Barbie as an identity validator

Here’s a solution for anxious parents. But it’s also an interesting example of how to authenticate the identity of counterparties (though that part is more technical).

For its free virtual world for preteens, barbiegirls.com, Mattel has developed an authentication mechanism that uses one of its toys.

The site lets girls “chat” with their friends through Secret B Chat, with the restriction that it only lets girls talk to friends they actually know (in the real world, that is).

The Barbie MP3 player is used as the mechanism to authenticate the relationship.

The idea is this: Sally takes her Barbie Girl to her friend Tiffany’s house and places it in the cradle connected to the USB port of Tiffany’s PC. Mattel’s software (Windows only) reads some kind of globally unique identifier found in Tiffany’s Barbie Girl and with that authenticates Sally as one of Tiffany’s best friends. From that moment on the two girls can talk freely using Secret B Chat. (If Sally’s parents can’t afford to buy her a BarbieGirl then Sally can’t be one of Tiffany’s best friends. Perish the thought, how dreadful!)

The chat only allows conversations between friends authenticated this way. In addition, the chat only allows words that appear on a whitelist. The site warns that “If you happen to use a word that’s not on our list (even if it’s not a bad one), it will get blocked. But don’t worry – we’re always adding cool new words!”

All of this against a pretty pink background…

Sources:

• Wired: Barbie Becomes an Authentication Device for Pre-Teen Friendship
• Kim Cameron: Ready or not: Barbie is an identity provider…