Following a lot of requests we added the Facebook connector last week. We've been testing it publicly since then and it's already being used by some of you. As usual, to start using it, you need to give us authorization on the accounts tab.

The Facebook connector lets you publish status updates and upload photos directly from a tarpipe workflow. The status update is also available through the share form, where all you have to do is enter your status on the Body field, check the Facebook destination and click on the share button.

There's a growing discussion around the Web about the future of OpenID and whether it's really making lives easier for users. The article "OpenID Is Here. Too Bad Users Can't Figure Out How It Works" on Webmonkey shows some of the concerns users seem to have about this open authentication mechanism:

However, the usability problem has engineers and design experts scratching their heads. While the typical internet user probably already has an OpenID account tied to their Google account, AOL name or Yahoo ID, they still don’t know how to use it.

Poor usability seems to be one of the main obstacles to the wide adoption of OpenID on the consumer side, leaving users clueless about how it really works. Quoting the article "What is this OpenID Everyone Speaks Of?" on Pixel Bits:

Well. I don’t know about you, but to me? OpenID is nothing but a bunch of gibberish.

Well, is it? This article generated a good discussion on FriendFeed, because it directly questions OpenID usefulness and why users should abandon the username and password model that has been around for so long. Let's try to answer some of the questions.

Is OpenID hard to use?

The argument against OpenID is that URLs are too hard to remember, and using one to identify yourself is worse than using plain old usernames and passwords.

I believe this can be easily solved by exposing a friendlier user interface. Instead of simply asking for an OpenID, applications should start using solutions similar to JanRain's ID Selector where several OpenID providers can be chosen from a single interface.

What are the benefits of OpenID?

The major benefit of OpenID is the ability to sign in to multiple applications using the same identifier. Instead of remembering multiple usernames and passwords you just need to enter your OpenID and you're in.

Another benefit is that it's an open protocol upon which anyone can contribute. There are multiple Open Source libraries in many different programming languages, making it easy to implement your own consumer application solution.

Are there any good alternatives to OpenID?

Sure, there are alternatives, but they're all proprietary and they're not decentralizing the Single Sign-On solution. Also, they could be interoperable with OpenID, expanding their reach to a broader audience of consumer applications.

So, what next?

Much needs to be done about OpenID usability and how users react to it. OpenID should transmit the idea of a secure, easy to use and always available authentication solution.

Chris Messina is proposing some innovation on this area after he is elected as community representative to the OpenID Foundation board. If you care about OpenID and its future, I think you should cast your vote now.

We've just added Rejaw to our list of connectors. Rejaw is a service that lets you communicate in real-time with your friends. To start using it, just go to the accounts tab and insert your Rejaw username and password on the appropriate fields.

You can use it directly from the share form or by adding it to any new or existing workflow. It works in much the same way as the already supported Plurk connector, having a required shout input.

If you're on Rejaw you can follow us there also.