The...um...links between LinkedIn and the National Information Exchange Model

It's rare that my professional and social media worlds intersect, but they do intersect on occasion.

This morning, I received an email stating that the keynote speaker for the NIEM 2011 National Training Event will be Ellen Levy. This is what the email said:

Ellen Levy, vice president of strategic alliances for LinkedIn, will provide the opening keynote at the NIEM National Training Event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 23, 2011.

As the leader of LinkedIn's strategic initiatives, Ellen is at the center of LinkedIn's growth as a business innovator. She is a long-time expert in organizational strategy and innovation. Each of Ellen's roles has involved being the "interface" between groups thinking about the future of technology. Prior to joining LinkedIn, she held key positions at companies and organizations within the entrepreneurial ecosystem, including venture capital, startups, technology think tanks, big companies, foundations and universities.

So what is NIEM? NIEM is the National Information Exchange Model used for exchanges of data between Federal, Tribal, State, and local government agencies. I get involved in this because one of types of information that is exchanged is information about terrorist threats. Automated fingerprint identification systems are sometimes required to support NIEM, and/or NIEM's biometric red-headed stepchild, ANSI/NIST-ITL 2-2008. (To be superseded.)

So why does LinkedIn care about NIEM? Because a number of LinkedIn members, including myself, care about NIEM. There is a NIEM group on LinkedIn, but it is a members-only group so I'm not...um...linking to it here.

One other thing holds personal interest to me. In the biography above, Levy makes a point of stating that she is often an "interface" (her word) between various groups. Coincidentally, I use similar language on...well, it's on my LinkedIn profile.