Engaging Data Forum at MIT 

 There is a lot of discussion around IQSS these days about managing personal data -- both best practices for researchers and what policy should be at the university and government levels. I just heard about an event at MIT that is engaging a bunch of these issues that looks very interesting; today is apparently the last day for early registration. 

 First International Forum on the Application and Management of Personal Electronic Information

 October 12-13, 2009 

 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

 http://senseable.mit.edu/engagingdata/ 

 The Engaging Data: First International Forum on the Application and Management of Personal Electronic Information is the launching event of the Engaging Data Initiative, which will include a series of discussion panels and conferences at MIT. This initiative seeks to address the issues surrounding the application and management of personal electronic information by bringing together the main stakeholders from multiple disciplines, including social scientists, engineers, manufacturers, telecommunications service providers, Internet companies, credit companies and banks, privacy officers, lawyers, and watchdogs, and government officials. 

 The goal of this forum is to explore the novel applications for electronic data and address the risks, concerns, and consumer opinions associated with the use of this data. In addition, it will include discussions on techniques and standards for both protecting and extracting value from this information from several points of view: what techniques and standards currently exist, and what are their strengths and limitations? What holistic approaches to protecting and extracting value from data would we take if we were given a blank slate?