Iz Free From Ur Identity System?

December 16th, 2007, 3 Comments »

When Google bought FeedBurner, I abused the power of LOLCats to complain about Google’s incredibly fractured identity system. I had at least a half-dozen different login/password combinations associated with Google-owned services, and things haven’t gotten any simpler in the ensuing six months.

According to TechCrunch, hope is on the horizon:

Google is rolling out a centralized profile system that will provide personalized information to each Google product you use. The unimaginatively named Google Profile will share information across all Google products, unifying often disparate Google systems that logins aside haven’t previously shared data with each other…

According to Google Operating System, Google profiles are now available in Shared Stuff, Google Maps, Google Reader and will be added to other web applications shortly.

Praises be! I gather this coincides with the whole “see my friends’ shared stuff” in Google Reader announcement.

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Iz in Yur Identity System

May 26th, 2007, 10 Comments »

LOLCatIdentityCrisis

I’ve written previously about my struggles with Google and its deeply b0rked identity system. It’s also a pet peeve of Boris’s.

Inspired by Google’s recent acquisition of FeedBurner (where, yes, I have at least one account), I wanted to render my pain as a diagram. I doubt I’ve got the order of sign-ups exactly correct, but it’s in the ballpark. All of the email addresses are fake variations of the real thing. Maybe I should have been more responsible along the way, but clearly the issue here isn’t all PEBCAK.

Identity fiends may also be interested in my little video parable about user names and passwords.

10 Comments »