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PODCAST

A Digital Identity Digest

Heather Flanagan

Welcome to A Digital Identity Digest, brought to you by Heather Flanagan of Spherical Cow Consulting. Here, we explore the evolving world of digital identity on the web. This podcast is spearheaded by Heather"s expertise, where she breaks down complex concepts, shares the latest trends, and provides insightful analyses in online identity management. Join Heather as she navigates this dynamic digital pasture, delivering content that"s both informative and engaging for tech enthusiasts, digital

technology tech news

All Episodes

00:11:14

When Browsers Start Acting for You: AI Browsers and...

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2026/03/24

Heather Flanagan explores how AI browsers are reshaping the definition of a web user agent, challenging long-standing web architecture principles around user control, consent, and interaction. As AI-driven features evolve from assistance to autonomous action, the browser’s traditional intermediary role begins to shift in subtle but important ways. She examines key questions around delegation, accountability, and intent, including how browsers acting on behalf of users blur the line between human

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00:15:05

Making Sense of ISO, IEC, and the Standards Maze

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2026/03/17

Heather Flanagan explores the complex world of ISO and IEC standards and why these global organizations play a critical role in digital identity infrastructure. From national body participation models to the scale of international standardization, this episode examines how these institutions shape technology far beyond traditional open standards communities. Discover how structures like ISO/IEC JTC1, the PAS transposition process, and national standards bodies influence digital wallets, mobile

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00:15:23

How NOT to Get Your Conference Submission Binned

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2026/03/10

Heather Flanagan explores why conference submissions succeed and why many proposals get rejected during call for proposals review. As a content chair, she shares what reviewers look for in an abstract, including clear outcomes, audience fit, and authentic voice over generic buzzwords. Get actionable guidance on using generative AI to polish—not replace—your ideas, plus tips for sharper titles and stronger structure. She also explains how to avoid vendor pitches, spell out acronyms, match format to

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00:15:45

Designing Digital Wallets for Reality: Where...

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2026/03/03

Heather Flanagan explores how digital identity wallets are shifting from experimental concepts into real infrastructure, as selective disclosure and zero knowledge proofs move from theory into production. Drawing on recent policy, payments, and wallet deployments, she frames the architectural decisions now facing teams building privacy-preserving identity systems. The episode examines where system complexity lives, how correlation risk emerges at scale, and why operational realities matter more than

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00:16:24

What Makes a Successful Standard?

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2026/02/24

In this episode, Heather Flanagan examines what truly defines a successful standard in digital identity. While adoption is often treated as the primary measure of success, she explores why that metric alone fails to capture the complexity of standards development and ecosystem coordination. She unpacks the tension between implementation-first cultures and inclusive governance, highlighting how participation, interoperability, and competing implementations shape long-term outcomes. Ultimately, this

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00:11:49

Understanding the FIDO Alliance’s Standards and...

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2026/02/17

Heather Flanagan explores why the FIDO Alliance can feel difficult to follow from the outside, and why that silence is often misunderstood. This episode examines how FIDO’s approach to standards development differs from more open processes, and what that means for people working in digital identity, authentication, and passkeys. The discussion unpacks the meaning of open standards, member-driven governance, and the trade-offs between transparency and collaboration. By understanding FIDO working

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00:12:08

Contributor Skills: How Standards Are Created

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2026/02/10

Heather Flanagan explores what it really takes to be an effective contributor in standards development and digital identity work. Moving beyond visible roles like working group chairs, the discussion centers on how specifications are actually shaped through collaboration, technical debate, and sustained participation. Discover how contributors add value as subject matter experts, implementers, and reviewers, and why skills like preparation, constructive disagreement, and process awareness matter

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00:09:13

Internet Shutdowns and the Reality of a Fragmented...

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2026/02/03

Heather Flanagan examines internet fragmentation through the lens of modern internet shutdowns. Using recent, well-documented cases, she explains how connectivity is selectively constrained and why shutdowns are no longer rare emergencies but predictable outcomes of network architecture and governance. Discover how these shutdowns directly impact digital identity systems, from federation failures to lost auditability. Learn why treating the network as neutral and always available is increasingly

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00:12:46

Inside the OpenID DCP Working Group: Issuance,...

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2026/01/27

In this episode of The Digital Identity Digest, discover how the OpenID Foundation’s Digital Credentials Protocols Working Group is shaping real-world digital credential issuance and presentation. Learn why standards decisions around interoperability, credential formats, and web-based flows matter for implementers, regulators, and identity architects navigating a complex digital identity ecosystem. Discover how pseudonymous authentication, assurance profiles like HAPE, and conformance testing

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00:09:59

The AI System That Never Was

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2026/01/20

In this episode of The Digital Identity Digest, learn why the idea of an “AI system” is quietly breaking down under modern AI governance and deployment realities. Heather Flanagan examines how agentic workflows, standards debates, and policy frameworks are exposing gaps between governance language and real-world AI architectures. Discover how this disconnect affects digital identity, accountability, and interoperability, and why unclear definitions create governance risk. Learn why engineers,

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00:15:07

A Field Guide to Digital Identity Standards Bodies

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2026/01/13

In this episode of The Digital Identity Digest, Heather Flanagan offers a practical field guide to digital identity standards, explaining how organizations like the OpenID Foundation, W3C, IETF, and FIDO Alliance shape specifications, drafts, and published standards through very different processes and cultures. Discover how to interpret standards maturity, understand what a draft really means, and evaluate where work sits in the standards development lifecycle, helping implementers, architects, and

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00:14:12

Process, Standards, and the AI Rogue Wave: Notes from...

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2026/01/06

In this episode of The Digital Identity Digest, Heather Flanagan reflects on Gartner IAM and what it reveals about digital identity decision-making, identity access management priorities, and enterprise buying behavior. The conversation explores how process, not product, often drives outcomes in real-world IAM programs. Learn why overlooked process maturity, invisible identity standards, and interoperability gaps matter, and discover how AI hype distorts expectations across IAM platforms. This

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00:13:58

ICYMI 2025: What You All Read the Most This Year

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2025/12/30

In this episode, Heather Flanagan looks back at the most read Digital Identity Digest posts of 2025, exploring what resonated across digital identity, governance, credentials, and AI. The recap reveals patterns behind shifting priorities, recurring debates, and the questions shaping standards work and system design. Discover how topics like agentic AI and authentication, delegation, decentralization, interoperability, and credential terminology signal where identity architecture is headed. The

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00:13:43

Web Payments and Digital Identity Standards Are...

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2025/12/23

In this episode Heather Flanagan examines how web payments and digital identity are converging at the W3C, exploring digital wallets, browser-based APIs, and regulatory pressure shaping modern payment flows and trust on the web today as standards discussions reveal shifting assumptions across ecosystems. Discover how Secure Payment Confirmation, passkeys, browser-bound keys, and the Digital Credentials API influence fraud prevention, interoperability, and auditability, and why agentic AI,

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00:13:30

Two APIs Walk Into a Browser: FedCM vs. the DC API

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2025/12/16

In this episode of The Digital Identity Digest, Heather Flanagan explores how two emerging browser APIs—FedCM and the Digital Credentials API—are reshaping the identity layer of the web. Learn why browsers are shifting from passive intermediaries to active participants as privacy reforms and regulatory pressure accelerate. Discover how these APIs differ in governance, user experience, and architectural philosophy, and why their proximity raises questions about future convergence. In this episode,

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00:13:38

What I Wish I Knew When I Started in Identity

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2025/12/09

In this episode, discover how today’s rapidly shifting digital identity landscape is bringing new practitioners into the field and challenging long-held assumptions about IAM, trust frameworks, and governance. Learn why even foundational concepts can feel unexpectedly complex as identity becomes integral to products, security, and global compliance. In this episode, discover how community expertise, evolving standards, and differing approaches to risk shape modern digital identity work. Learn why

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00:18:20

Robots, Humans, and the Edges of the Open Web

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2025/12/02

This episode explores what the “open web” truly means amid shifting standards, AI automation, and evolving economic pressures. Drawing on discussions from IETF 124 and W3C TPAC, it highlights how browser architects, policy experts, and researchers are reexamining long-held assumptions about access, interoperability, and the role of automated agents.Learn why openness isn’t a binary state but a multidimensional spectrum shaped by values such as attribution, consent, and continuity. The conversation

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00:18:34

Digital Identity Wallet Standards, the DC API, and...

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2025/11/25

Digital identity wallets are becoming a central focus in global identity conversations, driven by regulatory pressure, rapid technical evolution, and growing expectations around interoperability. This episode examines how layered architectures, protocol choices, and platform behaviors shape the user experience in ways that are often misunderstood. Listeners will learn why the Digital Credentials API (DCAPI) is frequently blamed for issues it cannot control, how differing operating system and browser

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00:14:51

The Regulator’s Dilemma

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2025/11/18

This episode explores the regulator’s dilemma at the heart of digital infrastructure, where accountability, compliance, and governance reshape the systems they aim to protect. Heather Flanagan examines how modern identity, critical infrastructure, and risk management challenges emerge as digital environments outgrow traditional oversight models.Listeners will learn why compliance-era controls no longer match today’s API-driven reality, how sovereignty contributes to Internet fragmentation, and why

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00:14:09

The Paradox of Protection

A Digital Identity Digest ·

2025/11/11

When every digital system is labeled as critical infrastructure, do we actually make the Internet safer—or just more fragile? In this episode of The Digital Identity Digest, Heather Flanagan examines the growing tension between protection, control, and interdependence in our global digital ecosystem. Through examples from the U.S. and EU, Heather explores how expanding definitions of “critical” can blur accountability, create policy confusion, and undermine true cyber resilience. Listeners will

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48 results

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