Saturday, August 09, 2008

The times they are....

If you are reading this you probably know me and my work.

Together with my team of awesome co-workers we have tried to help move the art and science of distributed identity management and distributed data sharing forward. I think we have done some good work and would like to think that we have contributed positively to the general progress.

Unfortunately, as many of you know, advancing technology doesn't actually pay the bills and we can't pay the bills any more :-(

ooTao as we know is going to go away. I thought that we had a purchaser for the company but it looks like that is going to fall through. I am devastated to think that body of knowledge and the body of work that we have built up over the last 4 years is just going to evaporate but it looks like that might be what happens. The entire ooTao team is now out looking for employment, including me.

I am still looking to see if anyone, with enough money to pay us, wants to try to keep the team together and keep the work going but I'm not feeling very hopeful.

So if you want to employ one or more people passionate and knowledgeable about distributed identity and distributed data... just let me know... otherwise, I'm off on the next great adventure.

I hope I'll end up in a position that I can continue to participate in the standards work. No matter what I will continue to post here periodically about what I'm doing that is in any way related.

2 comments:

Gerald Bryant said...

dude say it ain't so...
I am sorry to hear that people have been to short sighted on the future of technology and the identity space. You have always been a great person to both myself and my students who have come and listened to you speak. We are all rooting for you.
Our best to you and the family of Ootao
Gerald Bryant
SF Goodwill Industries

Unknown said...

Wow, very surprised. Hadn't read your blog in a while, and the last time I talked to John (albeit at OASIS Symposium) it sounded like your sales were great and you are and always will be one of the first pioneers of the technologies that will eventually coalesce into something like our vision of a dataweb.

Reading your more recent entries OCLC sounds like a cool place to work, but I'm sorry 'the dream' (as one who also wants a successful startup) is on the shelf. I say on the shelf as I don't think such dreams actually ever die.

Hope you are well, and if we're at a conference together again (likely), I'll stand you and John (and even Steve ;) a few rounds.