Identity experts gather at Internet Identity Workshop

I spent an enjoyable three days last week at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif., where I attended the second Internet Identity Workshop.

Phil Windley, Kaliya Hamlin and Doc Searls once again put on a fascinating show, almost an anti-conference, filled with what amounts to a constantly flowing stream of Birds-of-a-Feather sessions running the whole gamut of identity-related activity. And while IIW covers many facets of identity, the star turns are done by the folks involved with user-centric identity – Kim Cameron and Mike Jones from Microsoft, Dick Hardt from Sxip, Johnannes Ernst from LID, Drummond Reed from iNames and more. Also fully represented were IBM (Tony Nadalin), Sun (Eve Maler and Eugene/Eric Kim), Novell (Dale Olds) and probably many others I’m simply forgetting right now.

There were heavily attended sessions detailing how to do open source connections to Microsoft’s Identity Metasystem led by Cameron and Jones, which seemed to make the more adamant open source advocates very happy.

There were folks dropping tantalizing hints about products on the horizon from stealth-mode start-ups.

I even noticed Microsoft’s Jones and Sun’s Maler having dinner together and sharing what seemed to be a very enjoyable evening. (Am I starting to sound like Oprah, or what?)

The intriguing thing about this IIW was that it was labeled Internet Identity Workshop 2006A. There will quite possibly be a “B” edition in the fall, probably on the East Coast if Windley, Searls and Hamlin can put it together. If they do, you should drop everything and plan to be there.

Next issue, I’ll let you know what the high point – and the low point – of the three days were to me. Hurry back.