Dear DMEC Friends and Colleagues,

Happy New Year! With the birth of 2008 comes the birth of IndieGoGo. Eric Schell and I (DMEC’s 2007 Co-Mavens of Film and co-founders of IndieGoGo) invite you to join IndieGoGo’s vibrant community of filmmakers and fans.

IndieGoGo is an online social marketplace connecting filmmakers and fans to make independent film happen. The platform provides filmmakers the tools for project funding, recruiting, and promotion, while enabling the audience to discover and connect directly with filmmakers and the causes they support.

On IndieGoGo, filmmakers can raise money and awareness, find cast and crew, and gain credibility through the help of their number one resource, the fans.

Fans get the opportunity to discover and impact the films of tomorrow, while getting insider access and VIP perks for their support. It’s easy and fun!

Filmmakers who have already joined IndieGoGo include Irena Salina (”FLOW: For Love of Water,” 2008 Sundance selection), M dot Strange (”We Are the Strange,” 2007 Sundance selection), Christopher Roberts (”The Believer,” 2001 Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner), and Michealene Cristini Risley (”Tapestries of Hope;” Huffington Post Blogger).

If you would like to learn more about what’s possible, just follow the 3 steps outlined below. The more you take action, the cooler IndieGoGo becomes for everyone.

Enjoy making independent happen!

Best,
Danae Ringelmann & The IndieGoGo Team

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SIGN-UP:

• Go to www.indiegogo.com
• Sign-up for IndieGoGo by clicking on the Sign-up link in the Short Cuts window on the right side.
• Confirm registration via email and start exploring!

DISCOVER & PERSONALIZE:

• Click Around: Familiarize yourself. Read the “FAQs” and “How It Works” if you’re curious.
• Discover: Check out the Projects listing, People listing, Resource listing and MyGoGo pages. Click into Project & People profiles. Toggle through the Info, Media, Q&A, Team & Private sections. Watch videos, click on links, and have fun exploring! Check out the Take Action icons on the left.
• Create Personal Profile: Click on your Profile in the Short Cuts box and add some personal flavor. Include a cool pic & bio. Showcase your interests and tastes as a fan.

TAKE ACTION! (actions embedded in each profile on the left)

• PROMOTE projects you like (grab the widgets and stick them in your blog or websites).
• ENDORSE projects and people you like.
• RATE projects and people based on the different criteria.
• FUND the projects you would like to see made. Every little bit counts.
• BECOME A FRIEND of projects and people to gain insider access.
• COMMENT ON projects and people in their profiles. Ask questions. Do shout outs! Open up conversations with other filmmakers and fans.
• WATCHLIST: If you’re not ready to endorse or rate a project add them to your watchlist and follow their progress. Revisit your Watchlist on your MyGoGo page.
• GET VIP PERKS: Filmmakers decide what perks to offer their contributors. VIP Perks could include a credit in the film, an invite to a cast party or even a character named after you!
• CREATE PROJECT PROFILE: If you’re a filmmaker (or would like to be), create a project profile and use IndieGoGo’s platform to help bring it to life.
• SUBMIT FEEDBACK: If you have any problems or suggestions, please let us know by clicking Feedback or via email. We’re not perfect; help us get there!

Have fun making independent happen!

Yup, with the exception of a few posts from >play 2007 panelists, all DMEC blog posts are written by Berkeley graduate students.  With tremendous support from the Haas administration, DMEC is entirely student-driven (and includes graduate students outside of Haas).

We welcome messages from readers (but not PR people who subscribe to the shotgun approach).  If you’re reading this on our site, the DMEC email address can be found on your right (my left).

some of the action from the day before >play 2007!

There seems to be little good news coming out of the airwaves for Sprint Nextel nowadays. 
Rumors last week about Gary Forsee’s ouster today turned true and now the board is on the look out for a replacement. The Nextel merger did not go as planned and the new marketing campaigns haven’t really rung a bell with new subscribers looking to get/switch service.

But there is much hope in the Wimax rollout Sprint is planning for the coming months. With partnerships with handset and CE OEMs on one end and the network infrastructure providers on the other, Xohm (Sprint’s Wimax initiative) might just be the medicine it needs. The key here, in my view, will be in communicating the value prop to the end users who have 3G based substitutes. It will come down to the unique set of apps (trying hard not to call it a ‘deck’) that will make Wimax a compelling option for end users. What remains a question is whether Xohm will continue the tradition of device subsidies to lock in subs.  It could be a semi-true wi-fi equivalent given that every access point is run by Xohm - not you, not your favorite coffee place.

The marketing and communication aspect becomes more apparent when you see the so called “underdogs” - Tmobile and Alltel benefiting from their clear messaging and competitive service offerings. Both have enjoyed a positive average growth in subscriber adds as compared to the rest (Sprint actually had a negative sub “Add” number of -337,000 for Q307).

Data Sourced from here

It’s a wait and watch game now to see how Wimax takes shape and helps Sprint rebuild consumer and investor confidence. Meanwhile the 2.5Gers continue to steal market share with their nifty marketing and targeting. 
 

We are pleased to announce a “tailgate” for >play, the Berkeley digital media conference. The DMEC invites the digital media community to join us for refreshments and a preview of >play 2007. Like any good tailgate, all are welcome, even if they don’t have a ticket to the “game.”

Monday, October 22, 2007 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Beale Street Bar and Grill

133 Beale St. San Francisco, California 94105 map

See you there!

p.s. The tailgate was inspired by suggestions from city folk unable to attend the happy hour held in Palo Alto over the summer.

For info on >play, please visit http://playconference.org/

The Haas School of Business proudly presents >play, the third annual Berkeley Digital Media Conference. >play will take place on Saturday, October 27, 2007 at the Haas School of Business at UC-Berkeley.

The theme for this year’s conference is NOW- Current and Emerging Intersections. We will be exploring how technology is intersecting with disparate fields–more than ever before–to create new business models and innovations.

What’s on tap:

• More Attendees: We are expecting up to 500 industry professionals, experts, and students
• New Case Competition: We are building on the success of last year’s case competition and expect to draw students from top 10 business schools across the country.
• More Expo: This year’s expo will be expanded to include new technologies and unforgettable hands-on experiences.

Tickets will go on sale soon, so watch this blog for details. You’ll find the latest information about keynotes, panels and the expo at the >play conference web site.

Thank you everyone who participated in the logo contest and voting!

I am happy to announce that we will be using a new logo and with that a re-vamped look to the >play conference this year.

There have been some questions about why we’re updating our look, and I’d like to address them briefly here. Also, Elisabeth will try to be on the call tonight to answer any questions you may have.

Simply put, many of us wanted to freshen up the old logo. Compared to well-known Web 2.0 logos, it didn’t quite pop or look as cutting-edge. In addition to it’s design, the old logo used colors that don’t reflect the Berkeley brand, and it’s important for >play to maintain its connection to the school.

We believe that the new logo is professional, looks techy and cutting edge, and incorporates our school colors- blue and gold.

If anyone has any concerns or other questions, please contact me to discuss.

I’m looking forward to a great year, and this conference is really shaping up to elevate the conference to all new level! See you all in the fall!

Matt M

Hi Everyone,

It’s been a long summer, and after a brief hiatus it’s time to get the ball rolling on the new look for this year’s >play conference.

The organizing committee has decided to run another vote on the play logo. Please review the following three choices and cast your vote! (be sure to click on the image for a larger view)
Option 1:

Option 2:

Option 3:

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The >play 2007 team invites folks interested in the future of digital media to a happy hour at Hukilau’s Tiki Room in Palo Alto on Thursday, August 2 at 6pm.

Please let us know if you can join us, either at http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/224158 or at valley@berkeleydmec.org

Thursday, August 2 at 6pm
Hukilau
642 Ramona Street
Palo Alto, California 94301
(1 1/2 blks south of University Ave, close to the Caltrain station)

Best,
the >play 2007 team

p.s. Don’t forget to add >play to your calendar: Saturday, October 27

I caught the second half of this month’s BayCHI program and saw the presentation by John Buckman (of Magnatune and BookMooch). John led an entertaining interaction reviewing the evolution of applications he’s designed and built.

I was previously aware of the interesting approach MagnaTune takes toward selling music, but I left very excited about BookMooch, a service for trading in books you don’t want anymore, in return for credit that can be used to get books you do want. I have a ton of books stacked up that aren’t worth my time to sell. I’ve long-intended to give them away to friends, but that’s time-consuming as well. Trading them in for books I haven’t read seems even better. Has anyone else tried BookMooch?

Services like BookMooch, LaLa’s CD-trading service, and Netflix (essentially the world’s largest DVD library) take advantage of inefficiencies in other markets, impact demand for both physical goods like books and CDs and digital goods like e-books and mp3s, and provide customers alternatives to limitations on their media experience effected by DRM.

I wish I could figure out some sensible way to work John into the >play conference, as I thought his presentation style was fun and engaging (I’m guessing the audience members who kept interrupting him agree). Maybe we could talk him into scheduling a visit with us in Berkeley during the school year (please let me know if you would enjoy talking with him).

P.S. The anal-retentive side of me loves how he thinks about all sorts of little things, like using http://bookmooch.com by default instead of http://www.bookmooch.com. It’s never been clear to me why so many sites include the “www.”