Karaitiana Taiuru makes a point about how we contact people in a world where populations are in a constant state of change: we change jobs, houses, cities and even countries with great frequency. Is it still appropriate to ask people for their phone number? Perhaps an Internet address would make more sense?

I wonder if it is time we stopped using our phone numbers on personal ID and forms, or that we are at least given the option to use a phone number and a web address such as a personal domain or social networking site address.

Read the whole post at Karaitiana Taiuru - Blog: Identities in the offline world.

Add in schemes such as OpenID and i-names, which allow people to establish a definitive identity:

…your OpenID can stay with you, no matter which Provider you move to. And best of all, the OpenID technology is not proprietary and is completely free.

While OpenID is more about logging in to password protected areas, i-names are more about claiming a single identity to represent you on the Internet.

Just as a url is an address for a website, an i-name is an Internet address for YOU! It is a simple, secure way to authenticate your identity and to share personal data, with the assurance that it will remain private and up-to-date. Further, your identity cannot be “harvested” by spammers or other marketers without your express permission.

There are two types of i-names: individual i-names and organization i-names:

• An individual i-name begins with an “=” sign (i.e., =victor.grey)
• An organization i-name begins with an “@” sign (i.e., @2idi)

This post was written by Miraz Jordan, i-name=Miraz.

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