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OK, off the cuff I’m troubled by all the references to girls and fairies in this interview with Chris Heatherly, Disney’s VP of Technology and Innovation, but there is mention of an innovative solution to a real problem. That problem being risks to personal security of children brought about by the connections they make in virtual worlds.

My recent favorite innovation is a new technology called Clickables that we are launching in connection to our new Disney Fairies virtual world. It’s a way for kids to take their online world experience into the real world. The core of it is a magical bracelet. By simply clicking their bracelets together, girls become friends in the online environment.

(and what do boys get to do? bump spanners or something? but I digress … )

I’m thinking about how this kind of idea can transfer to the adult world, specifically the world of adults at a certain web development conference. Obviously, we’re not going to make you all wear bracelets, (my preference would actually be for collars anyway:). That would be crazy in a time when we all carry around a collar disguised as a communications device. Every year I’ve tossed around ideas for using mobiles to help people cement connections they make at Web Directions, but never really come up with an idea engaging enough to implement. Maybe this will be the year we make it happen.