okConnect is a plugin that enables connections between people and their Wordpress blogs. It provides the infrastructure for social-web capabilities that are constructed around a single Wordpress blog. It’s functions in three aspects: establishing relationships, filtering access and communications.
Behind the Scenes
The plugin utilizes OpenID to identify and hopefully provide seamless security integration by:
Automatically identifying a visitor to a Wordpress blog – assuming of-course a visitor has logged on with openID. Essentially this means that as a visitor, when I log-on to one Wordpress blog (if I am also an owner of a Wordpress blog – then logging into it should be enough), than my ID is automatically “noticed” by any other Wordpress blog (Ontekusuto enabled) I visit.
Automatically associating people as users of a blog when relationships are established without any additional intervention by a user.
Establishing Relationships
Relationships are an alternative approach to Wordpress user management. There are three ways to establish relationships:
Invitations initiated by a blog-owner.
Knock-on-door initiated by an anonymous visitor to a blog
API – initiated by 3rd party applications that operate in other social contexts.
Requirements
Admin tool for creating an invite:
Blog owner enters an email address
Blog owner indicates the contexts to which the invited user is associated (default: everyone)
Admin tool for editing relationships:
Filter bar containing contexts
List of existing relationships (email, status, name and associated contexts).
Option to delete relationship
Option to edit relationship (add/remove contexts)
Admin tool for creating introductions:
Select two or more users from the list of relationships
Click “Make Introduction”
Admin tool for handling KnockOnDoor requests:
View Incoming requests: email, name, requested contexts, time, source
Approve & select contexts for the new relationship.
Reject
Admin Dashboard Module for incoming KnockOnDoors.
Theme Control API for Knocking-on-Door
Widget for Knock-on-Door
API function call for Knock-on-Door
Both UI manifestations should include an option for logging in (which would hopefully be a global login – to the OpenID/Wordpress/Ontekusuto blogs.
Filtering Access
This is an invisible (to the user and hopefully to theme developers as well) tier that applies a relationship filter to objects that are exposed to visitors of the blog. Anonymous visitors will see only what is in a public context. Signed in visitors will see only objects that are associated with the contexts of their relationship to the blog.
Communications
This is simultaneously a small and a huge issue. It is small because it could be as simple as an interface for sending messages between blogs (using existing or new protocols). It is huge because it can evolve into making Wordpress a personal communication aggregation tool for Email, Twitter, Live Chat, etc. This will need to evolve in its own pace.
okConnect
okConnect is a plugin that enables connections between people and their Wordpress blogs. It provides the infrastructure for social-web capabilities that are constructed around a single Wordpress blog. It’s functions in three aspects: establishing relationships, filtering access and communications.
Behind the Scenes
The plugin utilizes OpenID to identify and hopefully provide seamless security integration by:
Establishing Relationships
Relationships are an alternative approach to Wordpress user management. There are three ways to establish relationships:
Requirements
Filtering Access
This is an invisible (to the user and hopefully to theme developers as well) tier that applies a relationship filter to objects that are exposed to visitors of the blog. Anonymous visitors will see only what is in a public context. Signed in visitors will see only objects that are associated with the contexts of their relationship to the blog.
Communications
This is simultaneously a small and a huge issue. It is small because it could be as simple as an interface for sending messages between blogs (using existing or new protocols). It is huge because it can evolve into making Wordpress a personal communication aggregation tool for Email, Twitter, Live Chat, etc. This will need to evolve in its own pace.