Identity as Information

A shared database seems like a great place to put a unified user table, and get rid of the archaic need for every application to create their own identity system.This is the promise of decentralized identity and a core pillar of the Web3 vision: every user and builder is in control of their own data, value, relationships, and information. In this v... See more

We want to avoid siloed systems - including specific applications, registries or blockchains - and maximize the flexibility of data types. We want an easy-to-use system that lets us build applications with rich forms of data, have that data associated to the appropriate identifier, and get maximum utility out of our identities and collective inform... See more

Who is creating those identifiers? And who is organizing data around them? Today, it’s nearly every site you visit, product you use, or company you encounter. Identifiers are listed in a database they have created, mostly private and siloed from every other company’s. Data is put there, and linked there, as well. Often this organized around a user ... See more

When people talk about identity they usually mean one of three related but quite different scopes: (a) a unique identifier, (b) a holistic view of an entity, or (c) a specific piece of context about an entity.Unique identifiers are critical in any social setting. Names are an adequate ‘identifier’ amongst friends, family, or small tribes (under Dun... See more

To manage data, we need a protocol that makes it easy to store, discover, and route information about an identifier. For Web3 to live up to its promise, that routing table should (a) be unified rather than siloed by application or any other boundary, and (b) be sovereign, give control of data directly to each identifier.This suggests a simple desig... See more

The common thread is: identity systems create the ability to reliably associate information with a unique identifier. An identity system is more reliable, and therefore useful, the more it is:Dependable: available, fault-tolerant, tamper-resistantFlexible: can handle more types of informationAccessible: can be used across more contexts, unifying ra... See more