Mark your calendar for Virtual Worlds Fall - October 10-11, 2007 - San Jose Convention Center

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 		Conference Schedule

MP3 recordings of Day 1 of the show are now available.


Wednesday, March 28, 2007
8:00 - 9:00 am Registration, Networking and Demos
 
9:00 - 10:00 am Welcome
 - Christopher V. Sherman, Executive Director, Virtual Worlds Conference

Introduction
- Philip Rosedale, Founder and CEO, Linden Lab

Trends and Numbers - where is it all going
This session lays the groundwork giving you the numbers you need to understand how to take advantage of Virtual Worlds today.  We'll also look at forecasts for where Virtual Worlds are going. What are the growth projections?  And what are the factors that will promote or inhibit growth.
- Chris Collins, Business Analyst, Linden Lab
- Sibley Verbeck, CEO, The Electric Sheep Company
- Joe Laszlo, Analyst, Jupiterkagan
- Steve Prentice, Distinguished Analyst & Chief of Research, Gartner
- Justin Bovington, CEO, Rivers Run Red
- Daniel Terdiman, Senior Writer, CNET News.com (moderator)
 
10:00 - 11:00 am
 		 Keynote - Viacom's MTV Networks and Nickelodeon
 - Matt Bostwick, SVP, Franchise Development, MTV Music Group
 - Jeffrey B. Yapp, Executive VP, MTV Networks
 - Steve Youngwood, Executive VP, Digital Media, Nickelodeon
Viacom has emerged as one of the new media leaders combining television, 2D web and 3D virtual communities in one integrated system. Virtual Laguna Beach to Nickelodeon’s Nicktropolis, Viacom is helping define the next-generation media and advertising models. Virtual worlds allow media and entertainment innovators unprecedented new ways to engage consumers with the franchises they’ve enjoyed in front of their television screens.
 
11:00 - 11:30 am Networking Break and Demos
11:30 - 12:30 pm Platforms and Technologies
This session will examine the new technologies and platforms. Speakers will discuss the alternatives that are available for the various platforms. The virtual worlds medium offers unique complexities including interactivity, immersion, scalability and intense user involvement.  New technologies now leverage those elements. New and emerging platforms will also be discussed.
- Corey Bridges, Co-founder, Executive Producer, & Marketing Director
  The Multiverse Network
- Jerry Paffendorf, Futurist, Electric Sheep Company (moderator)
- John Bates, Evangelist, Entropia Universe
- Joe Miller, Vice President, Platform & Technology Development,
   Linden Lab
- Rick Giolito, President, Trilogy Studios
 
12:30 - 1:30 pm
Lunch - Sponsored by

and Demos

 
1:30 - 2:30 pm
 		 Defining your Strategy, What does ROI mean to you?
How to ID your goals and strategies within virtual worlds.  Look at prior considerations from established players and hear planning that worked and planning that didn't. What opportunities do virtual worlds hold over other, more established, media formats. How do you insure that your  campaigns quantified and verified. What does ROI mean to you?
- Reuben Steiger, CEO, Millions of Us
- Ben James, Communications Strategy Director, Rivers Run Red
- Adrienne Meisels, Former VP New Business Ventures, AOL
- Adam Pasick, Second Life Bureau Chief, Reuters (moderator)
 
2:30 - 3:00 pm Case Study - Sundance Film Channel
- Christopher Barry, VP, Digital Media and Business Strategy,
   Sundance Channel
 
3:00 - 3:30 pm Networking Break and Demos
 
3:30 - 4:30 pm Virtual World Consumer Behaviors and The Evolution of Social Networking - How to Plan for it.
 Are virtual world consumers trend setters?  Are they early adopters?  Understand the demographics of virtual world participants so you can plan your presence accordingly.  What do they respond well to?  How do you communicate your efforts... from launch to day-to-day management... understand the "in's" and "out's" of your audience. Are virtual worlds the MySpace-killers?
- Jeska Dzwigalski, Community Developer, Linden Lab
- Betsy Book, Director of Product Management, Makena Technologies
- Teemu Huuhtanen, President, North America & EVP Business.
   Development., Sulake Corp. Ltd.
- Linda Zimmer, President & CEO, MarCom:interactive
- Ren Reynolds, TerraNova (Moderator)
 
4:30 - 5:00 pm Networking Break and Demos
 
5:00 - 5:30 pm Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Whyville and Second Life
The CDC has established a presence in multiple virtual worlds in an effort to meet its particular objectives. This unique session will highlight separate efforts in two separate virtual worlds - Whyville and Second Life.  Understand the challenges and opportunities on multiple platforms from one entity.
- Erin Edgerton, E-Health Marketing Division, National Center for Health
   Marketing, Coordinating Center for Health Information and Service,
   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- John P. Anderton Ph.D., M.P.A., Acting Associate Director for
  Communications Science, National Center for Public Health Informatics
  (NCPHI), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
 
5:30 - 6:30 pm
Evening Reception - Sponsored by

View exciting virtual worlds demos
and have a drink in the demo area.

 

Thursday, March 29, 2007
8:30 - 9:00 am Registration
 
9:00 - 10:00 am A Virtual Worlds Road Map - where is it all going?
 Accurately reading the tea leaves for tomorrow is sometimes more art than science. Hear from the experts what demographic trends are emerging and what to expect for the rest of 2007 and beyond. A look at established and emerging platforms coming to market or having recently entered the marketplace.  This lecture will speak from experience in how to take advantage of opportunities inherent in new platforms.
- Jerry Paffendorf, Resident Futurist, The Electric Sheep Company
- Reuben Steiger, CEO, Millions of Us
- Corey Bridges, Co-founder, Executive Producer, & Marketing Director
  The Multiverse Network (moderator)
- Mark Wallace, Journalist, 3pointD.com
- John Donham, VP Production, Areae Inc.
 
10:00 - 10:30 am Keynote
 - Colin J. Parris, Ph.D., VP, Digital Convergence, IBM Research
 Under his leadership IBM has formed an emerging business born from the IBM Innovation Jam around emerging technologies and virtual worlds. Join Colin to hear how IBM has been experimenting in virtual worlds for business in three key areas: virtual commerce and work with clients to apply virtual world to business problems; driving new kinds of collaboration and education; and experimentation in pushing the limits with a broad community on what might be possible in virtual worlds.
 
10:30 - 11:00 am Networking Break and Demos
 
11:00 - 12:00 pm Integrated Marketing - Merging Virtual Activities with Real World Activities
 Never before have there been so many new outlets for marketing. Find out from leading experts how to create a virtual worlds presence that integrates and complements your existing marketing activities.
- Joel Greenberg, Sr. Planner, GSD&M
- Greg Verdino, VP/Director of Emerging Channels, DIGITAS (moderator)
- Roger Holzberg, Vice President - Creative Director / Walt Disney Parks
   and, Resorts Online
- Randal Moss, Manager of Futuring and Innovation Center,
  American Cancer Society
- Paul Hemp, Senior Editor, Harvard Business Review
 
12:00 - 1:00 pm Lunch and Demos - Sponsored by

When Web 2.0 goes 3D: How Social Networking and Immersive Virtual Worlds will Transform the Enterprise
The era of the read-write web is in full swing. Along comes a new technology that takes all the sensibilities of the participatory web and renders it out in a 3D context that makes interactivity and co-creation more intuitive and immersive for all of us. What does this mean for the future of commerce, collaboration and learning? How will businesses tap into growing multiverse economies and how will firms manage the transition from managing intranets to managing intraverses? And what platforms will be the most appropriate to leverage across the Multiverse/Intraverse spectrum? Join our panelists as they explore these questions in depth and make themselves available to answer some of yours.
- Tony O'Driscoll, Performance Architecture Analysis and Design,
  IBM On Demand Learning
- Peter Zamiska, Creative Officer at the CementWorks, a global
  healthcare advertising agency based in New York City.
- David Schendowich, Senior Vice President, Mastermind Marketing
- Ron Burns, President, ProtonMedia
 

 
1:00 - 2:00 pm Virtual Worlds as Interactive Television
With the advent of virtual worlds networks, individual channels and individual shows can now create interactive versions of their franchises and engage fans directly, immersing them into the environment. Find out how to successfully extend a television brand, including measuring audience participation and extending the advertising business model.
- Sibley Verbeck, CEO, The Electric Sheep Company
- Additional Speakers to be announced
 
2:00 - 2:30 pm Pontiac Second Life Case Study
Leo Burnett Detroit helped its Pontiac client launch a presence in Second Life in November. Pontiac’s launch of its six-region land mass called Motorati Island began with a twist--an offer of free “land” for Second Lifers to create a vibrant car culture within the community. Staying true to the spirit of Second Life, which empowers members to build the community, Pontiac has provided parcels of land around Motorati Island to Second Life entrepreneurs and artists who wish to create their own projects devoted to car culture. This session will give attendees an inside glimpse of how Motorati Island came to be, and key learnings from being a major marketer in Second Life.
- Tor Myhren, Executive Vice President, Executive Creative Director,
   Leo Burnett Detroit
 
2:30 - 3:00 pm Networking Break and Demos
 
3:00 - 4:00 pm Virtual World Applications That Work
This session will focus the pros and cons of different styles of virtual worlds applications; what value they bring to a company or brand. What are the demographic opportunities and control over reach, frequency and timing?  What is the best format to stay in front of a truly engaged audience?  Branding, social networking, promotion, education, ecommerce, employee collaboration, test-marketing, content generation, training, recruiting and new product development - what application works best and under what circumstances.
- Jason Stoddard, Managing Partner, Interactive, Centric
- Robert Gehorsam, President, Forterra Systems Inc.
- Paul Ledak, VP of Development, Digital Convergence, IBM
 - Michael Wilson, CEO, Makena Technologies
 - Eric Rice (moderator)
4:00 - 4:30 pm Concluding Networking

G0 home.  Implement !

 
   

 

Virtual Worlds 2007 is a production of Virtual Worlds Management and Show Initiative

 

Virtual Worlds Conference, Virtual Worlds 2007, Virtual Worlds Fall, Virtual Worlds Spring, VW07
and Virtual Worlds Management are trademarks of Show Initiative.