Introducing the New BeenVerified.com
Late last week we pushed live a brand spankin’ new version of BeenVerified.com. The new version does a lot to trim the fat on some of the features that weren’t being used and focuses on making the important features even easier to use. Also, we re-built our entire codebase from the ground up to allow for a simple API and to let developers build on top of the BeenVerified platform. The RESTful API is built on top of the OAuth protocol and allows for our users to grant permissions to third parties to access specific pieces of their information without giving up their username and password. It also allows for users to update those permissions at any time. We like to think that we built something that is a major step forward in the management of your private data online.
The new version is feature packed so we will not get into all the specifics right now, but in short, the emphasis has been on allowing users to have more control over their data and choose when, where, and what people see about them. Some of the features include giving users the ability to create as many personas as they wish, sharing their credentials with third-parties, managing private info requests, and a much easier sign up process. We also added in some free verifications like email and website ownership, which is being supported by MicroID. Therefore, allowing users of sites like Claimid.com and Plaxo.com to be able to verify ownership of their profiles instantly. In a few short clicks, (cut and copy) you’re also able to verify any website where you have access to the HTML.
We will be explaining all of these features in depth over the upcoming weeks, but for now we wanted to thank a few people for their support in helping us get from our initial beta to where we are today. First, we’d like to thank Bill Al who pulled us aside at Sun Startup Camp and said “Hey, I know these Identity people you should meet”. He was right and at each step of the way members of the Identity Gang have been there to guide us and throw in their two cents. Thank you especially to Bill Washburn whose advice and brainstorming with us has been invaluable. We look forward to working with him even more in the future. Also, the gracious hosts of IIW; Phil Windley and Kaliya Hamlin.
A huge thank you to Eran Hammer-Lahav whose personal guidance on OAuth has helped shaped our API and allowed us to get to this point in a big way. Writing the spec for a protocol as important as OAuth is no easy task and he was just the person needed to see the spec to its completion. Thank you also to Chris Messina and everyone else who pitched in on making Oauth possible. The last thank you goes out to the New York City tech scene which we are proud to be a part of. Allen Stern, our transparency brother in arms John C. Havens, and all of the NextNYer’s out there every day representing the NYC and those of you who continue to build invaluable web services.
The really, really last thank you goes to the whole BeenVerified.com team over here. A monstrous amount of time and effort has been put in these last few months to get our product to where it needed to be and they all deserve a very big thank you (and lots of beers!). If I never have to look at our CTO, Jason Amster, at the office at 2am for 5 nights straight again I would be a happy man. He took on an enormous effort and worked harder than one man should. Also, if you find a bug in the code, I’m sure he’d love to hear about it!
There are many more people to thank but we can save that for the next awards speech. For now, it’s back to work and back to making BeenVerified.com the easiest and most secure way for you to prove your identity and accomplishments online. Much more to follow, stay tuned…
