worlds. The users want interoperability not the businesses, so it’ll be the users who are going to have to create it themselves.
Digado
said on July 21st
I agree Justin, but the OpenSocial movement is booking results and its hard to say to which ’side’ they belong. I’m not entirely sure on the conditions and programs within OpenSocial for developers (or the benefits of the organisation behind Open Social), but there is really no reason to not use these ‘united’ identities for Virtual world at some point. The reason I can see this happen now is because as you say: the users want it - at the time of instant messaging; it was just between AOL and MSN, more of a business arrangement than anything else.
But the value of Microsoft in the midst of the Virtual world interoperability should be taken with a grain of salt. Even though they have an OpenSim world running on SQL, Microsoft is looking at desktop virtualisation and not so much the online worlds I think.