# FIDs and identity

Source: https://dwr.email/fids-and-identity
Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/FIDs-and-identity?index=0x66c839b104fc94bfcba336ef6237a5f7f7c93772b22fc2114ca52606d8918ba4b8e19b61
Submitted by ameliehua.eth on 2024-08-23 UTC, 4 upvotes, 3 comments

## Summary

An FID's value comes from its social graph, both stated through following and revealed through activity, rather than from its profile or the onchain primitive alone. Digital identity emerges from apps with utility, so building an identity layer first is the wrong order of operations; an identity layer is earned through time spent, usage and people building on it. Email addresses, phone numbers and OS-level sign-ins such as Sign in with Apple and Sign in with Google are named as the identities at scale in 2024. Email began as the internet's original killer app, and many apps shifted from email to phone numbers as smartphones spread, especially in developing countries.

## Article

The value of an FID is in the social graph—both stated (following) and revealed (activity). Profile is secondary. There is minimal (no?) value in the onchain primitive absent the above.

This is why digital identity is always emergent from apps with utility. If you spend a lot of time using an app / platform / OS, it starts to become your identity. Building an identity layer is the wrong order of operations. You earn the right to be an identity layer by time spent, usage, people building on it, etc.

At-scale digital identities in 2024:

Email address — the original "killer app" of the internet; so naturally websites asked for you email address as your identity

Phone number — as smartphones became more popular, many apps shifted from asking for an email address to a phone number. Even more people had a phone number than an email address, esp. in developing countries.

OS-level identities — Sign in with Apple and Sign in with Google

## Comments

**tim**: Why did he publish this? What's the context?

**macbudkowski.eth**: I think it's a consequence of this discussion:
https://warpcast.com/dwr.eth/0xc5a23a9c

**qiaoliang.eth**: This is so obvious and yet so many "identity protocol" got wrong ... wasting millions of dollars building vapourware..