IIW2008a Announcement Copy

Workshop Information
The Internet Identity Workshop focuses on user-centric identity and identity in the large. It is a working meeting for a range of groups focused on the technical, social and legal issues arising with the emergence identity layer of the web.

What do we mean by user-centric identity in the large? Providing identity services between people, websites, and organizations that don't necessarily have a formalized relationship is a different problem than providing authentication and authorization services within a single organization. Monday May 12th is our first day.

The design for Monday has not been finalized but the design committee will be working on it and we'll have more information here. Here's what we did last time:

* Introductory tutorial and information sessions for people who have not attended IIW or IOS before. It is important for people who are new to this technology niche to attend this day so that you can get the most out and contribute to the next to days. * Those groups who have been active for a long time in the community will be holding working sessions this day. * We will have an opening session with all participants at 4:30 on Monday afternoon. Dinner on Monday evening is a part of the conference.

May 13th and 14th are open space

Tuesday morning we will open at 8:00 for breakfast and at 8:30 we will begin with the agenda creation process. Sessions will run all Wednesday and Dinner Wednesday evening will include the 'untalent show.'

Wednesday we will open at 8:30AM and close by 3PM. Please book your flights so you can stay until the close of the conference. Evening Dinner and Activities

Eating together at our evening dinners IS a part of the conference. We strongly encourage you to join us for our meals. We work to provide high quality food and good atmosphere. If you have business colleagues or family members you would like to meet with invite them along you can buy a dinner ticket for them. Who's Organizing This?

The workshops are organized by a working group within Identity Commons, and are run on Open Space practices and principles*. There are no formal presentations, no keynotes, no panels. Instead, topics are vetted and chosen by participants when the workshop convenes, and open meetings are organized and scheduled for the day that follows. Previous Workshops

Information on what happened at previous IIW workshops:

* Phil Windley's coverage of IIW2007b in December * Blog entries tagged iiw2007b from Technorati

Still wondering if it will be good or not? Read what folks said about the May 2006 conference. Help Advertise IIW2008

Help advertise IIW2008a by putting a banner on your Website:

IIW2008 Registration banner 	

Format and Process
Like the last IIW, we plan to organize this event using open space principles. We will make the schedule when we are face to face the first day of the conference. We do this in part because the field is moving so rapidly that we your organizing team are in no position to know what needs to be talked about. We do know great people who will be there and it is the attendees who have a passion to learn and contribute to the event that will make it.

Also like the previous three workshops, we will hold IIW2008a at the Computer History Museum. The space there is perfect for this kind of event. We expect a large and energized community to attend and are counting on plenty of participation. Don't be put off by that, however, if you're just getting into this. Come and learn--the first day is designed to get everyone up to speed. You won't be disappointed.

Cost
We are committed to keeping this conference open and accessible. Having a venue that will support our doubling in size also means that it costs a bit more.

We decided to have a tiered cost structure to support accessibility as well as inviting those who are more able to pay to contribute. If you want to come we want you there. If cost is an issue please contact us and we can discuss how to make it work.

* Students - $50 * Independents - $175 * Corporate - $300

These fees are good until April 27th. After April 27th, the price will increase by $25 for students and $100 for everyone else.

The fees are used to cover the cost of the venue, organization, snacks and lunch both days. We encourage you to pre-register since we will limit attendance at the event to 300 people. The previous IIW workshops were strongly attended and we expect strong interest in this one as well. Sponsorships

Our goal is to keep the workshop vendor neutral, but we will be accepting limited sponsorships for the following:

* Morning Break, May 13 and 14 ($800 each) * Afternoon Break, May 12, 13, and 14 ($800 each) * Lunch on May 13 and 15 ($2400 each) * Barista and Coffee Bar, May 12, 13 and 14th ($800 each day) * Pre-dinner Drinks, May 12 ($1000) * Monday Dinner, May 12 ($4000) * Pre-dinner Drinks, May 13 ($1000) * Conference Dinner, May 13 ($5000)

If you or your company would like to sponsor one of these workshop activities, or have ideas about other activities contact me. You will not get any extra speaking time for sponsoring but you will get HUGE "thank-yous" and community 'love.' In the past sponsorships have been a huge contribution to the overall event by making the breaks and meals a great networking activity. Organizers

IIW2008 is being organized by:

* Kaliya Hamlin * Doc Searls * Phil Windley