Rumor: MySpace to Roll Out OpenID Support
Update: MySpace has confirmed it will begin to roll out support for OpenID, but only as a provider, not as a relying party. We’ll have more details in a follow-up post. For now, here’s Reuters’ take.
There’s a rumor making the rounds that MySpace will soon announce that it will provide OpenID support, the single login solution that many believe is a cornerstone of the open web. TechCrunch claims that multiple sources have confirmed the story, but so far there’s been no official word from MySpace.
At this point OpenID remains well outside the radar of most web users, however, if MySpace does indeed start offering OpenID to its user base it could well prove a tipping point for widespread adoption.
If it does indeed happen, MySpace’s OpenID support would bring the total number of OpenID-enabled accounts to over half a billion, which could do wonders for the other end of the equation by encouraging more sites to support OpenID logins.
But of course that’s only part of the equation. As our own Adam DuVander pointed out last week, even many of the sites that do support OpenID just don’t seem to get it — what’s the point of signing in with OpenID if you’re still going to ask me to create a username and password?
Still, MySpace might be able to do more for OpenID than perhaps any other provider for one simple reason — people know their MySpace URL.
Since OpenID requires you to enter a URL rather than a username/password combo to login, it requires you to remember some URL, which isn’t something mainstream users tend to pay attention to. The big exception is MySpace.
According to TechCrunch the announcement should come later this week, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
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