Marc's making some comments about Dave Winer's comments about the recent Mobile Identity "unconference" (did you folllow that?).
It is worth reading the whole post, as Marc makes some interesting points, but I feel obliged to offer up a few notes/corrections:
1. Marc is TOTALLY right when he says that you can't "sell identity by itself." His point is that identity is about the context in which it lives. I couldn't agree more.
2. Marc is TOTALLY wrong when he goes on to say that "ID conferences don’t work, [and] ID products don’t sell" -- at least, he's wrong because his statement lacks context.
First, Identity conferences *definitely* work (I think we've proven that one ;-), but they work for an audience that's pretty different than the one Marc lives in. Identity conferences work when you're talking about how identity benefits the enterprise and the goals they have around security, compliance, auditability, etc. Now, I know these things aren't interesting to Marc -- and that's fine! But the bottom line is that enterprise IT guys have a *huge* need around what identity enables them to do -- and they come to identity conferences like Digital ID World to satisfy that need.
Second, identity products definitely sell -- but again, they sell to the enterprise.
So, what is lacking in Marc's comments? Ironically - context ;-)
Marc is more properly addressing the "user-centric" identity work that's going on -- and in that context, his comments make some sense.
Interestingly, though, the *enterprise* is now the one that's getting interested in the work the "user-centric" folks are doing. Will the enterprise *once again* be the place that makes identity work and buys the products? I'd bet on it.
Posted by ejnorlin at January 29, 2007 03:56 AM