I missed the final sessions of Digital ID World on Wednesday because of commitments in California.  Judging from the Twitter traffic, it sounded like some great stuff was discussed.

As a follow-up to my posts for Day 1 and Day 2, here my top ten final thoughts about the conference (without the benefit of Day 3):

1. Most Stimulating Information. Jeff Jonas’ discussion about using data analytics to discover space-time-travel characteristics of individuals was both challenging and disturbing.
2. Newest Identity Concept. Phil Windley’s proposal to enable contextualized, purpose-based user experiences using the web browser as a point of integration triggers lots of new thoughts about extracting value from the Internet.
3. Most Reinforced Notion. The Identity Management market is maturing.  Companies are seeking to learn best practices for getting the most out of their investments.
4. Biggest Question in my Mind. How much validity should we place in Symplified’s claim that “Federation is Dead.  Long Live the Federation Fabric?”
5. Most Enjoyable Networking Moments.  Meeting folks in person I have only met virtually beforehand.  In person wins every time.
6. Most-asked Question.  Nearly everyone whom I spoke with asked me something about the Oracle acquisition of Sun.  That happened to be the easiest question for me to answer: “Until the deal closes, we are independent companies.  We must wait until then for details.”
7. Best Trade Show Giveaway. An LED flashlight from Novell.  Incandescent bulb flashlights seem to be quickly joining buggy whips in the dustbins of history (except for special cases).
8. Biggest Pet Peeve.  No power strips or WIFI were provided for attendees.  This severely limited note taking and real-time blogging.
9. Most Entertaining Event.  No, not the parties.  It was the Chinese guy who drove my taxi to the airport.  He chattered non-stop for the whole trip about technology, Maryland, California, Utah, Idaho, Micron, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, potato chips, microchips, stock trading, traffic and dishonest taxi drivers.  What a hoot!
10. Biggest Disappointment. The show seems to get smaller each year – both in the number of attendees and participating vendors.  Will it survive?

That’s my list.  What do you think?