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Shattered after SXSW? Wiped out after Virtual Worlds’07? Can’t wait for SLCC’07, but still in need of a Virtual Worlds fix? Fear not! Help is at hand in the form of the International Technology Expo, ITE’07. This time you won’t need to leave home, as the event will be held inworld from April 20th-22nd, with a grand opening on Friday, April 20th at Noon SLT/20:00 GMT.

The blurb for the event says “ITE’07 is dedicated to showcasing the most innovative in technology products and services created by its residents for your business and personal needs.” As well as extensive exhibition halls, to satisfy your Tshirt-grabbing needs, you can expect a full programme of lectures, product launches, demos and discussions. But if you find that thought too earnest and worthy, you might be more interested in the concerts and parties. The programme is not yet finalised but is set to include:
• Friday April 20 noon to 6:00 pm SLT 7:00 PM EXPO CONCERT - John Legend
• Saturday April 21 noon to 6:00 pm SLT 7:00 PM EXPO CONCERT - Black Eyed Peas

The event, hosted on »Silicon Island« and »Silicon City«, has been largely constructed by Liam Kanno (Odin Wright in RL) and the V3 Group, and is sponsored by:
• Sun Microsystems
• S Media 24×7
• Reallusion
• Cattle Puppy Productions
• Second Life Broadcasting Company

By way of a sidebar, Sun are offering a free 100 hours on http://www.network.com/ to all attendees who visit their stand during the ITE’s scheduled events. this is “an online service that allows developers and ISVs to develop and publish their applications, enabling communities of scientists and academics in life sciences, education, engineering, and other fields to accelerate innovation and complete research projects quickly and less expensively.”

I met with Liam the other evening, and spoke with him about the build, the expo and the longer term. In terms of the core build, it is the work of just 2 people: Liam and Kelly Emms, with others working on specific elements. Liam : “We have S Media Corp working on the concert, and Wiz Norberg (of Cattle Puppy) is providing the Video Streams via SLCN.tv, Plus we have Shaft Seattle who has prepared the radio station.”

In total there are 42 exhibitors expected. They have until the 15th to kit out their stalls, but Liam is anxious to get all the exhibits in place as soon as possible, so if you are on the list and are still dawdling, he’d appreciate it if you would get a move-on. In talking about promoting the event, I got the impression that this was taking a back-seat to the more immediate day-to-day concerns.

Although this is a 3-day event, Liam is keen to see the evolution of a developer community on the islands: “Some of the vendors have been very open to installing their technology around the sim as well as on our website. so we would like to use this as an event where the technology is being used, and not just showcased.” When I asked about (and I shudder to use the word) ’synergies’ Liam went on: “It’s been happening already. Our goal was really to honor the achievements of the SL businness-based product developers, and from there, hopefully some could find some great new connections.”

The event itself should be fascinating… but the possibility of collaborations and the new products that may then follow is even more fascinating.

The main exhibitors area seems to be on »Silicon Island«, but a neat shuttle will scoot you along to »Silicon City«, which is home to the tool developers’ community that Liam mentioned. The build is workmanlike but the focus, naturally, will be on the exhibits. You can find the list of events and exhibitors here - but you would be better to discover them for yourselves (and grab a T-shirt or 2).

On a closing note, I just wanted to mention Infonet’s stand, as it features the infuriatingly catchy “Only in Kenya” music vid. It certainly amused me, even if I was left with an earworm that refused to shift for hours.

Aleister Kronos appears by kind permission of http://slambling.blogspot.com