- Thinking in a decentralized architecture -

We have a tendency to apply existing solutions or frameworks towards new things.

In the early days of the web, many companies implemented fax on the Internet, rather than rethinking if faxes were still the best solution for certain types of information exchange.

Are we doing the same thing today with wallets?

Wallets are a tool which we employ to store physical identity cards, credit/debit cards, receipts and other things. But when we think about storing digital identities/credentials, of course employing a wallet sounds like an appropriate thing to do, considering it's what works as the physical world.

I wonder however if framing it as a digital wallet boxes our thinking.

A second tendency we have, specifically in the digital identity space (and I'm guilty of this at times..), is to look at things as layers or foundations.

I often hear phrases such as: "Government issued digital identities will form the foundation for [insert use case]."

Rather than looking at it as something foundational, we should try framing our thinking around a decentralized architecture.

Read more here: https://northernblock.io/musings-on-wallets-identity-metasystems-with-phil-windley/

About Episode

During this conversation, we discuss:

• SSI Wallets - what can be learned from the Web Browser?
• How will SSI Wallets be adopted? - Will we have very few or many wallets?
• Distinguishing identity systems from Identity Metasystems.
• How can governments best contribute to Identity Metasystems?
• Phil’s thoughts on Open ID SIOP (self-issued IDs).

About Guest

Phil enjoys teaching, writing, and solving problems. He writes content on https://www.windley.com/, elegantly covering topics such as information technology, identity, decentralization, personal autonomy, computer science and more.

You can find Phil on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/windley; and on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/windley/.

Follow Mathieu Glaude

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