Look at me, I'm on BG TV

A while back we recorded some of the Burton Group analysts and consultants talking about a wide variety of topics. I thought I’d share them with you. So in lush mono and 2D, here’s me talking about:

T Minus 7 days to Catalyst EU

I’ve been a bit quiet on Tuesdaynight lately… sorry – it has been a bit crazy around here lately.

At any rate, we are 7 days away from Burton Group Catalyst EU! In the 7+ years that I’ve been involved in one way shape or form with Burton Group, I’ve never been to a Catalyst EU – so I am very excited. For those of you joining us, you are in for a treat – John Seely Brown will delivering the keynote for us. Besides Mr. Brown, the IdPS team has got some great content waiting for you:

  • Bob will kick things off with a look to the future identity architecture
  • I’ll be talking about the IdM market as a whole
  • Lori and I will have a serious conversation with our dear friend – provisioning

Fun for the whole family…

For those of you not heading to Prague, follow the conversation on Twitter. We’ll be using the #cat10 for the conference and the identity conversation will be on #idps.

See you there either in person or virtually…

Tuesdays on Tuesdaynight or Gartner buys Burton Group

So you’ve probably seen the news – Gartner is acquiring Burton Group. Looks like we’ll be kept whole in a variety of ways; see this note from Gene Hall. I’ll let you know more as I know.

This does bring the number of analyst firms focused on identity, privacy, and relationships down to a very small number. It will be interesting to watch how the market responds.

What is with Tuesdays in my life? 9/11 – a Tuesday. IBM buys Access360 on a Tuesday. Gartner buys Burton Group on a Tuesday. In keeping with this odd streak of Tuesdays, I think I’ll be at Toledo Lounge tonight – see you there?

Facebook privacy revisited: Privacy Mirror version 2

Facebook’s recent changes to its privacy system has been garnering a lot of attention and not a lot of it is good. Both the EFF and Kaliya Hamlin (via ReadWriteWeb) have written up their takes on the matter and, all in all, I think they are decent assessments.

With all the supposed changes in Facebook’s privacy system, I decided to revisit my work with Privacy Mirror (you can catch the backstory: here and then here). Having retested PM with both friends and strangers, here’s what I’ve learned: Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Facebook’s inconsistent treatment of privacy still remains. In a nutshell, what a 3rd party developer can see in your profile, having been granted access to you via your friends, directly depends on whether you have the same application they do. If you and your friends use the same Facebook app, then the 3rd party developer will see your profile (and photos and posts, etc.) as if that developer was your friend. If you do not use the same Facebook app that your friend does, then the 3rd party application is subject to a different set of constraints.

I question whether the recent changes Facebook has instituted have even remotely satisfied Commissioner Stoddart’s concerns with Facebook, specifically 3rd party access to user information. Although users can control the scope of disclosure of their posts a bit better, defaulting settings to “Everyone” access as well as potentially making user’s social graphs public undermines any attempt to cast Facebook in a pro-user control light.

On Capitals and Eating: A short trip report from Ottawa

There are great cities that happen to be national capitals. Cities like London and Paris are such places. Great food, great culture, great sites – a good time is had by all. Then there are national capitals that want to be great cities. Washington and Ottawa happen to fall into this category. Neither has the vibe/density/scene that London and Paris have, but they are trying. (And this is where my mother-in-law would add the phrase, “bless their hearts.”)

I happen to be in Ottawa a few weeks back and had some kick ass meals. First up, Murray Street – a charcuterie and wine bar. They bring much respect to meats – all of them. Anywhere that has an offal of the day as well as a whole pig head on the menu gets my vote any day of the week. It is a small place with a great feel. Highly recommend.

Next up – The Whalesbone Oyster House. Go. There. Now. Imagine a tiny restaurant embedded into an old bike shop. Forget open kitchen, the hot stations are actually in the seating area and the night we were there the a/c wasn’t working – forcing the staff into tank tops and shorts. Whalesbone is, as the name implies, an oyster and fish joint and it takes its ingredients seriously. If the amazing fish, oysters, and drinks doesn’t do it for you, then try this – when was the last time you went to a bar or restaurant where the music was provided by records? Two huge stacks of records behind the bar, from which Ray Charles, Abba, and Sam & Dave were pulled when we were there. The staff has been friends since high school and you can feel their love for the place in everything they do. Again – go there now!