I have been wanting to write this post for awhile, and a recent event has inspired me to actually put digital pen to “paper” and write it.

The picture at right shows me (in avatar form) with Philip Rosedale (founder of the virtual world Second Life) and Byron Patrick (of the MACPA's New / Young Professionals Network and CEO of Hosted Solutions) on stage live to three places — Las Vegas (for AICPA Tech Plus), Baltimore, and on CPA Island in Second Life.

Some may say it looks like a cartoon, some may say a kid's game. I say it may be the future of education. Philip Rosedale said as much in his talk of the uses of Second Life and his vision for where it is going. Think next practices, not best practices.

That is what one of our BLI instructors, Karl Alrichs, said at 2009 Business and Industry Conference and it had me thinking ever since. Karl said the problem with best practices is that once you you hear about them, they are old news. Things are simply moving too fast. After hearing Philip and our panelists  and talking with our thought leaders at dinner, I think Karl is onto something.

This week is our second Maryland Business and Accounting Expo. As I listened to our speakers and sponsors introduce themsleves at dinner, I kept hearing one thing — next practices. That is what we will see and hear over the next two days. You will see leading-edge next practices from thought leaders in the field, from Main Street to Wall Street. Among the hot topics featured will be fair market value accounting, enhanced business reporting, XBRL, leadership for high-potential employees, finding opportunities in Maryland, new SBA programs, BRAC, accounting, taxes, technology, and a big dose of social media that you can use right now to get ahead and stay ahead.

I am excited that we could get all of these thought leaders in one place at one time. Our gratitude to them and the brave sponsors and exhibitors who helped us finance such high-quality thought leadership. I Hope to see you there!

As hockey great Wayne Gretzky used to say, “You need to skate to where the puck will be, not where it is.”

Here is how you can take advantage of the Expo:

• Follow the action on our social mashup site MDBizExpo Live, featuring video, photos and a Twitter stream from the Expo.
• Join the conversation using the Twitter hashtag #MDBizExpo or tag your photos and content with MDBizExpo.
• Check out the MDBizExpo blog.
• View our Second Life session photos here and here, and read about the SL events on our blogs, CPA Island and CPAs in Second Life.
• Go to www.dubmenow.com and get started with electronic business cards.
• If you want a discount on the new CPA edition of MindManager, use code MACPA when purchasing.