[I lost my notebook -- yes, handwritten notes -- and have been in a such a funk about it I didn't blog. Here's just a brief note by way of catching up on one event before slogging into other matters.]

From a great history of social network studies by Robin Athey (Deloitte Touche) to a glimpse into the Entopian vision for universal access to connectedness, the KM Cluster event arranged by John Maloney was quite, quite full. I’ve promised notes and observations to a couple of people, so those are going here, so that I can also catch up a bit on my blog. (Or at least try to get back into the habit).

In no particular order, here are some observations, “aha”s, and points of reference.

It was very much fun to see Stowe Boyd again. Although we’ve corresponded intermittently, I had forgotten his quick sense of humor and wry wit (I had the good fortune of sitting next to him during most of the day, wherein he made comments like the following: When Valdis Krebs talked about his early work with SNA, he referred to the team at TRW as the “MOD squad.” Stowe leaned over and said, “and did they call him Linc?”) It was also really good to have Stowe provide the framework for his thinking and research into social networking products. And with a good emphasis on the emerging business models. Fortunately for me, I don’t have to write this up, as this month’s Darwin Observer has his article: Handicapping Social Networking Business Models. Definitely worth a read.

Valdis Krebs, whom I met for the first time, told the story of how he first got into SNA and came to develop the software which became InFlow. He also provided a rich review of the types of network that he has mapped — going beyond looking at corporate organizations. Not to brag, but I did have a wonderful dinner with Valdis and we got to share our stories.

Vendor talks were vendor talks, but I do think that the folks at Entopia have the right conceptual headset for creating software to help us manage the great mush of information in the world.