Total Immersion

I was recently asked for some examples of events I have spoken at, so for the record this is what I’ve participated in so for this year:

Taking back control of IT, Webinar, 28 February 2008 (video stream - registration required)

Improving business productivity through effective content management, Webinar, 4 March 2008 (video stream - registration required)

Governance in virtual worlds, Pisa, Italy, 13-14 March 2008 (slides)

Which is more Important – Compliance, Security or Operability? (Panel Chair) - Infosec Europe, London, UK, 22-24 April 2008 (podcast)

Progressive IT, Sourcing and Architecture, Microsoft Architect Insight Conference - Windsor, UK, 28-29 April 2008 (slides/video stream - requires Windows Media Player)

How to sell virtualisation (Panel Chair), Channel Expo, Birmingham, UK, 22 May 2008

IBM Optim Internal Data Threat event, London, UK, 29 May 2008 (slides)

If you need any more information please do get in touch.

For anyone who’s interested in either topic, I’m going to be presenting on the role and impact of business governance in relation to virtual worlds, in a few weeks at the ISGIG conference in Pisa. What an irresistible topic - here’s my outline so far:

There is (currently anecdotal) evidence that immersive environments such as Second Life are losing their mainstream popularity, as potentially are such social networking sites as Facebook. All the same, together with such technologies as telepresence, the potential for such collaborative technologies is great, in terms of how it enables stronger relationships to develop with the subsequent impact on productivity; virtual worlds also offer the opportunity to interact physically and collaboratively, for example to demonstrate a product prototype. But there are plenty of downsides – not least the potential for abuse which is leading many corporations to ignore, if not avoid such technologies. This presentation considers the benefits and challenges of socially enabled virtual worlds, gives examples of where organizations are using them for corporate benefit, while minimizing the governance risks and operational challenges they cause. Where are the boundaries between real and virtual worlds, and how do they interface with social technologies? What are the problems of doing business in a virtual world, and how is that affected by real word business and regulations? Also, if Second Life is indeed losing its sheen, what’s Third Life going to be like?

Unfortunately Second Life doesn’t run on the OQO 01+ but if anyone’s interested, you can contact Nathan Neumann, I’ll be in there sporadically.