24 April 2009

Speaking to the DC Chapter of Association of Computing Machinery

I was invited to talk about X3D for Enterprise Applications to the DC ACM after talking to the chapter president in Jan 09. Goto www.dcacm.org for the evening meeting details. It's a FREE event so please consider attending. This opportunity has forced me to speed up my investigation and creation of data models for natural persons' financial transaction profiles that covers a century of living. You might imagine NO ONE has such profiles to derive the data volume generated from that so transactions, let alone the data volume of the goods and services that would be captured in X3D formats for their mirror world database! But that is exactly the tone and twist I will deliver in my 40 minute talk. Data, data, data! It's all about the data and the information technology to manage it comes second. The graphical, acoustic and haptic user interfaces to the data are implied in the phrase "information technology".

I have yet to read an article, paper, essay, book chapter, brief, etc. that describes the data generation, accumulation and correlation of individuals' non-discretionary transactions with corporations (e.g., grocers, employers, churchs, schools) and governments (e.g., County land records office, State motor vehicle administration, internal revenue service) from womb to tomb. The publications I read that discuss the services provided to clients, customers, consumers and/or citizens focus on the information technology costs, energy consumption, security, and other IT characteristics but not the data in quantitative and individualistic terms. None of the publications I've read present even a sketch of the data dynamics in quantitative terms on an illustrative diagram of the data lifecycle in the content of the service offering or the person's life span. It's like the reader (everyone) just knows the details of the data elements, formats, values, etc.

My objective speaking to what I hope to be a standing room only audience (of 75) is mobile mirror world technology like Lifegraphs are a great idea to be the information nexus between the supply, value and customer chains of e-commerce/government/health/etc.. It's an old idea depending on how close to similar ideas you consider mine. I intend to create a desire in the audience to speak up and demand lifegraph components from the parties the do business with. I hope someone in government (legislative and regulatory) will be present because this idea goes no where fast without legislated/regulated demand created at all levels of government.

There is a book entitled "Mirror Worlds" by David Gelernter that I intend to read (256pp) before the talk so I can reference it in my opening remarks. The book was written soon after I graduated from USAFA, 1991.