FindMeOn.com Blog

FindMeOn.com is pleased to announce several new updates.

RapidRegister:

The RapidRegister spec is now public, and we’ll soon be rolling out the live code (fixing a few bugs right now , but people like previews). RapidRegister is a simple concept with an elegant execution - FindMeOn.com users can pre-generate an anonymous OpenID url to use when registering with a new website. The RapidRegister URL supports OpenID’s Simple Registration protocol to maximize efficiency of online registration. FindMeOn.com users can turn a RapidRegister URL into a valid FindMeOn account listing manually, or can approve the foreign website to do so using our QuickList functionality.

By using FindMeOn.coms RapidRegister, QuickList, and API services — along with the standard OpenID protocol — websites can quickly convert FindMeOn.com users onto their own systems. FindMeOn.com essentially manages online profiles , not just for users, but for websites as well. FindMeOn’s proprietary systems differentiate from OpenID-exclusive offerings, in that FindMeOn offers websites and users the opportunity for a ’subscription’ based profile syndication service that does not require constant authentication , along with FindMeOn’s systems designed to offer internet users unparalleled user privacy and identity isolation .

Updated Gif Badges:

FindMeOn.com users now have the option to syndicate their links using our first dynamic gif badge. The dynamic gif badge shows as-many-as the top 3 alternate identities for each account , in the form of a clickable image map. While the dynamic gif badge is not as robust as FindMeOn.com’s flash offerings, it works on all web services — even those that ’strip’ flash media on profiles.

SWF Badge Updates Coming soon:

We’re working on pushing user connection info to display directly within Flash widgets. There’s a bit of issues with it so its not live yet– but we’re getting close. Expect to see these all over the internet soon!

SWF Badge FAQ:

Many people have been writing in since our public launch, asking us to feature comments and messaging in the flash badge.

The definitive answer is this: Sadly, FindMeOn will not be releasing a badge that does those things. While we’d love to do it ( we really would — we even had a test badge that did it pre-launch ), there’s a large problem in that social networks simply don’t like badges that do those things. Our goal is to work with Users and Social Networks alike — so right from the beta launch we’ve been restraining ourselves to not infringe on network services. If the climate changes, we’d be happy to introduce that functionality — but networks today dislike widgets that infringe on their offerings.

OpenID:

Just as a reminder, every FindMeOn.com user has multiple OpenID urls:
1 url for their public FindMeOn.com account ( http://findmeon.com/users/abc )
1 url for their user chosen FindMeOn.com account ( http://findmeon.com/users/myfindmeonaccount )
1 url for EACH online identity registered with FindMeOn.com ( http://findmeon.com/findmeon/123 )

Connection Widget Preview

I am pleased to announce that as of February 1st key features to both SyndiClick properties, FindMeOn and RoadSound, are patent pending.

In regards to FindMeOn, a lot of intellectual property is being protected — and a lot isn’t.

First, we should note what is not being covered by current patent applications:

The findmeon spec is now, and always will be, free and open.

FindMeOn is not protecting anything about listing all of your profile identities on a single page, list your RSS feeds etc. Everyone is doing this now, and we neither don’t know who thought of it first , nor care. We’re not looking do to this style of aggregation at all — and see little difference between it and existing social networking sites with a ‘list your accounts here’ box. If you only want that sort of functionality, the best implementation we’ve seen of it has been Claim ID, and we strongly suggest looking there. There are also a ton of new sites every day that kind of do that, and toss on misc bells and whistles , but its all the same and Claim ID shows the most utility by far.

In terms of our current patent applications, we are are seeking protections for: ( please note, this is generalized. Because there’s so much activity in this field right now I don’t want to get into the exact claims until they’re made public by the USPTO ):
How we isolate accounts and identities from one another with privacy
How we syndicate identities and links to other networks via clickable badges ( the webring-ish feature of our badges )
How we handle profile management , permissions, and syndication
How we handle cross-network friendships
a bunch of other stuff that isn’t public yet

The RapidRegister system and developer toolset will be launching within the week, and a host of new user searching tools will as well.