Identity's big tent

I've mentioned in passing that we run a conference -- Digital ID World -- but now, as we're a little more than two weeks out from the show, it seemed appropriate to explain what's going on there.

We started the show back in 2002, right about the time that Comdex was going bankrupt, and we're now proud to report that Digital ID World has become the industry's gathering place -- what Phil called, "one big non-denominational user group." Digital ID World's focus (identity) and depth (through real-world deployment stories) have really differentiated it over the years, and this year is no different.

Here are some highlights of the schedule:

Monday, September 11th

The Identity Open Space -- an "unconference" organized by Phil Windley (Between the Lines blogger), Kaliya Hamlin and Doc Searls.

The Virtual Directory user group.

The Federated Identity user group.

An interview with Symantec's VP of Technology, Rob Clyde

A panel about what the internet's largest sites think about identity -- moderated by ZDNet's own Dan Farber.

Tuesday, September 12th

Scott Wallace, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Health Information Technology addresses identity and healthcare.

Dozens of companies take to the stage (in a 5-wide breakout) to tell their stories.

Wednesday, September 13th

Jamie Lewis, CEO and Research Chair of Burton Group, takes the stage for his annual "state of the identity union" address.

Tom Dunbar, CSO of XL Capital and SC Magazine's "CSO of the Year," tells his tales of identity.

Dozens more companies take to the stage to tell about their real-world deployments (think Equifax, ADP, Safeway, Sprint, Regions Bank).

Doc Searls provides his yearly perspective on what we've all just experienced.

Throw in a boatload of sponsors and exhibitors just for good measure.

Hopefully, all of that will convey the sheer mass of stuff we're going to dive into. Whether you're wondering about virtual directories, identity-based NAC, risk-based authentication, or user-centric identity, Digital ID World is the big tent for the community.

Okay, I'm getting off of my soapbox now --- back to regularly scheduled programming.