#Shadow - A protocol for U shadows and cyber nodes

A U-Shadow, is a concept taken directly from the works of the science fiction author Peter F. Hamilton. A person's U-Shadow is their interface to the internet. At present, a person typically interacts with the internet using a browser, but more and more services are building on top of the internet, using just the data and infrastructure.

It sounds like a great movie, but the Shadow Prototol is actually an application layer that uses HTTP.

Shadow is an attempt to put this groundwork in place. It is open to comment and criticism by any and all. I personally want to live in a future where I can order a pizza or a taxi just by thinking about it, but I also know that we have to start with something small!

A Cyber Shadow is an individual's interface to the internet, providing the user with several services and acting as gate keeper and assistant. Whilst Cyber Shadows are not intended to be autonomous, they can possess a certain level of intelligence and autonomy.

U-Shadows will provide the following services:

• Identity Provider (OpenId)
• Messaging
• Searching
• File Transfer
• Identity assurance
• Service access

A Cyber Node is nexus point of the internet. It could represent your home, a bar, a city or a country. An individual's Cyber Shadow would also form a node to some degree. The Cyber Node could provide access to services and information pertinent to its purpose.

• Service discovery
• Searching
• Messaging