“The horror of that moment,” the King went on, “I shall never, never forget.”
“You will though,” the Queen said, “if you don’t make a memorandum of it.”

~ Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

In preparation for my closing keynote speech at the Statewide Technology Conference, I have been reviewing technology memoranda past and present.  Two interesting memoranda from the present:

From Indiana on 13 May:

Indiana and former outsourcing partner IBM sued each other Thursday, May 13, the latest chapter in an increasingly sour relationship that went bad when the state decided last year to cancel an ambitious social services system.

In October 2009, Gov. Mitch Daniels pulled the plug on Indiana’s 10-year, $1.6 billion outsourcing contract with IBM to streamline welfare eligibility in the state. Launched in 2007, the new system let citizens apply for welfare benefits online, in person or via telephone, and it implemented process changes designed to speed up and standardize eligibility determinations. Daniels called the concept – which drew criticism for high error rates and slow processing of eligibility requests – unworkable.

From Texas on 16 July:

The Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) warned IBM on Friday that its $863 million data center outsourcing contract with the state is in jeopardy. A seven-page “notice to cure” from Texas CIO Karen Robinson asserts that IBM has repeatedly underperformed and undelivered on the seven-year contract signed in 2006. The notice gives the company 30 days to fix the problems.

“IBM promised an investment in people, processes and technology to bring the benefits of data center consolidation to the state of Texas. We have had continual problems with basic service delivery and IBM has failed to deliver on their promises,” said Robinson, in a statement released by the DIR Friday.

Of what relevance are these memoranda?  Find out on 5 August.

“Contrariwise,” continued Tweedledee, “if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn’t, it ain’t. That’s logic.”

- Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

While certain government and higher education leaders were busy micromanaging technology conference programs and websites, the natives, it seems, were getting restless.

Yesterday 75 West Virginia Office of Technology employees protested potential plans to outsource their jobs.  Today WVNET employees served a letter on higher education and technology leaders asking them to cease and desist from proceeding with a proposed consolidation that violates state law.

Both actions raise interesting policy issues: (1) Should state government pursue a large-scale outsourcing of state technology jobs?  (2) Should higher education and state government consolidate their technology efforts?  It is exciting to see government and higher education as places where the First Amendment is alive and well and the logic of competing proposals can be put forward and debated openly.

I look forward to moving these important debates forward as the closing keynote speaker at the Statewide Technology Conference on 5 August 2010.

Never mind!” Alice said in a soothing tone, and, stooping down to the daisies, who were just beginning again, she whispered, “If you don’t hold your tongues, I’ll pick you.”

- Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

With the conclusion of the lyrics to “Send in the Clowns,” I was pretty sure my stories on this blog about West Virginia technology had come to an end.  But I received a generous invitation to share more observations at the West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference on 5 August 2010.  The theme of my remarks: “Through the Looking Glass: A Decade of Technology Lessons.”

Traditionally, the Conference, which I have attended many times over the years, includes a closing keynote speaker.  Until earlier this week, my contract and the Conference website stated that I was to be that “closing keynote speaker.”  But then a strange thing happened: The word “keynote” mysteriously disappeared from the Conference website.

Why, you ask?  Well, it seems certain government and higher education officials were apoplectic about the possibility of my delivering a keynote technology speech that would not follow their script.  Realizing that they probably couldn’t get away with having me disinvited at this late date, they decided to do the next best thing: arrange to have the “keynote” appellation purged from the Conference website, as if this magically would reduce the importance of my remarks or the number of attendees likely to hear them.  (I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried.)  I can only imagine how much in terms of salaries, time, and effort went into this little project.

Making my entrance again with my usual flair,
Sure of my lines,
No one is there.

Think again.  Education will continue to be a marketplace of ideas where tongues cannot be silenced quite so easily.  Please register for and attend the 2010 West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference, and don’t miss the closing keynote speaker.