Back in the olden days before the privatization of the 'Net, the Internet provided just one of dozens of separate and incompatible email systems. To be truly connected back then required holding accounts on GENIE, AOL, CompuServe and others in addition to an Internet address. Over time of course this was recognized as silly and the various networks first implemented Internet email gateways, later adopting standard Internet protocols directly.

This morning I was updating my profile on two of the half-dozen social software sites I use, and I couldn't help but wonder why it is that even so late in the game each of these systems is an island, disconnected from the others.

Is there a push anywhere in this industry to apply the lessons of email to networking sites, so that one day we might maintain a single profile on the system we prefer but enjoy interoperability with all others?