Ask the Tech Gurus

It's not every day that brilliant, world-renowned tech gurus like Craig Newmark (founder of craigslist), Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia), danah boyd (expert on online social networks like Blogger and myspace, to name just two), and Jonathan Zittrain (Technologist, Oxford Professor, Lawyer, and all-around genius) stop by to chat.

On Wednesday, October 3rd in Hartford, CT, that's exactly what they plan to do as featured panelists of The Connecticut Forum's program entitled The Tech Revolution.

These "forums" are unique. Envision a handful of really accomplished people and celebrities - authors, politicians, actors, scholars, journalists - sitting together on a stage and engaging in unscripted talk about stuff. Think: Gloria Steinem and William F. Buckley, Jr. sharing their perspectives and wisdom; or Al Franken and Ann Coulter talking politics (yee-ikes!); or Katherine Graham and Norman Schwarzkopf discussing leadership. Kurt Vonnegut's been a panelist. So have the likes of Mo Rocca, Thomas Friedman, Billie Jean King, Elie Wiesel, Jacques Pepin (oui!), Spike Lee, and on and on.

It's a very cool thing, particularly because audience members have the opportunity to jot down questions - any questions - for the panelists, and during the second half of the program, the panelists answer them.

As a New England bloggah and a volunteer for The Connecticut Forum, I might have the opportunity to ask a question of the tech gurus.

Aside from something like, "Uh, what's it like to be so smart?" I'm trying to come up with a good question. Personally, I have real concerns about identity and security online. Lots of my blogging pals post photos of themselves and their families. I wonder if the risk of doing so is real or imagined (e.g., a false fear based on a generational distrust of technology).

I think blog/word-of-mouth marketing is a timely and interesting topic. At the recent BlogHer conference in Chicago, the presence of corporate sponsors eager to understand and subsequently woo the various blogging communities - and parenting bloggers in particular - with money and free stuff, did not go unnoticed. I'd be interested to hear what the panelists have to say about where this trend is heading.

Fellow bloggers and interested readers, what would you like to ask? I will compile the resulting questions you suggest and post them HERE next week. I'll even throw in a little prize for the winning submission. (A PRIZE!!! Yippee!)

Thanks for your help!