I think the key aspects of this conference are figuring out how to make this digital identity business 1) real and understandable to non-technical people (use case-driven, etc.) and 2) a genuine improvement over what we have today, or have had in the past (privacy-enhancing? a better online experience? better grease for commercial transactions?).

Tid-bits:

Doc says that Mash is Up and he has a pic of Esther and her PC.

Esther Dyson, in the opening session, tells us she hinks we should call the conference “Presentation of Self.”

Kim Taipale, says that the identity we’re talking about is about little more than “allocation of risk.”

Christine Varney (former Clinton administration senior official, now of Hogan and Hartson) says that privacy is really about trust, with four elements that went by really fast.

Here’s Charlie Nesson doing the welcome with me.  In case you were wondering, his T-Shirt says “Gay? Fine by me.”

Here’s my profile (identity?) on the IDMashup conference CMS. I am eager to see what happens with/to it, if anything. (Have I just filled in another form? I suppose it’s the job of all of us to ensure that this is not the case, that it’s more than just that.)

On the topic of Harvard’s own identity, a wonderful post on “Harvard through Canadian Eyes” from Kaliya, Identity Woman.