Interactive Exchange 09: My thoughts

Interactive Exchange is a conference dedicated to interactive media. It features panel discussions and keynote speakers with the intent of sharing ideas and forecasting trends. This year’s version, Interactive Exchange 09 was held from March 17 to 19. Although Interactive Exchange 09 was a 3-day conference, I unfortunately was only able to attend the events on the 18th, and the meet-and-greet held at Shmooze nightclub that same evening. Regrettably I also arrived late so I missed the morning’s only games-related panel discussion, IN Short: Ontario Game Spotlight.

IN09 was held at the Carlu (Yonge and College) in Toronto. It was a very nice venue that is designated a historic site featuring art-deco style architecture. Though not creepy, the interior kind of reminded me of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride at Disney World.

Anyway, since my main interest lies in the video games industry, I was looking to view games-related presentations. Here are some of the floor exhibitor highlights:

CATGames- (Creativity Assistive Tools for Games) is a research network involving several Canadian post-secondary educational institutions and technology partners. CATGames research teams are working on creating technology tools for game production on a variety of interactive platforms. On display CATGames had a demo of a web browser with built-in 3D capabilities.

GestureTek- GestureTek (formerly known as Vivid Group) is a Toronto-based company that creates and develops interactive arenas used primarily in the museum, science centre and hall of fame industry. Unfortunately they did not have a working demo of their products.

George Brown College – Toronto’s George Brown College had an interesting static information display of a kid’s interactive game that was created for the Toronto Zoo. It’s a showcase of the type of project that their post-graduate program is capable of producing.

I was only able to attend two actual presentations. The first one was about how the “Obama Girl” video came into being and how it became a hit on the Internet. It was presented by the creator and founder of BarelyPolitical/ BarelyDigital, Ben Reeles, and “Obama Girl” herself Amber Lee Ettinger. Though not games related, it was an interesting session.

The second presentation was called Apps Boom and featured a panel discussion on the ever-growing mobile phone apps market. The bottom line is that developing mobile games, specifically for the iPhone can be both cost effective and lucrative. As well, Facebook/iPhone game developers through Facebook Connect, will now be able to integrate the Facebook platform and user’s identities into their own applications.

Additionally, I met a few people that I had interesting games-related conversations with. Martin from Marble Media, Andrew from George Brown College, and Ryan from Untold Entertainment. Coincidentally Ryan had emailed me asking to include Untold on CanDevs just a few weeks ago.

Overall it was a good conference. My only gripe is that there were actually two games-related panel discussions in the afternoon (Apps Boom and NP2 – New Platforms/New Players) being held at the same time so I had to choose the one to attend. I would have preferred to have been able to see both. Other than that, things were good.

Anyway, I’d like to thank Danielle Engels from Interactive Ontario for getting me the press pass to the conference.

CanDevs

Canadian Interactive Industry Profile launch next week at IN: The Interactive Exchange

The Canadian Interactive Alliance / l’Alliance interactive canadienne (CIAIC) will release results of the 2009 Canadian Interactive Industry Profile at IN: The Interactive Exchange in Toronto on March 18, 2009.

As the only national research survey tracking Canada’s interactive digital media industry – and in light of the Minister of Canadian Heritage’s announcement on March 9, 2009 reaffirming the importance of the industry – the Canadian Interactive Industry Profile is a vital resource and policy tool for any journalist covering consumer technology.

Funding supporters of the 2009 CIIP are Telefilm Canada, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Ontario Media Development Corporation, Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, and Business New Brunswick.

Formed in June 2005, the Canadian Interactive Alliance / l’Alliance Interactive Canadienne is a not-for-profit association and the authoritative voice for Canada’s interactive digital media industry on the national stage. Its membership is composed of seven provincial interactive media associations: Alliance Numérique, Digital Alberta, Interactive Media Alliance of PEI, Interactive Ontario, Manitoba Interactive Digital Media Association, New Media BC, and SaskInteractive.

For more on the alliance, visit the CIAIC’s website at http://www.ciaic.ca/

For information on IN: Interactive Exchange visit http://www.inexchange09.com/

CanDevs

Digital Media Power Players & Next Generation Entrepreneurs Tackle the Future of New Media and Growth Opportunities in Uncertain Times at IN09

The following is courtesy of Danielle Engels from Interactive Ontario:

March 5, 2009, (Toronto) – Growing a digital business during a recession and debating the future of New Media in Canada are among the themes that will be examined by industry leaders at this month’s digital media conference, IN: The Interactive Exchange (IN09), taking place March 17-19 in Toronto.

The multi-stream conference will open with a keynote presentation by Futurist Christian Crews, Principal, andSpace Labs. Crews helps clients create sustainable competitive advantage in highly uncertain environments. Prior to andSpace Labs, Crews was Director of Futures Strategy, Director of Growth Strategies, and Director of Corporate Strategy at Pitney Bowes Inc (NYC).

IN09 will feature two interactive debates on the future of interactive media in Canada with panels that include Richard Stursburg, executive vice-president English services for CBC, journalist and blogger, Ivor Tossell, and entrepreneur Jeremy Wright, CEO, B5 Media. As traditional broadcasters reel from the downturn in advertising revenue, the CRTC is re-visiting regulation of New Media – a sector that continues to grow despite the global recession. Discussion will touch upon new media broadcasting, net neutrality and strategies key to creating globally competitive companies in the digital media space.

IN09’s opening media power panel features Jonathan Lister, managing director and head of Google Canada, Stephan Argent, vice-president, digital media, CTV Inc., Claude Galipeau, senior vice-president, digital media for Rogers, and Jeffrey Elliot co-CEO of BiteTV who will discuss the shifting market and the evolution of interactive digital media business models.

Representing the next generation of media entrepreneurs, IN09 will feature Joel Auge of Burlington-based HitGrab, makers of MouseHunt, who recently won $250,000 in a Facebook-sponsored competition. Several other emerging digital entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to present their product and company on stage at IN09 via the IN the Spotlight program, supported by the Ontario Media Development Corporation and Interactive Ontario.

Visit www.inexchange09.com for the full speaker list, schedule and conference tickets.

IN09 Press Pass application form: http://www.inexchange09.com/media

About IN: The Interactive Exchange
IN: The Interactive Exchange offers a variety of streams including social media, cross platform entertainment, games, and mobile services. During two and a half days in downtown Toronto, the interactive digital media industry is examined through the lens of business models, research and public policy.

About Interactive Ontario
IO is a not-for-profit industry trade organization committed to the growth of the Ontario interactive digital content industry with over 200 member companies.

CanDevs

Speaker Spotlight: Highlights for IN: The Interactive Exchange

The following is courtesy of Danielle Engels from Interactive Ontario:

Speaker Spotlight: Highlights for IN: The Interactive Exchange
A conference where inspired ideas meet the business of interactive

February 19, 2009 (Toronto) – Interactive Ontario has announced some key presenters who will be speaking at IN: The Interactive Exchange <http://www.inexchange09.com>  (IN09), March 17-19, including Ben Relles, creator of BarelyPolitical.com and best known for his YouTube hit, “I got a Crush on Obama,” and Obama Girl herself Amber-Lee Ettinger.

The conference offers a variety of streams, including social media, cross platform entertainment, games, and mobile services, examining the interactive digital media industry through the lens of business models, research and public policy.
 
IN09 launches with a creative keynote presentation from Conductor, Itay Talgam (IL). Music embodies knowledge and innovation, individual effort and collective achievement. Itay founded the “Maestro Program” which utilizes music as a successful metaphor for business, and believes music has the power to create community and reinforce shared values.
 
Other international presenters include:

A Visionary Presentation from Adam Singer, Deputy Chair, Content Board, Ofcom (UK), and Chairman of British Screen Advisory Council, touching on themes as they relate to the future of broadcasting and new platforms.

Juliette Powell, Author (USA) – Juliette draws on experience as a social media expert and co-founder of The Gathering Think Tank, to examine practices of successful business leaders who use social networking, in her book 33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking.

Kerrin McNeil, Studio Manager, Hoodlum (AU) – Hoodlum’s project Find815, an online prequel to Season 4 of Lost for the ABC was a Primetime Emmy Finalist in 2008 and a recent winner of the Global Media Awards.

Roland Harwood, Director of Open Innovation, NESTA (UK) – Flagship projects include working with Tim Berners Lee on the future of the web, successfully implementing open innovation with P&G, Oracle and Virgin, and working with Imperial College and the RCA on an interdisciplinary Business Incubator.

Jelle Prins, Founder of Moop.Me (NL) – Jelle founded Moop.Me in 2008 after creating their iPhone hit ‘iNap’ – a ‘next-generation’ travel alarm that uses GPS in your iPhone to determine your location, and wakes you when you are close to your destination.

Dan Hon, Co-founder & CEO, Six to Start (UK)- Six to Start creates new kinds of entertainment that are designed, from the start, to live on multiple platforms and recently went public with its first project, We Tell Stories, for Penguin Books, which received critical and commercial acclaim. 
Visit www.inexchange09.com <http://www.inexchange09.com> for conference tickets and updated news.

IN09 Press Pass application form: http://www.inexchange09.com/media
 
About IN: The Interactive Exchange (March 17-19th, Toronto)
Formerly the Interactive Content Exchange (ICE), IN: The Interactive Exchange is an event dedicated to the business of interactive digital media, bringing industry professionals together for two and a half days of networking and knowledge sharing, as they experience cutting edge interactive properties in downtown Toronto.

About Interactive Ontario
IO is a not-for-profit industry trade organization committed to the growth of the Ontario interactive digital content industry with over 200 member companies.

CanDevs