Time once again for Bo's weekly rant...

I'm about to head off to Las Vegas for an industry trade show (NAB) and will be essentially out-of-touch from Sunday 04/19 through Thursday 04/23. I've been many times as it's part of my day job and it can often be a bit of a grind. I'm actually really looking forward to it this year although I'm sure attendance will be down significantly from previous years. I'm hoping a highpoint this year will be a presentation being delivered Tuesday AM by Linden Research, Inc. Chairman Philip Rosedale, who will be discussing virual worlds; how we use them today and how we'll use them in the future. Given the predominately media and broadcast oriented audience it should be a great dialogue. I'll report on my thoughts when I return.

From my perspective, the SL Finance Community has been in quite a funk recently - low volumes, limited liquidity, seething arguments on some forums and a few very thoughtful and articulate debates on others - I've been particularly encouraged by some of the dialogue on ISE recently centered around Corporate Governance, CEO succession strategies and the responsibbilities of outgoing Officers during transition. I was beginning to think that much of the dialogue would be wasted effort but was pleasantly surprised to awake this AM to a surprise announcement posted by my dear freind Samantha Goldflake.

In a Press Release dated April 15, 2009,  EVP Samantha Goldflake announced the appointment of SL veteran Konner McDonnell as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) for VSTEX effective April 16, 2009. Mr. McDonnell will be responsible for Exchange Strategy Development and Execution.

"We are faced with numerous opportunities for growth and I asked Konner to come and assist me in driving strategic initiatives across the stock exchange," stated Samantha Goldflake, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for Vstex Company. "Konner's experience and knowledge of this virtual finance sector are invaluable and he will be a key resource as we move forward. Now that I'm tasked to other markets where Vstex Company operates, Konner is the due answer to the need of improving the VSTEX standing amongst its competitors. "  

From a community standpoint I think this is actually very good news. While Konner and I have had some heated differences of opinion both publicly and privately, I personally can think of no better person to assist VSTEX at this point in its history. In my experience, Mr. McDonnell has demonstrated a keen ability to get to the heart of shareholder issues and has a knack for distilling sometimes complex legal opinions into a lay persons vernacular.

As the community at large continues to wrestle with toics ranging from quasi-regulatory oversite, Exchange policy, and the broader issue of SL "Public-Company" governance I suspect that Konner will have a very strong voice and firm yet gentle hand in helping guide the community in the right direction. My personal kudo's to Samantha and Tobia on a fine catch and congrat's to Konner on the appointment - you've earned the opportunity without question!

In other personnel news today, JayT Axel has announced  that Firstdesigns Milos has resigned his position as Chief Financial Officer of Express Shopping Network (ACE: ESN). Rumor has it that Cousin Milos has designs on a broader opportunity within the community - we'll keep our eyes peeled in that regard!

Got your own tip, tidbit or titillating news story? Drop me a line - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   and I'll get me reporters cap dusted pronto. 

Bo out for now - Cheers!