OpenID is a decentralized digital identity that allows for easy access to a number of networks. Members benefit from one singular identity and networks benefit from a lowered barrier to membership. In this way, more information is shared across a variety os social landscapes and therefore, as with Creative Commons, there are more opportunities for engagement and education.

Says open source advocate Chris Messina in a recent blog post on CC OpenID:

"Creative Commons is redistributing the brand equity and social capital their members have accrued over the last several years by letting people show and verify their affiliation to the organization.

With this simple example, we can start to see the symbiosis of making an intentional choice about identity: Creative Commons finds a new revenue opportunity and members of the community have a way to express their affiliation and promote the brand."

The company says that creative professionals like the service because it can handle large files, is compatible with 400 different file formats and doesn't require software to be installed. There's also a mobile version, including for iPhone. The system is most likely to be used as a replacement to email or FTP, given that its main benefit is being able to send and collaborate around large media files.

MuseWorx has a free, entry-level version, a digital asset management tool with 100 MB of storage. It also has a partner network, through which it distributes the product. Museworx runs on Windows, Mac and Linux - the only other technical requirement is Adobe Flash 9.

Our Take

Essentially MuseWorx is an asset management system for creative professionals. We're not so impressed with the term "marketing OS", which seems fairly meaningless. You could argue that using the term "cloud computing" is also nebulous, although founder David Fritsche makes a good case for it in his blog Cloud Computing for Marketing.

MuseWorx claims to be "the first marketing automation system to leverage cloud computing" and in October it reported having more than 250,000 users. So whatever you think of the marketing claims for the product, it seems to be successful so far. Tell us what you think in the comments.

If you see a picture or hear some music you like, you can add it to your "moodboard" and get additional information on purchasing it from Getty's library. That's a smart move that ties some brand and product marketing into an otherwise fun mashup.

Sheila Lennon of the Providence Journal writes that Moodstream might be "even better if you can port it to your big TV." She might not be far off the type of use case that the app's creators had it mind. From Rick Webb, of the Barbarian Group, who created Moodstream for Getty:

What is Moodstream? It's a concepting tool. The modern version of the fireplace. An interactive art piece. TV for the future. It's a website we created for and with Getty Images to showcase all of their offerings - still, video and sound - and inspire interactive creatives. And it's really, really fun to use.

He's certainly right about the last part. I've had Moodstream running in the background all morning as I've been reading blogs and catching up with last night's news, and I keep finding myself switching back to it to check what sort of visual and auditory treats it has for me. It is easy to see how designers could find inspiration while staring at Moodstream's interactive slideshow.