Is OpenID Too Confusing?
A recent usability study conducted by Yahoo shows that users are still confused by OpenID—the single sign-on technology out to eliminate multiple usernames and passwords. Tech site Webmonkey reports:
The study observed nine female Yahoo users in their thirties who considered themselves of medium-to-high internet savvy. The participants were told they could log in with their Yahoo ID at a third-party site. In many cases, the users tried to log in using the site’s main login, rather than the OpenID login. Users don’t understand multiple ways to log in, at least not without some education.
Do you use OpenID? Does OpenID deliver on its promises?
Truth be told, while the OpenID concept is very exciting, adoption has been disappointing—and it’s most likely due to the usability problems surrounding it. Over a year ago, Lifehacker alum Wendy Boswell ran down the pros and cons of OpenID, and her review was pretty mixed. Tell us whether or not you’re using and loving OpenID in the comments.
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
Open ID is definietly too confusing. I consider myself a bit of a geek- and can seriously not be bothered with it- it’s hard to understand and use, and just doesn’t seem to work for me when I’ve tried it… :-(
I use it and like it a lot. It isn’t difficult to use, you just have to learn how it works.
I’ve even setup my own OpenID install on my server, and it wasn’t hard to do (used a PHP version, and was as simple as installing any PHP app on your website).
Would be great if more websites supported it tho.