PAY ATTENTION! : I-Names

This post has all the hallmarks of something you'll glance at and immediately skip over. But don't!

You want to know about I-names.

I-names (or more accurately, I-numbers) might, just might, totally reshape the way you and I identify ourselves and our presence on the internet. The standard is only being adoped as we speak, but it has the potential to utterly change our everyday use of web contacts.

Don't read the rest of this article yet. Just go here and get your $5 I-name now. You only have until 7pm PST today (Sept. 13) to get it for that price. You wait and you'll have to pay more later.

Trust me, just go do it and then come back to find out what you're buying.

--------------------------

Back? Good.

What you've just purchased is a unique identifier that will belong to you and only you until you quit paying for it.

Now read this:

I-Names were built to simplify the way you identify yourself on the internet, the way you communicate, and the way that information about you is stored and accessed. They are meant to be as simple as you want (=john or =john.doe or =crazyjohn) and as unique as you are.

Authentication (Single Sign On)

By relying on a 3rd party, trusted by you and by the site needing to verify your identity, you have fewer usernames and passwords to remember and the site doesn't have to maintain an authentication system.

Data Distribution and Control

You can store your personal data (like your shipping address or your email address) at a trusted source and give access to it. If it changes, those allowed access will have the updated information. If you sever your relationship, you can withdraw access. You are in control.

Communication Control

You can choose who you allow communication from. For instance, you might only allow people that have logged into an account, or people whose email address has been confirmed, to send you a message. This sets a more difficult bar for spammers trying to get to you, which makes spam much less cost efficient and less attractive as a business.

---

I-Names are about user-centric identity and giving people better control of their personal data. Email addresses, phone numbers and domain names are "absolute", meaning once they are given out, access is difficult to control and thay are difficult to change. I-names, on the other hand are designed for flexibility.

There are A LOT more services currently in development and on the drawing boards and there are things that can happen with a system like this in place that even we haven't even thought of yet...but this was the short answer.

The public launch of i-names is set for Digital ID World in Santa Clara, which takes place from September 11 through September 13. In celebration of this event (and to generate a buzz) the First-Year-For-$5 promotion was born. It was also decided that these $5 i-names should be made available to everyone, not just attendees of the conference. Normally, an �=� i-name costs about $20 per year at the i-brokers participating in this website. After the first year, the price will be $20/year.

Since it is not limited to any number of people, it is limited by time. It applies to = names purchased between 10pm September 10th , 2006 and 2am September 14th Greenwich Mean Time (in Pacific Time that translates to between 3pm, Sept 10th to 7pm, September 14th ).

Of course, you can buy i-names before and after that time but they will cost the normal $20/year.

Think of your I-name just like you think of your AIM nickname or your Yahoo Messenger ID. It's a shorthand, unique moniker that let's people find you quickly and and easily.

No matter where you go or how often you change contact information, people can keep up with you.

Still not sold? Think of it this way:

Say you had an email address in college that all your college friends knew. After school, you moved away and started working for a company that gave you an account with the business. Over time, you didn't use your old college address as much - and eventually, stopped using it altogether.

Then, ten years after college, the girl you had Sociology 130 with who had a boyfriend at the time but really wanted you (you could tell) decides she'd like to look you up. But wait! The only address she has is your 10-year old college email. She has no way to know that you have a new business account and closed your old email account ages ago.

She can't find your new email address or your number. She's devastated. And all she can do is cry her beautiful, shapely self to sleep. Alone.

Tough nuts, dude. The girl of your dreams will never find you now.

Time to get an I-name.

The reason I bring this up with urgency is because it's an emerging standard. Right now, you still have a chance to get the unique I-name you want without having to fight for it. As with every service where you have to pick a username, if you wait, it'll be much harder to get the one you want.

So sign up now. Figure out the details later. Just trust me that it's worth the five dollars.

And don't try to get =cechols. It's got.