Iain @ Internet

And they are sharp, as I found out earlier…

I was shocked today to read this …..about the death of Nick Givotovsky, age just 44.

I first met Nick, along with Mark Lizar, over many beers, in the Sun in Splendour pub in Notting Hill – a few years back. His views were very aligned with mine – and since then every contribution he has made to the Identity and VRM discussions has been rich and perceptive.

Here’s just one example quote:

‘I believe we need explicit, uniform and enforceable and yes, universal rights to our own user-related data. Not just for purposes of privacy, but so that individually and collectively we can use our leverage as rightful owners of what are in fact valuable assets to obtain and enforce a much better “digital deal”, not just for us, but for others not (yet) directly addressed here, who will have to deal with the consequences of our collective (in)actions.

There are indeed technologists fully qualified to architect the infrastructure to enable a better, more equitable, reciprocal, transparent and accountable digital realm, and they have to a large extent already built the tools and system. Now, the application of that prospective infrastructure to systems and services with the potential to change “the digital deal” from the user-centric perspective is what’s needed, and I hope, what’s next.

Going forward, the formulation, creation and assertion of binding identity rights agreements in the context of “leverage” that in turn drives change enabled in the market by market forces is the most pragmatic, short path to something better than a-shrug-a-click-and-a-sigh privacy statements.

It’s exactly the implementation of such use cases to which I think the most beneficial and productive (though not always the most immediately profitable) effort can and should be devoted. We all need a better, fairer, more accountable and credible digital deal. If we are to be “digital citizens” should we not also know the real “digital deal”? Thoughts? Words? Deeds?’

Wonderful stuff – which we’ll now deliver on; unfortunately Nick won’t be here alongside. My thoughts are with his wife and familiy.

Iain