I was asked to speak at a Darklight symposium. I must admit I wasn't sure if I could afford the time. I'm at a sensitive time with my business, you see. I was told the talk was on privacy. I was like. Oh in that case. I should. Then I heard that the keynote was by Daniel Solove. And I was like "Are you kidding!?" "Why didn't you say that in the first place!" The thing is there's a load of old rubbish talked about privacy. Its nobody fault really. Its just that people often find they are talking at cross purposes. The problem is that we all think we know what privacy is. That is until we are asked to define it. It then it turns out that nobody can. And that everyone has a half-baked opinion. The situation always reminds me of the story of the blind men and the elephant

Six blind men were asked to determine what an elephant looked like by feeling different parts of the elephant's body. The blind man who feels a leg says the elephant is like a pillar; the one who feels the tail says the elephant is like a rope; the one who feels the trunk says the elephant is like a tree branch; the one who feels the ear says the elephant is like a hand fan; the one who feels the belly says the elephant is like a wall; and the one who feels the tusk says the elephant is like a solid pipe. Discussions begin but each man is so sure that his own experience is definitive that the discussion goes nowhere or devolves into an argument of almost religious proportions. A wise man steps forward and explains to them: All of you are right. The reason every one of you is telling it differently is because each one of you touched the different part of the elephant. So, actually the elephant has all the features you mentioned.

In discussions on Privacy, Daniel J. Solove is your wise man. He has stepped back and taken on the task of defining what privacy is and why it is important. Its a huge task. A task of heroic proportions. But he has succeeded in creating the definitive work on the subject. So what happened at the talk?

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All the details over here It's near the inspirational Broombridge. Which I walk over every morning on my way to the Digital Hub. via Wikipedia:

Broom bridge is somewhat famous for being the location where Sir William Rowan Hamilton first wrote down the fundamental formula for quaternions on October 16, 1843, which is to this day commemorated by a stone plaque on the northwest corner of the underside of the bridge. The text on the plaque reads: Here as he walked by on the 16th of October 1843 Sir William Rowan Hamilton in a flash of genius discovered the fundamental formula for quaternion multiplication i² = j² = k² = ijk = −1 & cut it on a stone of this bridge. Given the historical importance of the bridge with respect to mathematics, mathematicians the world over have been known to make a pilgrimage of sorts to the site.

The promoter/owner of the space should consider looking up Peter at www.the360co.com. With all the exposure co-working spaces get this could be a good business opportunity for both.

Born of Fire When Techludd was first mooted, some hotly demanded it stop before it starts. And protested that the scene is already well enough served. That another event would simply dilute the value of existing events. All tough statements. Difficult to qualify. That is, unless you have some special way to predict the future. Nature will find a way Others countered that the mark of a vibrant scene is to see lots of events launched and lots of events failing, and letting the market pick and choose. If they need it, they will come With that, the planning for the event went ahead. A sort of "if they need it they will come" attitude. But it was more than that. It was extended to be more embracing. If they need it. They will tell us what they need. When they come. When and where So that's it. Techludd is on tomorrow night from 7 PM at The Odessa Club • 13 Dame Court • Dublin 2 • 01-6703080. Open to all. If you are coming have a look at who else will be there (78 signups at last count). Predicting success Wondering if it will be a success? Enjoying the anticipation? Well, I couldn't wait myself so I thought I'd join in on the prediction game. Now I can't disclose whether I got my information from animal sacrifice or from reading the RSS feeds but I can say it is usual for the birth of something great to be preceded by some world-shaking events. Take a look around you and see what's happening. Now judge for yourself. All things considered. You are bound to conclude. If you are not there tomorrow. With the other 78 people. You'll have missed one hell of an event.