We are pleased to announce we have confirmed the date of the next >play conference – October 17, 2009. We are working hard to secure sponsors, keynotes, panelists and exhibitors in order to bring >play to the next level in 2009. Be sure to save the date!
We’ve been working on putting together panels for >play since April. I’m excited to announce that we have a great lineup of moderators and panelists across seven different panel topics, check out http://www.playconference.org/panels.html for more details. Some questions that we hope to explore:
Creativity has been a great driver of the Internet but how has the Internet changed how creatives create, distribute and monetize their art?
The brand conversation is moving steadily online but what are the perspectives on the front line, agencies and brand marketers?
New options to watch TV are springing up all around us but what does the consumer want?
What are the disruptive technologies that are hitting the telecom industry?
Games are getting harder and harder to categorize as the gaming industry evolves, what seperates the trends from the fads?
Social media is an integral part of our lives but what does it mean to be always connected?
Athlete blogs, streaming video, fantasy sports, fan communities – Has digital media made the sports fan more engaged?
Buy your tickets for >play and join in the discussion!
Hello blog readers! Let me introduce myself. I’m Gary, one of the co-chairs of this year’s >Play Digital Media Conference. Planning for the 2008 conference is in full swing and we have lots of exciting things in the works.
The conference will take place on November 15, 2008. Our theme is Disruption: Changes in Today’s Media Economy. I’m excited to have a team of motivated, enthusiastic and passionate people who care about sports, entertainment, gadgets, innovations and everything under the sun as it relates to digital media and technology.
In addition to organizing the conference, I got my hands full with my summer internship at Nike. As a marketing intern for the Digital Content & Media department, I get the chance to carry out a promotional campaign, perform industry research, and funny enough, help organize another conference! But that’s not all. Every marketing intern participates in a marketing case competition where we are put into teams that will present recommendations on a challenge that Nike is facing. Our group is currently working hard to conduct consumer research. There’s a lot of hard work ahead, but I’m having fun doing it. Plus, you can’t help but take pleasure in all the green scenery Oregon has to offer. As a SoCal native, this is unfamiliar to me so I am soaking up every moment.
So that’s my little tidbit. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements!
One of the advantages of spending the summer in a big tech company is meeting writers / singers / miscellaneous interesting characters who come to talk to 30-100 of us at a time. These people are like exotic specimens in the fish tank at the dentist’s office… which is why we call these presentations “fish bowls”.
A couple of weeks ago we met Marie Digby. Marie who? Marie the very talented and beautiful singer… that’s who. After she sang for us, she broke out of her shell and handled some Q&A. It turns out that Marie spent a full year recording her album in 2006. Her label, however, wasn’t inclined to release it, mainly considering the marketing efforts needed to promote an anonymous singer. Marie was kind of desperate, she had heard of other singers with albums never getting released. As this industry works, she can’t take the album elsewhere. That is when the proverbial friend told her to put some songs on YouTube. Marie’s cover of Umbrella, which has 8 million views to date, received Jay-Z’s praise when he told her that it was the best of the 200 covers he had heard. The label, now with a heavy dose of viral marketing, decided to release her album last April and now she is touring. The rest is history (still to be made).
Where the hell is Matt? Harding, spent an hour with us sharing stories from around the world. If you missed him, Matt is the guy dancing his geeky, silly dance on every corner of the globe. The video he released in June already has 7.5 million views. Matt was originally a game developer who liked to do his goofy dance. His first video was published before the YouTube era and got enough attention to connect him with Stride Gum, his sponsor until this very day. His second video has almost 11 million views, and his third was just released. Matt works on these projects full time. If you think it is a lot of fun going all over the world and dancing, you are probably right. But Matt actually spends typically no more than a day in each destination so I guess he spends most of his time on air planes.
To me it’s amazing how a medium that didn’t exist a few years ago is already responsible for the creation and promotion of new artists. If it wasn’t for YouTube these artists wouldn’t be where they are. Video on the internet is disrupting the way art is created. We decided that our next >play conference will be about disruption. You should be there.
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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Have fun making independent happen!
