RSA Security Bloggers Meet-up

Several people have already written about this, so I'll keep it short. I really enjoyed it; I reconnected with some people, met some Internet acquaintances and Security Twits in person for the first time, and met new people, too. I had a great time and I'm already looking forward to the next one.

Thanks again to Jennifer Leggio (Mediaphyter), Martin McKeay, Rich Mogull, Alan Shimel and everyone else who helped make it happen.

Mediaphyter's blog post has a pretty thorough list of attendees, scan it and you'll see why I am not trying to repeat the effort here.

Jack

Security Bloggers Meetup at RSA

I am looking forward to the Security Bloggers Meetup at RSA next week.  A couple of weeks ago at SOURCE Boston I got to put faces (not just avatars) to Twittering and blogging friends I only knew through online interactions- I expect to make many more face-to-face connections at the RSA meetup.  Given the reputation of RSA evenings in general and the Security Blogger Meetup in particular, I can't be sure that I will remember much- but I know there will be video to help jog my memory.

See you there?

 

Jack

Astaro, RSA, Bloggers, and Beer

OK, this post is much more "commercial" than anything I've done before, but bear with me on this...

A handful of factoids:

• The San Francisco RSA conference is coming up in a few weeks.
  
• I'll be there covering the event.
  
• Astaro will be there, promoting their new (and of course, current) product line.
  
• I blog, and I work for Astaro.
  
• Getting press credentials for RSA means you are solicited by everyone who wants press for their products and services.

Now to connect some dots. Several people have commented on the barrage of email invitations to schedule meetings and other such things. Some have commented on the cluelessness of some of the PR and Marketing people. I see two primary issues; first is that some PR and Marketing types don't have the time (or possibly skill) to do a good job (see this post at the Mediaphyter blog); second is that many people do not realize that bloggers and traditional press may have some overlap, but are generally very different people with different situations (see this post at Martin McKeay's blog).

I don't mind the mountains of email invitations. I'm getting into the event with a complimentary Press/Analyst pass and the vendors want to get their message out- that's how this works. I do think many of the messages and invitations are excessively verbose and hype-laden, but some are pretty well done. The well done ones are much more likely to get my attention, both before and during the conference.

Here's the Astaro connection: Astaro wants to get attention from bloggers and I think they are trying to do it right. Tuesday afternoon (you'll be ready to sit down, have a beer and jump on the Internet by then) there will be a "Beer and Blog" event at the Astaro booth; meet Astaro people including the CEO, see the products, talk about whatever you want. And beer. The invitations are short and to the point, and they are only being sent to bloggers. Yes bloggers, Astaro wants your attention, but they are trying to do it right. If you are registered as a Blogger for RSA you should get an invite- if you are interested please RSVP, it would be bad to run out of beer. If you don't get an invite, let me know. And let me know what you think.

Now, back to your irregularly scheduled blogging.

Jack

The Social Web and Digital Natives

This week's Boston Area Windows Server User Group meeting will feature a presentation which sounds especially interesting:

"The Social Web and Digital Natives:
Understanding the Expectations of Tomorrow's User Base"
Presentation by Anthony A. Pino of Harvard College

Emerging modes of social production such as blogs, wikis, social networks, tagging, folksonomies and mashups have changed the face of the internet and hold important considerations for those developing and implementing the next wave of applications. As "Digital Natives", those who have grown up in a digital world and for whom connectedness is taken for granted, mature and both forge the online space into a more social one and become mainstream users of software, it is important to understand how they interact with technology, information, and with each other online. We'll look at the concepts and tools that form the "web 2.0" buzzword with an eye towards helping administrators who will be responsible for implementing technology platforms in the future. The talk will include a primer on blogs, wikis, tagging and social networks; the importance of a feedback loop for users; the merits of peer review and the wisdom of the crowd; why we all need to "set our data free" so it can be "mashed up" with other data, services and visualizations; and how to stay abreast of these new happenings. The presentations aims to be informative to those already familiar with the expectations and assumptions of Digital Natives as well as those who are curious about the changes afoot in the way people are using technology to communicate and manage information.

 

Boston Area Windows Server User Group meets at Microsoft's offices on the sixth floor of 201 Jones Road in Waltham, MA.  Meetings begin at 6:00 pm, this presentation is scheduled for 7:00-8:00.

 

Jack