It’s true that XID is technically live and usable. However, it is not in a condition where it is ready to be promoted. One of the key issues that needs to be executed perfectly is marketing. Without attaining a significant rate of adoption, the technology will go nowhere.

Here are some tasks I think are essential for the project to get traction and as such need to be completed before XID launches.

(Re)Design/Copy: Must Have
Both the web application and the Firefox extension were built with a functionality-first mindset. The web application just needs touch-ups, as it has already gotten a little bit of design work. Design is crucial for getting those first users to stick with the technology. Instructional copy needs to be added where ever users may get stuck (still in the process of collecting the questions that arise while people use the applications). It will also help to add more breadth and depth to the wiki, so I can pepper the site with “More info” links that thoroughly explain each topic.

Video: Must Have

To effectively explain the concept and to show how useful XID can be, I need to create some video. Ideally, I will create a few short videos, such as an overview, a walk-through of the web application, and a walk-through of the Firefox extension. The first step in getting a technology adopted is selling the idea to the user. For selling ideas, multimedia is king.

Web Application Features: Must Have
These are some features that I think need to be incorporated into the web application prior to launching:

• Settings: changing account email, password, deleting account
• “Gray Checkbox”: Right now, if a site cannot be added using the Quick-Add feature, the checkbox is gray. It should still be clickable, and display a box with information on why the service cannot be added using that feature
• User Flow: When a user who has not set up a card signs in, they should go straight to the edit screen.
• Opt-in Email: I need to add a checkbox for users to click if they want to receive occasional emails about XID. Otherwise, the email provided will ONLY be used for password recovery/reset.

Nice to Have
These are things I would like to have done by launch, but I don’t see them holding the project back from launching.

Pingbacks: Nice to Have
This may wait until after launch, but it is an important feature that needs to be added as soon as possible. Because users are connecting directly to other users’ XID cards and NOT managing their contact list through a web service, notifying you that someone added you is no easy task. It is possible and it will be implemented when I have time. I don’t see this preventing the service from launching.

Directory/Search: Nice to Have
It would be great to allow people to search for friends who may already have XID cards. This will happen eventually, but I think it can wait until after launch.

Various Advanced Settings: Nice to Have
I want users to be able to:

• Save a custom “source” URL for their cards hosted on xidcard.com. This will allow users to migrate to a new location
• Custom XSL/CSS for their cards. It would be great if users could customize how their XID is presented to users (Ideally matching their site’s look and feel)

There is now an XID Wiki. It will be the home of all documentation for the use of and third party development for XID.

I created a couple of pages and made notes of where I will soon be adding information and screenshots.

This wiki will prove to be an invaluable asset for XID. When the project gets exposure and people start using the technology, the availability and depth of documentation will make it easy for third party developers to jump in and create their own applications for XID users.

I delivered a 5-minute, 8-second presentation on XID at Refresh Phoenix last night. Following the presentation, I counted about 76 people in the standing-room-only audience. Overall, the presentation went well, considering the fact I created the presentation during the hour preceding its delivery. When/If I get my hands on a copy of the video, I will post it here.

The presentation covered the ‘big picture’ of the problems XID is intended to solve, a simplified explanation of how it works, screen shots of the web application, and screen shots of the Firefox extension.

The feedback I received was positive. When I first started talking to people about the idea and had no proof-of-concept to show, it was much more difficult to get people to listen.

Talk about an extensible extension!

The latest version of the Firefox sidebar extension now supports Javascript plug-ins, with a simple install/uninstall interface under “Settings”. To install a plug-in, paste in the URL to an external Javascript file. The plug-in will then be able to re-write any of the pages immediately after they are loaded, override any existing functions (not really recommended), and also store data in custom tables. Right now, the implementation is pretty basic. It will become more robust in the near future.

I created a sample plug-in that adds a new table to the database for storing “notes” on your friends: http://xidcard.com/plugins/testplugin.js

To try it out, install the plug-in, add at least one friend, go to that friend’s Detail page, then notice the “Note” tab.

Quick link to the latest version of the Firefox sidebar extension