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.

Big news from us today (of all places):

IDG's CXO MEDIA, INC. ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH DIGITAL ID WORLD

CIO and CSO Magazines Add Digital ID World Conference to Suite of Security Events; Security Pros to Convene in San Francisco September 23rd-26th to Address Critical Identity Issues

Framingham, MA—January 26, 2007—IDG’s CXO Media, publisher of CIO (www.cio.com) and CSO (www.csoonline.com) magazines and events, announces a new partnership with online magazine Digital ID World (www.digitalidworld.com) whereby the two organizations will co- produce Digital ID World Conference, the identity industry’s primary gathering place. Now in its sixth year, the Digital ID World conference convenes 700+ of the industry’s top leaders and enterprise implementers for an intensive three days of networking and education. This year’s conference, taking place September 23-26th at the San Francisco Hilton, will cover the full spectrum of identity, including: the convergence of physical and logical identity systems, securing SOA with identity, identity-based network access control, application-layer identity management, provisioning, virtual directories, federation, user-centric identity and more.

According to Bob Bragdon, Publisher of CSO magazine, “Identity is, by all accounts, the single biggest concern of the security industry and Digital ID World has long been recognized as the leading source of expertise in this area. This unique partnership will bring together the two leading forces in the security industry, allowing us to deliver enhanced offerings to security marketers, as well as superior programming to a wide audience of security pros.”

Phil Becker, Editor in Chief, Digital ID World, adds, “IT security professionals have moved past perimeter-based security models, and now realize that identity lays the foundation for security across the physical, network and application layers of the enterprise. As such, this partnership with CXO Media will help Digital ID World to provide even more value to our audience.”

Becker and Eric Norlin, Senior Editor of Digital ID World, will continue to oversee community, speaker and content development for the conference while CXO Media will manage marketing, sales and on-site execution (formerly managed by CXO Media’s sister company IDG World Expo). Several sponsors have already signed on for the event including Ping Identity, Radiant Logic, Symlabs, Courion, M-Tech and Passlogix. Previous event sponsors include HP, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle and Sun Microsystems.

Adds Michael Friedenberg, President and CEO of CXO Media, Inc., “This partnership underscores CXO Media’s continued focus on customer needs and directly supports ongoing plans to expand our online, custom and events business through strategic partnerships and bold initiatives.”

About CIO and CSO Magazines:
CIO and CSO magazines are published by CXO Media Inc. producer of award-winning media properties and executive programs for corporate officers who use technology to thrive and prosper in this new era of business. Launched in 1987, CIO magazine addresses issues vital to the success of chief information officers (CIOs) worldwide. The CIO portfolio includes a companion website www.CIO.com, CIO Executive Programs, a series of face-to-face conferences providing educational and networking opportunities for pre-qualified corporate and government leaders, and the CIO Executive Council, a professional organization of CIOs created to achieve lasting change in critical industry, academic, media and governmental groups. The U.S. edition of the magazine and website are recipients of more than 160 awards to date, including two Grand Neals from the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards and two Magazine of the Year awards from the National Society of Business Publication Editors.

Launched in 2002, CSO magazine, its companion website (www.CSOonline.com) and the CSO Perspectives™ conference provide chief security officers (CSOs) with analysis and insight on security trends and a keen understanding of how to develop successful strategies to secure all business assets—from people to information and financial value to physical infrastructure. The U.S. edition of the magazine and website are the recipients of 80 awards to date, including the American Society of Business Publication Editor’s Magazine of the Year award as well as eleven Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards. CXO Media is a subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world’s leading technology media, research and event company. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com./

About Digital ID World:
Digital ID World is the premier identity industry event. Digital ID World provides business executives and IT managers with an exclusive conference opportunity to interact with thought leaders, developers and providers of identity solutions. Digital ID World is the source for the straight talk, hard-won lessons, and practical insight derived from real-world deployments.

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Bottom Line: Digital ID World just got bigger, badder and better than ever. This is a great partnership for us --one that I know will bring value to all of the constituencies of the identity community. If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me: eric AT digitalidworld.com