Fiorina on Web 2.0 (indirectly, anyway)

So, I just got back from listening to Carly Fiorina tell her side of the story while pitching her book, Tough Choices, over at Kepler's in Menlo Park. Behind this former Most Powerful Business Woman in the World stood her husband Frank, who found his own set of groupies, post-talk. But what does this have to do with Who Owns YOU? Well, regardless of what you think of Fiorina, the strategies that HER TEAM ENGINEERED are the very ones that have recently led to HP surpassing Dell in the PC world. So that means this is a clearly insightful and visionary woman to whom one should pay attention, if not consummate respect. Personally, I believe on the the jealous hesitate to give her all due props on both accounts. Paraphrased here is what Carly said is happening in technology, moving forward:

1. The dotcom boom was only the end of the beginning.
2. Now, the sustainable technology revolution is ready to commence.
3. That means, EVERYTHING that isn't already, will become increasingly:
* Digital
* Mobile
* Virtual
* Personal
4. Personal, in the sense that THE INDIVIDUAL IS IN CHARGE of the proliferation of information with which they interact.

From the tone of her description, I do not at all think it a stretch to extend and clarify that Fiorina's phrase, THE INDIVIDUAL IS IN CHARGE means essentially the same thing that I have been saying here, since 2001, at least. THE INDIVIDUAL has the RIGHT to be in charge of all the public digital content that they create or that pertains to them. THE INDIVIDUAL has the RIGHT to be the editor of all their online information; comments made directly about them in forums, allegations, reviews (both positive and otherwise), candid snapshots or thoughts captured online, academic papers, records, essays containing ideas that given ten additional years of maturity, may no long reflect their identities or philosophies in the least.

So, feel free to keep ignoring my take on the situation, but one who ignores Fiorina's essentially common assessment of the significance of Online Identity Management (OIM) does so at their own business risk. Individuals WILL CLAIM these rights, so you can either get ahead in offering them tools NOW, or play catchup and lament the shot at sector leadership, later.