Last week I was fortunate enough to catch a live presentation on Internet Marketing & Cyber Security from one of the icons in the Canadian Tech Industry - Steve Dotto

The event was graciously hosted by the Comox Valley Women's Business Network (www.cvwbn.org) in Courtney, BC. With Steve Dotto's wide popularity and appeal, the CVBWN decided to open this presentation to the public and I'll bet they're glad they did. Tickets were sold out and the couple of hundred or so business people, entrepreneurs and technology enthusiasts in attendance were offered an informative and entertaining 90 minutes of 'signature' Steve.

For example, he began the presentation with an unexpected technical glitch, a busted wireless microphone. Without missing a beat Steve moved to a backup mike connected to a 50 foot tangled cord and informed the audience that if he had to pick between fly fishing and technology, fly fishing would win every time! It was a clever way to break the ice and to break any preconceived ideas the audience may have had about Steve.

This tech guru was human after all...

What followed was a discussion of how technology and specifically the Internet has evolved over the past few years from a pull technology to the 'always on' technology of today's web 2.0 world. A world where business and social interaction are constantly intertwined – resulting in both innovation and complication in our daily lives. Where once people asked of technology "What will it do for me", we now ask "What will technology do to me?"

Steve showed us a powerful example. From a basic web search, he found a graphic of a teenaged kid blatantly smoking marijuana. The image was 'meta tagged' with extra information like the boy's age, where he lived and even his name ("Trevor").

"Trevor will never serve in the Military. Trevor will never be a policeman, will never serve in public office" said Steve. And he was right. In a world of digital cameras, cell phones and always on technology, privacy as we have known it, is no more. Rather than lamenting that fact, as perhaps a blacksmith once lamented the invention of the automobile, we need to change our perspective and take personal responsibility for the ubiquitous nature of technology in our lives.

Now if all that sounds a little sombre and heavy, it might have been in the hands of any other presenter. But Steve, drawing on his background in theatre, had the crowd at once deeply engaged but also deeply entertained with strategically placed anecdotes and comic relief.

The 90 minutes went by all too fast, and yet the entire audience stayed past 9:30PM on a "school night" to ask questions on topics both related and unrelated to Steve's presentation. Steve, ever gracious, appeared genuinely delighted to take questions and probably would have stayed all night were it not for the hotel staff politely moving in to begin their work.

Steve travels extensively as a speaker and promoter of Cyber Safe - a how to guide for adults responsible for computing environments accessible by kids. If you're looking for a technology presenter to speak to your group, book Steve Dotto – but be advised – this guy is in demand, and rightfully so!

A personal note: Even after the presentation and a generous Q&A session, Steve stayed on to meet and greet technology keeners like myself. A comment by Steve about his fondness for shopping Online (vs. going to the mall!) was a perfect segue for me to introduce Steve to the SmartSwipe – a secure personal credit card reader that protects your credit card number from hackers when you're shopping online. I provided Steve with his own personal SmartSwipe to keep him safe online and now I'm eager to hear what he thinks about the product. Continue to follow this blog post or check out Steve's blog for updates on Steve's experience with the SmartSwipe.

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