online relationships

Xmlgrrl Eve Maler’s session at Gnomedex 8.0 will look at the tradeoffs we make when doing business online:

When dealing with websites and online vendors of all sorts, the price we’re forced to pay in order to get differentiated service is to “hand over the data” – data about us that’s sensitive, valuable, and personal. It fragments not only the pieces of information that represent us online, and not only our sense of control, but our actual influence over these relationships.

The Vendor Relationship Management movement has captured the imagination of many individuals who want a more equal partnership with their online partners, and many vendors who want to attract customers more successfully. Do “classic” user-centric identity approaches change the balance of power, or just make it easier for us to consent to data-sharing we have no say in anyway? We’ll look at new approaches that may help to create an ecosystem of greater mutual respect among all online parties.