Having attended theDatacenter Dynamicsshow in Washington, DC, I am impressed by what appears to be a subtle move by the organization to become more of a thought leader in the data center industry. Long recognized for its ability to bring excellent speakers together with local audiences comprising end users worldwide, DatacenterDynamics now plays a bigger role tracking movement in the industry and looking at political and technical trends. Surveys of attendees at their 21 shows in North America plus Europe and the Middle East have jet-fueled the organizers' ability to gather data about what's happening in the field and to spot micro and local trends. The show in Washington, DC, was no different. DatacenterDynamics CTO Stephen Worn picked through some of the new data to suggest that the audience at last year's Miami event anticipated more regulation than attendees at other events in the U.S. Worn also noted Europeans also seemed to have fewer issues with regulations, as facilities on that continent had already adapted to a wave of regulation. He added that these regulations seemed to be causing problems, but that Europe was learning to live with them. Last year, DatacenterDynamics began making similar results available through a series of publications and press releases. DatacenterDynamics also staked its claim to being leaders on how the Obama administration stimulus funds, while other groups have looked more at how coming carbon proposals might affect data centers in the U.S.  This emphasis could be seen in the selection of Scott Stevens to deliver the keynote in DC. Stevens is not only managing partner, Aspen Wireless Technologies but also a member of Tech/Media/Telecom Policy Committee, Obama for America. In talking about digital technologies and how they are needed to enable the widely-discussed smart grid, Stevens also examined the current regulatory and political environment. His speech included numerous references to influential politicians and regulators, both well known and obscure. DatacenterDynamics has developed the ability to take an international perspective on data center practices and events, which will end to make even their smallest local event more informative than ever.