The article spans across multiple areas, the agenda outline is below: Philosophical underpinnings of online identity. High level view of the evolution of digital identity centralized → federated → self-sovereign (user autonomy). A critique of the paymail protocol, its strengths and limitations Establish the need for a new naming protocol suite with a fundamental focus on user autonomy. An attempt to present dispassionate arguments without social bias My recent article Digital communications in the Bitcoin era was an exploration of how Bitcoin could disrupt digital communications (unified) – instant messaging (IM), presence, voice (VoIP), voice conferencing, video conferencing, e-mail, desktop sharing, group chats, live streaming, private secure chat, etc. It enables an unified communications ecosystem which is user owned/controlled, gets rid of walled gardens, restores user privacy & consent, offers user mobility (portability), censorship resistant and helps speed-up innovation. It briefed the different models for online/digital communication and their evolution i.e. Centralized -> Federated -> Self-Sovereign(user autonomy). It compared/contrasted them across the following aspects i.e. Identity, Data, Privacy, Mobility Rights(Portability), Access/Reach, Ownership & Consent, Price Negotiation & Contracts. It envisioned a heterogeneous network of service providers that supplement the Bitcoin network, leveling the playing field for service providers and shifting […]