At the 5th annual Invent Your Future conference on April 26th and 27th in Santa Clara, California, professional women came to interact with nationally known authors and business experts. Approximately 200 women attended, including many local students as part of the IYF Scholarship program. Ruth Stergiou, CEO of Invent Your Future Enterprises, spoke during the conference about helping showcase professionals for the next generation of women and getting teen girls interested in computer science through a program called “Dare to be Digital."

In addition to book signings, breakout sessions, and roundtables, Invent Your Future provided a place for Silicon Valley professional women to network.

Speakers at the conference this year were top-notch, and although it was not the theme, social media was a topic that resonated through each keynote and session. The first ten minutes of Wednesday’s conference turned into a social media free-for-all: Attendees were invited to turn on their mobile phones and use them to text, tweet and Facebook pictures of the event (see above) to friends and co-workers everywhere.

Invent Your Future Speaker Highlights:

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon: The author of the New York Times best-selling book, The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, spoke about spending time with the women of war-torn Afghanistan, where she learned to see them not as victims, but as powerful survivors and entrepreneurs.

Julie Hanna: The chair of the board of directors at Kiva, an online microloan organization that has helped people start businesses around the world, spoke about how technology is a force for politics and business. She said, "People don’t view themselves as victims. Most don’t want charity, they want access.:

Almaz Negash: The CEO of Entwine Global, spoke about her childhood in Africa, the powerful influence of her mother and the necessity that we, living in one of the richest places in the world (Silicon Valley) have to make opportunities for the underprivileged women who live among us, but are often invisible.

They all agreed that social media and the web can help by connecting people and allowing women to participate in each other’s stories around the globe. Social media brings democracy to the conversation.

Jane Edison Stevenson: The vice-chairman and CEO of Korn/Ferry International and author of Breaking Away: How great Leaders Create Innovation That Drives Sustainable Growth spoke about how our society is becoming more fear-based; the way to counter that, she said, is through innovation.

Nancy Duarte: The CEO of Duarte Design spoke passionately about how women are hard wired to both nurture and conquer, and folded that theme into a personal anecdote about climbing Half Dome in Yosemite with co-workers.

Guy Kawasaki: The former Apple fellow, author and highly animated motivational speaker got the most laughs of the entire conference with his ten step overview explaining how to “enchant” others in a business setting. His latest book is Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions.

It was interesting to see how much credence and emphasis most speakers gave to the importance of social media as a tool to help empower business women around the globe. The Invent Your Future audience was highly engaged by the topic as well. A workshop session called “Celebrate Your Brand Using Social Media," hosted by SM consultants Beverly Macy and Teri Thompson was very well attended. It generated a discussion around their contention that “reviews are the new advertising and conversation is currency”.

I had a chance to interview one attendee (Nadine Lezada, IT Business Manager for Marketing and Customer Service; Lifescan Division of Johnson & Johnson) regarding her thoughts about the conference. In her own words,

"After attending this year's Invent Your Future Conference for Women, I walked away feeling motivated to envision new ideas, empowered with renewed confidence and energized to take bold steps in directions I didn't think about before.”

Corporate partners for Invent Your Future included HP, Oracle, American Airlines and eBay. Keynote sessions were hosted by Bay Area Vista (NBC) producer Janice Edwards, as well as award-winning journalist and former KPIX (CBS) news anchor Sydnie Kohara.

NEW YORK, Nov. 22, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Dutch expertise in sustainability was showcased during the Green Build International Conference and Expo, the world's largest gathering dedicated to green building. Dutch Ambassador Renee Jones-Bos in her keynote speech addressed the importance of global solut

DALLAS, TX - Parks Associates has announced the topics and the call for speaker submissions for the 15th annual CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference & Showcase. The international research firm will host the executive conference on June 28-30, 2011, at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

/PRNewswire/ - On November 18 in New York, The Foundation for Social Change and United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP) will recognize Anvil Knitwear as a Top Leader of Change in the sustainability category at the Global Conference for Social Change: Turning Social Responsibility Into Social Action. The award recognizes Anvil, a leading manufacturer of sustainable apparel, as a visionary and inspirational leader who, through its actions, exemplifies how creativity and innovation can combine to solve social problems. "Anvil Knitwear is honored to be recognized as a Leader of Change amongst such an inspirational group of organizations," said Anthony Corsano, CEO of Anvil Knitwear. "We are continually seeking new ways, whether through our eco-products or initiatives like Track My T, to create a culture where social and environmental action are top of mind for our employees, customers and consumers. We look forward to moving the needle further in the months and years to come and working together with The Foundation for Social Change and other organizations on this important mission." Anvil's commitment to sustainability is comprised of three pillars: environmental, social and product. In recent years, the company has rolled out 17 industry-leading, affordable eco styles, made from a variety of fibers including certified organic cotton, transitional cotton, recycled cotton and recycled PET bottles in addition to its more than 100 traditional styles that are all manufactured using responsible practices. Anvil's organic products are part of its larger commitment to growing the acreage of U.S. organic cotton; the company is currently the largest buyer of U.S.-grown organic cotton according to Organic Exchange. The company has also been instrumental in educating consumers on how to reduce their individual environmental footprint through smarter purchasing decisions. During the conference, Anvil will screen a provocative digital short, released in earlier this month, titled Message from Earth: Organic Matters, which highlights the environmental benefits of organic cotton and encourages consumers – and farmers – to support organic farming. Additionally, Anvil's TrackMyT is an interactive website that chronicles and brings to life the complete journey and environmental impact of a t-shirt, from cotton-seed to consumer, allows users to interact with the farmers behind Anvil's products. "Corporate engagement is essential to the international community's efforts to alleviate poverty, ensure clean water, and help underserved populations realize healthy living," said Amir Dossal, Executive Director of UNOP. "We want to recognize the creativity, technology and resources that Anvil and the other honorees bring to our collective efforts in solving social problems." At the conference, Corsano will discuss the company's commitment to growing the organic cotton industry, moderating a panel comprised of representatives from Disney and the Texas Organic Cotton Marketing Cooperative. Anvil and other honorees, which include Coca-Cola, Nike, Calvert Investments, Groupo Santander Bank Brazil, Ceres, Interface, Dow Chemical, Groupe Danone, Stonyfield Farm and Reebok, have all agreed to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals by 2015. A committee consisting of representatives from United Nations, World Economic Forum, Grameen Creative Lab, NYU Stern School of Business, and the Foundation for Social Change chose the Leaders of Change awardees. About Anvil Knitwear Anvil Knitwear, Inc., a socially and environmentally responsible manufacturer of sportswear and accessories, is a leader in the sustainable apparel industry with its AnvilOrganic®, AnvilRecycled™ and AnvilSustainable™ brands. Anvil was recently ranked the world's sixth-largest organic program and the largest domestic purchaser of U.S.-grown certified organic cotton. Anvil offers 17 affordable eco styles made from a variety of fibers such as certified organic cotton, transitional cotton, recycled cotton, and recycled PET bottles and blends in addition to its over 100 traditional styles. For more information, please visit www.anvilknitwear.com and www.anvilcsr.com. About the Foundation for Social Change The Foundation for Social Change mission is to educate executives and business leaders that social innovation - social action - can benefit both their bottom line and address critical social issues. Our educational programs and collaborative platforms demonstrate how social action outperforms traditional corporate responsibility to deliver triple bottom line returns: Social. Environmental. Financial. FSC does this through "Leadership for Social Change" executive education courses at major universities throughout the world, including NYU, Oxford, and many others. In addition, it convenes the leaders from the business sector, non-profit and government to exchange ideas, share best practices and showcase successful social action programs, and events such as the Global Conference for Social Change showcase examples of good work.

Since 1963, The New York Film Festival has continued to bring new and important cinematic works by filmmakers from around the world. The 17-day festival includes the Main Slate selections along with special events, panel discussions, the experimental film showcase, Views from the Avant-Garde, and much more.This year, the 48th edition, brings new films from directors such as David Fincher (The Social Network), Julie Taymor (The Tempest), Abbas Kiarostami (Certified Copy), Mike Leigh (Another Year), Cristi Puiu (Aurora), Oliver Assayas (Carlos), Kelly Reichardt (Meek's Cutoff) and Clint Eastwood (Hereafter).Opening the festival on Friday September 24 is David Fincher's The Social Network, a bio-pic that examines the creation of the pop culture internet phenomenon known as Facebook. The following is a review of that film as well as several others running with the festival.THE SOCIAL NETWORKUSA 2010Dir: David FincherRating B- 117 minsBelow is an edited version of my review. Click here to read it in its entirety.David Fincher's The Social Network is being touted as “visionary”, “a master-piece”, “an instant classic” and even an Oscar contender for next year. I seriously disagree the film is any of those things even though Fincher and Sorkin have fashioned an entertaining examination of youths thrust into great power with their somewhat fictionalized account of the rise of Facebook. The Social Network is as flawed as its subjects and though it provides many answers, it only scratches the surface of the behind-the-scenes events surrounding the creation of a pop culture phenomenon. It's also just as ambitious as its main character Mark Zuckerberg and like the Facebook CEO, remains a cypher. Yet ambition can be infectious and the film does an impressive job of getting you deeply involved with its characters and their story. Jesse Eisenberg is perfectly cast as the version of Zuckerberg Sorkin and author Ben Mezrich had in their mind when the latter wrote the book “The Accidental Billionaires”. Eisenberg is known for his quirky performances, yet he drops much of his familiar warmness and humanity, choosing to multiply his manic and nervous energy by a factor of ten. As the film opens Zuckerberg is having a drink and engaged a discussion with girlfriend Erica Albright (Rooney Mara, already cast as the iconic Lisbeth Salander in Fincher's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo remake) that soon becomes heated. Mark's greatest flaw is that he has has poor social skills and Erica takes his blunt remarks concerning her family and education as an attack, abruptly ending their relationship. Depressed and a little bit drunk, Mark makes his way back to his Harvard dorm room and begins to write unflattering anecdotes about Erica in his blog. But that isn't enough. After glancing at photographs in the college facebook, he gets the idea of putting together an illegal website where the women on campus can be compared by their looks in a process of elimination. Eight hours later “Face Mash Dot Com” is born and the site lands 22,000 hits within three hours of going live. The stunt offends the female students and faculty and soon after Mark is placed on academic probation.Mark's work and the speed in which he executed it, catches the eyes of twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (Armie Hammer) and frat member Divya Narendra (Max Minghella) who want him to assist them in creating a Harvard social networking site. Even though he agrees to assist the brothers, Mark cuts off contact over the next few weeks and works to develop his own project. Using one thousand dollars in investment money provided by best friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), Mark and roommate Dustin Moskovitz (Joseph Mazzello) begin to write code for a social networking website of their own called “The Facebook”. The website's membership is initially limited to Harvard students but its popularity increases at such an exponential rate, other colleges in the Boston area, the Ivy League and Stanford University are soon included. When Narendra and the Winklevoss brothers discover what Mark and his friends have done, they realize the lucrative potential of the site and consider a lawsuit. Unlike the Winklevoss brothers, money doesn't really matter to Mark. Though the success of the site produces groupies, acolytes and even a girlfriend for Eduardo (Brenda Song), Mark is more fascinated by human interaction and exploring his creation's true potential, which is ironic since he has poor social skills. Realizing they must expand, Eduardo wishes to introduce advertising on the site, while Mark feels its a task that must be handled delicately. A wedge is soon driven between them in the form of Napster creator and controversial media bad boy Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) who insinuates himself into their inner circle. Parker agrees with Mark that advertising can ruin the reputation of the site and suggests introducing Mark to his own personal contacts as prospective investors crossing the line for business manager Eduardo. As alliances are forged and relationships deteriorate, the story is juxtaposed with office confrontations and depositions concerning two of Mark's lawsuits involving the Winklevoss brothers and Eduardo. We already know the effect and by the film's end the cause is revealed.For perhaps the first time since 2002's Panic Room, Fincher tells a simple story in a straight-forward manner making excellent use of Sorkin's tight script. A great deal of material, facts and conjecture concerning the rise of Facebook is condensed into two hours and told in an engaging manner one can follow with no diffculty. Fincher and Sorkin don't fall into the trap of packing their story with confusing jargon or attempting to fully explain their main character Zuckerberg, yet like the vibe Eisenberg's portrayal of the CEO gives off, the proceedings often feel sterile and cold. At the heart of the picture is the story of the dissolution of a relationship between two friends who fail to realize being suddenly thrust into success and great responsibility has made them grow apart. That story is brought to life by the performances of Timberlake, Garfield and most importantly Eisenberg who all give the impression that despite the power they've been given, they're really scared little boys dropped into an ocean of adulthood and told to swim. Timberlake portrays Parker as a loose cannon and sensualist suffering from paranoia and though the singer still needs to polish his skills as an actor, watching him slowly sink his claws into Zuckerberg and slither his way inside the company is diabolical fun. Garfield's Saverin is portrayed as the victim who in the end is duped by his best friend for reasons he believes date back to his acceptance in Harvard's Phoenix S.K. Club and Mark's hidden jealousy. Watching the two of them look at each other with eyes of hurt across a law firm's conference table is powerful stuff, but Garfield's performance is difficult to identify with at times. Though his work in part one of the Red Riding trilogy was brilliant, Garfield at times comes across as a bit of a stiff here, making me question how he will portray the likable Spider-man in the upcoming reboot.The cast member faced with the most difficult task is no doubt Eisenberg who has to portray Sorkin's interpretation of Zuckerberg as an anti-social misfit with a touch of humanity beneath the surface. His social skills are as poor as Taxi Driver's Travis Bickle and he even attempts to converse with Erica some time after the incident, failing to realize she's disgusted by his presence. An explanation of Mark Zuckerberg and how his success turned friends into enemies isn't really necessary although late in the picture, a female member of his legal council (Rashida Jones) offers the suggestion that he's “really not an a-hole, just trying hard to be one.” The major factor that hinders The Social Network is failing to provide insight into Zuckerberg's genius. If you're going to tell the story of the impact a radical idea has upon the world, you must provide a look at the mind of the “mad scientist” who developed that idea. Fincher chooses to focus on setting the picture's mood with cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth's razor sharp digital photography and a sparse electronic score from Nine Inch Nails members Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Nevertheless, though far from perfect, The Social Network is an entertaining piece of work even though it leaves you with a cold and sterile aftertaste. Fincher and Sorkin have an amazing story to tell, its just tough to put a finger on what exactly they are trying to say.CERTIFIED COPYFrance 2010Director: Abbas KiarostamiRating B+ 127 minsAt forty-six years of age, French native Juliette Binoche has a beauty more radiant than most American actresses today. Like a fine wine she improves with age, seeking out unconventional projects, never afraid of the image she projects. She's fearless and to see her expose her flaws, doubts and even her inner goofiness onscreen is a marvel I could watch many times over. The Oscar winner's latest film could be categorized as a romantic comedy even though it tells its quirky story in an nontraditional manner. Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami's first film produced outside of his homeland is set in Tuscany and features magnetic performances from Binoche and English opera singer Willian Shimell, in his acting debut.Binoche is a single mother and gallery owner who has lived in Italy for the past five years and embarks on a tour of the countryside with art history writer Shimell following one of his lectures. He is in town to promote his book on art forgeries and though their meeting appears to be one of chance, their interaction leads to questioning of the true nature of their “relationship”.Binoche appears to be a bit unstable, burdened by the difficulties of raising a young teen whose father is almost non-existent. After taking a detour to a small town, Shimell humors Binoche by letting a cafe owner believe they are a couple married for fifteen years. In conversation with the owner, Binoche reveals the strenuous aspects of her flawed “marriage” which leads to the question whether she is role playing or actually speaking of a real relationship. Tension develops between her and Shimell who soon bicker like a real married couple over trivial problems and their recent fifteenth “anniversary”. Is Shimell letting Binoche take her role playing into delusions of grandeur or have the two actually been lovers for the past fifteen years?The nature of Binoche and Shimell's real relationship if open to interpretation by the viewer. It can be said Binoche is a lonely single mother with a screw loose, who is dragging a man she barely knows into her delusions or she could be Shimell's mistress of the past fifteen years and he the father of her son whom he barely knows. Shimell's art book is entitled “Certified Copy” and his relationship with Binoche is examined the same way he writes about the value of a replica and an original. If you're told a copy is the original and have already placed value in it, does it make it any less valuable if you're then told it is in fact a copy?Binoche's performance goes through a range of emotions yet she's a comic delight to observe. One moment she's in a romantic mood, the next she's furious at Shimell for either not noticing the earrings or lipstick she's applied or the fact that he supposedly fell asleep when they were about to celebrate their anniversary the night before. Despite her sincerity, you still question whether she's really a spurned lover or a certified loon. First time actor Shimell, who resembles a cross between Good Night, And Good Luck's David Strathairn and the film's director George Clooney, gives a charming performance that ranges from calm to frustration at Binoche's antics that's justifiable. Or is it? That's part of the fun in watching Certified Copy, but whatever the true story is doesn't matter because its the interaction between the two characters that's entertaining in itself.OF GODS AND MEN (Des Hommes Et Des Dieux)Directed by Xavier Beauvois2010 FranceRating A- 120 minsXavier Beauvois' Of Gods and Men is a film I walked into knowing absolutely nothing about. I had only recognized two actors in the cast and though this true life story of eight French monks living in Algeria made headlines back in 1996, I was unfamiliar with it. I'm sure I would have enjoyed Beauvois' film, just the same, but going into it cold made it an even more moving and powerful experience.Lambert Wilson, best known as “The Merovingian” hasn't fared well in American features other than The Matrix sequels. He gives a captivating performance as Brother Christian, leader of those eight monks who have chosen to devote their lives to God and provide aid to the poor villagers of Tibhirine, Algeria. The countryside has been ravaged by Islamic extremists, who terrorize and murder their own people on a daily basis. Early on in the picture, Christian hears of a fourteen-year-old girl murdered for not wearing a veil and sometime later, two female teachers are executed for telling another that falling in love is a natural part of life. The threat of an attack on the monastery by the extremists becomes very real for Christian and his fellow monks when a group of Croation workers get their throats slit in broad daylight. Officials plead with Christian to make use of their soldiers to protect the monastery, but he sees it as an act of aggression and refuses. The monks attempt to go on with their daily activities and rituals including providing medicine for the poor, but when extremist Ali Fayattia (Farid Larbi) storms the monastary with guerillas, their faith is soon put to the test.Fayattia, is looking for medicine and the aid of Brother Luc (Michael Lonsdale), the resident doctor, to care for three of his wounded men. Yet Christian refuses, claiming that their medical supplies are scarce and the asthmatic Luc is in no condition to travel. Surprisingly, Fayattia leaves, showing respect for Christian's resolve, but many of his fellow monks are shaken to the point where they consider leaving the monastery. Tensions begin to mount as the monks battle with their doubts and fears, while Christian resists the pleas of a government official and calls upon the Lord for guidance.Of Gods and Men is not an overtly religious film, nor does it takes sides in the conflict between the Islamic extremists and the Algerian army. Though he and his men are a menacing presence, Fayattia, apologizes to Christian when he realizes he has intruded on Christmas Eve. Later in the film, an Algerian commander expresses disgust when Christian begins to pray after identifying Fayattia's dead body. Wilson, who has become familiar to American audiences for playing oily characters, is compelling as a man who refuses to bow to intimidation, yet is a master of hiding his self-doubt. He's the rock his fellow monks look to, yet like them, he's just a man, imperfect and fallible. Giving incredible support to Wilson is Michael Lonsdale, best known as the villainous Drax from the James Bond adventure Moonraker. Like Christian, he makes the decision to hold his ground because he's “faced the Nazis and even the Devil.”Beauvois tells his story with a simple visual style. We witness the religious rituals of the monks and their interaction with their dangerous and beautiful surroundings is downplayed, but there's and incredible amount of tension beneath the surface that increases throughout the film. One of the picture's most poignant moments is a scene where the monks all enjoy a simple dinner with wine to the strains of Swan Lake. Here some of them even weep, not out of fear, but the joy of being amongst a family of great love and trust. It's a sensitive and cathartic moment that's genuinely welcome in this emotionally powerful film.MY JOY (Schastye moe)Directed by Sergei Loznitsa2010 Germany-UkraineRating: C+ 127 minsThere's nothing happy or joyful about former documentary filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa's debut My Joy which opens with a man's corpse being buried in cement and sets out on a grim path that eventually erupts in violence. The Ukranian feature loosely follows truck driver Georgy (Viktor Nemets), who while transporting small goods from his hometown, is forced to take a wrong turn on the road and ends up in a small Russian village. In time he will lose his memory as well as his humanity in a brutal and savage setting that's basically the middle of nowhere. What makes Loznitsa's film unique is that Georgy's journey takes several detours along the way before eventually abandoning him and following new characters. After the first hour, the film gets quite difficult to follow, but the individual stories Loznitsa presents follow a common theme of violence and corruption. The Russian countryside is presented as a land of vast emptiness, danger and despair.Early on in the film, Georgy encounters two corrupt police officers at a checkpoint who enjoy harassing and inflicting cruelty upon those they pull over for questioning. Their actions come back to haunt them later, but not before Georgy picks up a mysterious old man who tells him of his dealings with corrupt officers at the close of World War II. One of the most memorable characters is a teen prostitute he tries to help who ultimately rejects his kindness. "No fantasies," she argues "Only the classics, nothing perverted." An impressive debut which polarized Russian audiences with its heightened realism and brutal honesty.Source: Latino Review

We are no longer just consumers of content, we have become curators of it too. In Part 1 of this Guide I have introduced why we really need real-time news curation and what is the basic idea behind it (Part 1 - Real-Time News Curation, Newsmastering And Newsradars - The Complete Guide Part 1: Why We Need It). In Part 2 I want to continue illustrating what "real-time news curation" is all about, and more specifically why it differs from automatic aggregation, and why you really need a human being to do it. As I see it: "Aggregation is automated, curation is manual." Photo credit: Creativaimage Back in 2004, I wrote an article entitled: The Birth of The Newsmaster. It was my first public realization, that a real-time news curator, which I labeled at the time a "newsmaster", was soon due. The explosion of RSS-based information channels and my early experiments with it, led me to think that whoever, like Robert Scoble was claiming to be able to follow hundreds of thousands of news feed sources, would have had to soon question his assessments. You cannot follow and keep yourself updated in an effective way by simply subscribing to as many news sources as possible. De facto RSS did (and does) put a large quantity of content in a sort of tacit public domain as it offers the easiest way to reuse, syndicate and aggregate formatting-free content in an unlimited number of ways. It is in the DNA of RSS to be wanting to be free, to be further reused, personalized and syndicated. And it was this very technical innovation, the democratization of most web content into a standardized format that anyone could subscribe and work from (RSS), that made me realize how big an opportunity there was for those with sufficient expertise, passion, analysis and research skills to become unique aggregators and intelligent news curators on specific topics of the best content available out there. The ability to aggregate, filter and curate content coming from the most disparate sources appeared to be the key operation skills required to make this idea become reality. I then imagined how valuable could have been the creation of specialized, focused information channels, intercepting the needs and interests of very specific niches:

• Valuable to those who want to learn and stay updated instead of being inundated with tons of content garbage and unverified news to sift through,
• valuable to those who curate and publish such channels as these provide them with the perfect means to build their own visibility, credibility, trust and authority,
• valuable to publishers and brands supporting such news publishing approach as it brings real value to their customers and helps everyone make better sense of all the news available out there.

The problem of information overload is like any other problem, one side of a new, bright opportunity. As the quantity of news and information grows by the hour, we need new means and approaches to organize and make sense of all of it. Automated aggregation is not the solution. Human-powered, manual news curation is. Human news curators can add more value and understanding to the news, by aggregating, filtering and curating them, than it is available in individual news stories taken by themselves. By organizing, filtering, selecting and picking the best and most relevant information for a target community of fans / readers / customers, an online publisher can provide his audience with high-quality, unique value that will be hard to find elsewhere. So, as I wrote six years ago, it did and it still does look to me as a renaissance of sorts is truly taking place. Understanding what this renaissance is all about and how you or your organization can best leverage it, is what this guide on real-time news curation is all about. Here, in Part 2 of this guide, find out what are the key differences between aggregation and curation and why real-time news curation is so much better than automated aggregation when it comes to provide high-quality news and information on a specific topic.

Part 2 - Aggregation Is Not Curation - The Human Factor

1. Aggregation is not curation
2. Filtering is not curation
3. Aggregation is Automated, Curation is Manual
4. Automated Aggregation without Curation, is mostly...
5. The Solution is in the MIX - Human Curation + Machine Aggregation
6. News Curation: What A Difference A Human Can Make

“We are no longer just consumers of content, we have become curators of it too. If someone approached me even five years ago and explained that one day in the near future I would be filtering, collecting and sharing content for thousands of perfect strangers to read - and doing it for free - I would have responded with a pretty perplexed look. Yet today I can’t imagine living in a world where I don’t filter, collect and share. More important, I couldn’t conceive of a world of news and information without the aid of others helping me find the relevant links.” Nick Bilton - NY Times

1) Aggregation Is Not Curation

Aggregating content and news from multiple sources and feeds is one, basic form of curation. The selection of news sources is per se an editorial choice, an act of curation, and in some cases it can provide good enough extra value to create value and even build services around it. This is how news aggregation services like Google News, Techmeme, Memeorandum, and many others (which I will showcase in the next Part of this guide) have been born. Sources are selected once and updated / vetted on a periodic basis, by a human curator or a newsmastering team, while an array of algorithm-based software programs search, aggregate and filter the incoming news stories while ranking them. The ranking has been generally based on popularity (the number of sources picking up the specific news story), authority / trustworthiness and freshness indicators. Techmeme, one of the most popular technology news aggregators on the web, was originally born simply as an automatic aggregation and filtering web service which required no human intervention. Techmeme original editorial focus has been a very wide range of technology and media related news aggregated and filtered via the news service own software algorithms. Over time these have appeared to be based more on popularity (which news have more of a news chamber effect) than on originality, relevance (too broad an audience) or other inherent information quality. To do those things, you just need a live human being to do that. But in 2008, Gabe Rivera, Techmeme founder and CEO, officially hired a human curator, adding a subjective expert eye to the already excellent work done by its software. He later extended the human-curation support also to his other niche news hubs. Duration: 5' 32" Gabe Rivera of Techmeme on Why a Human Editor is Better Video from LeWeb '08 - Paris

"Curation is the sibling of aggregation, a word that the web has know for a while. Aggregation means gathering; finding all videos with the keywords "Easter Supper" in them. But as more devices like cell phones are used to create content (video of a hotel room, a tweet from a rock concert, an audio post from a political protest) gathering no longer adds value. In fact, aggregation can equal aggravation. Strangely enough, curation shifts the balance of power back to brands and publications. While anyone can make content, the decision to gather it, and present it by trusted content curators has more risk, and therefore more value." Can Curation Save Media Steve Rosenbuam - Business Insider

2) Automatic Filtering is not Curation

Once you start aggregating content, it does not take much time to realize that unless you apply, even some kind of basic filtering to it, you are going to drown inside it. Duplicates, re-takes of the same news, artificially created content, spam, unverified stuff... But thanks in particular to the power of social technologies, there exist indeed many different approaches to the automatic filtering of news content:

• Algorithmic Filtering exclude-include specific keywords, terms and phrases
• Filtering Based on Social Graph what your friends like
• Crowdsourced Filtering what most people like, prefer, vote
• Shared Sources Filtering (Meta) what people share online
• Influence Filtering what is shared by those who influence you the most
• Social Search what your connections have preferred
• Location Filtering where you are

Different Approaches To News Filtering
All these approaches to filtering can be automated. As they are designed to work on sets of predetermined rules they can help indeed filter out a lot of irrelevant stuff automatically. But when it comes to organize, sort, make sense, attribute or check what is inside those stories and which ones do deserve attention, is another story. Some of the newest real-time curation and newsmastering engines have started sporting some “intelligent” internal auto-filtering capabilities, for which I can only, at least for now (just like Kevin Marks of BT in the video above), be very skeptical. Most of these auto-filtering capabilities are based on some of the above filtering approaches, but unless a news curator could fully edit, tweak and switch off any of these filters, it may be hard for him to be able to fully realize his mission of explorer-reporter, as some risks must be taken in order to explore new ground. The greatest value in this editorial and curation process can be provided by the human selection capabilities. Therefore if you bypass them in favor of an algorithmic solution, you may find out that, at least in some cases, algorithms will make choices and exclusions which the news curator would have not made. This is why, the more you leave the filtering process in the hands of the curator (within reasonable limits - in the sense that some basic automatic filtering is definitely a good thing to have) the more quality you will get in the final result. The real-time news curator should have in his power to decide completely on which filters to use and, in my opinion, should not rely in general on automatic filtering solutions (unless he has been the one to set and define them explicitly). Since it is difficult to define many of the variables that differentiate a good story from a bad one, as this may greatly vary depending on the niche, audience and personality doing the curation, it is in my opinion not a good idea to leave all of this power to an algorithm, or to substitute the news curator unique editorial skills with a set of software algorithms that can be bought or rented by anyone. No matter of how good your filters are, my experience has taught me that you can make a great selection only if you put a competent, skilled "curator" at it. The result is simply light-years better.

Noise May Actually Help Curators Do Better Filtering - The RSS Dolby

As I look back at my original vision for a curated news universe, I recall making an analogy that, while hard to grasp at the beginning, makes a lot of sense to me. The idea is that the more "noise" there is in the news stream the easier it is to distinguish what is good and relevant from what is not. Just like for audio, and the noise filtering technology known as Dolby, it may actually be that to make the filtering process more accurate and precise, the level of noise needs to be increased rather than decreased. The Dolby sound system, achieves its goal through pre-emphasis, generating a cleaner, hiss-free sound, by first adding more noise to the original source and then filtering out with greater ease what appears to be the superfluous parts. In the same way, human curators "leverage" news noise, to help themselves identify and distinguish true valuable stories from generic duplicates or retweets. You can hear the same very concept explained by Robert Scoble (at min: 19' 30") in this excellent video interview done with Howard Rheingold on the very topic of online content curation: Duration: 26' 49" Robert Scoble interviewed by Howard Rheingold on Online Content Curation
In other words: News curators are the "Dolby" of the online news.

3) Aggregation is Automated, Curation is Manual

If someone tells you: "Hey Paulo, why don't you simply pull together a bunch of good feeds, from authoritative feeds in your sector, we mix them up with Yahoo! Pipes or some of the cool new tools out there, and you then slap it on your web site pages. Imagine how cool to easily and rapidly re-purpose relevant content coming form other sites into your web site, email newsletter or AdSense pages. You get fresh content, which the search engines love, you provide fresh news for your readers and you become a leader, a trusted authority in your sector without having to add an extra task in your busy workflow or having to hire another person." A bell should ring in your head.
After the bell has rung, a sign should appear saying: "You always get what you pay for. There are no cheap miracles around here. Get back to serious work, dude."

"...In 2005 it was clear to me that an ideal news aggregation site would need to combine automation with direct, hands-on editing. ...Any competent developer who tries to automate the selection of news headlines will inevitably discover that this approach always comes up a bit short. Automation does indeed bring a lot to the table -- humans can't possibly discover and organize news as fast as computers can. But too often the lack of real intelligence leads to really unintelligent results." Guess what? Automated news doesn't quite work. Gabe Rivera - Techmeme

"Even giant, technically-accomplished corporations have had trouble breaking news using algorithms." Breaking: Google News doesn’t break tech news Eric Eldon - VentureBeat

"We have many automated means to aggregate news... Curation is a step above that, human selection. It’s a way to add value." Death of the Curator, Long Live the Curator Jeff Jarvis - Buzz Machine

"The word curation may seem to be a synonym for aggregation, but in fact it’s a double for “intelligent aggregation”. Museum curators do not, I hope, assemble as much art as possible for an exhibition; rather they apply judgment in selecting what they deem to be appropriate." Steve Rosenbaum Content Curation vs. Content Aggregation - Abnormal Returns

Let me start analyzing at the basic level. Is aggregating the stream of news from your most trusted sources equivalent to doing news curation? Many social media enthusiasts have gone beyond simple serendipitous sharing and into “curating” or “giving coverage” to a specific, focused area of interest by republishing the aggregated streams of news of their most trusted contacts on specific topics. Is this real-time news curation? No. Why? Quantity doesn't make up for relevance. By automatically aggregating and mixing together a group of selected feeds, you cannot really avoid excluding all of that superficial noise made up by personal messages, serendipitous commentary, unverified stories and links, spam or just generic junk content. If you are an active social media user of platforms like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook I am sure you have already experienced much of this in your daily news consumption activities. If not, listen here to a few "in the know" who already have. At the last European Internet conference LeWeb in 2009, Cathy Brooks video interviewed a few expert geeks, CEOs and media journalists asking them how large a percentage of their daily social media news consumption was truly relevant. Here is what she found out: Ouriel Ohayon of Appsfire - Duration: 2':26"
Kevin Marks of BT - Duration: 4':40"
Tony Hsieh of Zappos - Duration: 2':09"
Louis Gray - Duration: 2':40"

4) The Solution Is In The MIX - Human Curation + Machine Aggregation

“Interacting directly with an automated news engine makes it clear that the human+algorithm combo can curate news far more effectively that the individual human or algorithmic parts.” Gabe Rivera - Techmeme

A curator is not an expert. The expert seeks to provide the definitive answer, while the curator seeks to provide the greatest range of high value info-facts, perspectives, to allow you more leeway in constructing your own picture. The expert is a judge... working toward restricting the view. The curator is an explorer-reporter, working toward expanding the view. His job is all about sense-making, organizing, illustrating and offering the best resources and viewpoints available out there. The real-time news curator helps seeing the big picture.

“We’ve combined sophisticated automated aggregation technologies with direct editorial input from knowledgeable human editors to present the one indispensable narrative of an industry in transition. We collect relevant takes on an issue and package them together in a comprehensive group of links. That way, you not only get the lead opinion on an issue, but you can easily find the supporting, opposing, smart, controversial, notable, and previously unseen viewpoints. You get the big picture.” Introducing MediaGazer - Megan McCarthy

"...I have long believed in there being a perfect place for humans to act as curators and guides, while there is another perfect place for machines to provide, to the best of their ability, resources to aid your discovery. So when you are challenged with a mountain of information coming at you from any angle, think of the best way to get it handled. Should you turn to an editor, to the will of the people, to your friends, or to code? The options are all there, and more tools are coming to help you attack the noise - because there's little chance it will fade away any time soon - and a very strong chance it could get much worse very quickly." Louis Gray

“Humans do things software cannot, like grouping subtly related stories, taking into account sarcasm or skepticism, or posting important stories that just broke.” Techmeme Offers Tech News at Internet Speed - NY Times

The real-time news curator, doesn’t just select the good, relevant news from the rest. The newsmaster orders, edits, re-titles, adds or re-writes introductions and synopsis, adds commentary, tags, adds images or reference links, credits and resyndicates through his own networks the most relevant news stories on the topic-theme he covers. That’s not a small difference. It’s the same difference between listening to a bunch of songs on the radio and having a personal DJ that spins only the type of music you REALLY like. The human curator, beats automated mechanisms, because he can always rely on a broad set of extra resources and information channels, normally not available to a software algorithm. A human curator can tap into contacts and friends, including topic experts that he personally knows, can call in or email business companies to verify news, can follow-up on leads received via an an instant message or utilize valuable information from a print magazine article. Those information items would never make it into an automated newsradar as I call it, or real-time news curation, newsmastering syndication tool of any kind. This is why there is no escape from it: you have to... “...combine sophisticated automated aggregation technologies with direct editorial curation from trusted and authoritative human editors...”

"Philosophically, I believe human editing plus automation have always been and will always be needed for top-notch aggregation. Pure automation sufficed for a few years for us, and got us to the point where we could hire more editors. But until editors arrived, Techmeme would often make questionable choices - like spotlighting too many redundant stories, keeping obsolete stories on the page, and overemphasizing odd topics only introspective bloggers care about. Also, obviously significant stories would often take much too long to appear. In the age of Twitter and hyper competitive news bloggers, even a 15-minute delay on big news is inexcusable. Our editing helps on all these fronts: we can block the automation from posting stuff to the site, and instantly post stuff if need be." Richard MacManus interviews Gabe Rivera Techmeme Turns 5: Interview With Founder Gabe Rivera - ReadWriteWeb

5) Automated Aggregation Without Curation, Is Mostly...

"Hey Robin, but what about all these sites that integrate a fully automated news aggregated feed into their pages just for the sake of SEO and more frequent indexing? It looks as an easy way to produce new fresh content, isn't that cool?" The result of uncurated content, aggregated and filtered for the only purpose of creating new fresh content for a site, blog or brand, or to increase one's own SEO relevance can, in most cases, only be classified as spam. That is why early news curators and aggressive marketers who have jumped on this train with the idea of having found a chicken by the golden eggs, have remained somewhat disappointed with the results. Why? Once again the answer remains the same: while it is easy to systematically aggregate a lot of content on just about any topic, the value of such automatically aggregated content is generally disappointing. There is not enough value in the basic aggregation and filtering. To create a truly valuable news channel, you can rely on all the search, aggregation and filtering technologies of the world, but at the end of the line you need to put an expert, passionate curator to pick the best stories in some meaningful way. And so if you see or hear of a company doing news curation, and all they do is assemble together a bunch of feeds and re-publish them with a cool design, you know there is an abundant margin of improvement available to them. Automatically aggregating and republishing relevant and value-rich content feeds is not per se a despicable activity, but the type of results it produces are generally useful only in a very limited number of situations. Say if you want to bring together all of your different content sharing activities on different sites or social networks, then it makes a lot of sense to simply aggregate and republish a bunch of RSS feeds together. On the other hand, it is also true that on very specific topics like auctions or job offers with specific characteristics, adopting an automatic approach can in many cases work wonders. But this applies only to those situations where all information items have the same basic information structure and value types.

6) News Curation: What a Difference a Human Can Make

If at this point, you are still wondering what is the unique value that a human, news curator, can add to a news stream that has already been created by aggregating and filtering the best content and sources available out there, here is an initial list of what I think are the additional benefits that such a person can bring to the emerging new digital news publishing workflow:

1. Crap detection verifies whether a news story is trusted, and reliable.
2. Topic competence is an expert on the specific topic
3. Synthesis can effectively sythesize, summarize, title
4. Pattern detection sees story patterns, developments, related items
5. Commentary adds commentary, opinion and notes
6. Visual enrichment illustrates, visualizes, supports with visual data
7. Referencing adds links, references, resources
8. Framing frames and contextualizes stories according to the specific interest / audience being served
9. Organization juxtaposes, sorts, groups and finds relationships among different stories
10. Classification adds editorially relevant metadata such as tags
11. Trust building builds trust with audience by using personal voice, style and by being direct
12. Credit attribution gives appropriate credit where due
13. Topic expansion expands topic by uncovering related stories and information
14. Time extension identifies and links relevant past stories
15. Sense-making helps readers see the big picture, through diversity in viewpoints and sources

There are probably many more, as these are the ones I have identified so far. As you can see, there are a lot of things that a human curator can do to significantly extend the value of the basic news aggregation and filtering work done by any software. This does not mean that real-time news curators do not need specialty, dedicated tools to be able to do this. They do, and badly so. And this is one aspect I will dwell on in detail as I will not only provide you with a full panorama of all the tools you may want to use for real-time news curation, but I will also outline what are the specific features and characteristics that the ideal real-time news curation-publishing tool should have.

End of Part 2 - Automatic Aggregation

Coming up next in this Complete Guide to Real-Time News Content Curation: In Part 3 - Types of Curation and Real World Examples In Part 4 - How To Do It In Part 5 - The Real-Time News Curation Tools Universe In Part 6 - The Future

My Own Curated Mini-Channel on Real-Time News Curation

Originally written and "curated" by Robin Good and first published on September 15th, 2010 on MasterNewMedia as "Real-Time News Curation - The Complete Guide Part 2: Aggregation Is Not Curation"

Photo credits: Aggregation is Automated, Curation is Manual - cinoby Automated Aggregation Without Curation, Is Mostly... - marekuliasz News Curation: What a Difference a Human Can Make - Choreograph

Organizers for IndieCade, an annual international festival devoted to independent games, has revealed 32 finalists for its awards, including titles like Limbo and VVVVVV.

Now in its fourth year, the IndieCade festival aims to provide exhibitions, conferences, and curated attractions that "encourage, publicize, and cultivate, innovation and artistry in interactive media", as it strives to "create a public perception of games as rich, diverse, artistic, and culturally significant."

In this year's IndieCade awards. all finalists are eligible to for each of the 12 categories: Jury Award, Aesthetics, Fun/Compelling, Gameplay Innovation, Technical Innovation, World/Story, Vanguard, Sublime Experience, Wildcard, Documentary, Sound, The IndieCade 2010 Honorary Trailblazer Award for Lifetime Achievement.

The 32 announced finalists -- including descriptions, links to developer/game sites, and countries of origin -- follow:

1066 - The Game (Preloaded / Channel 4, United Kingdom): A historical game commissioned by Channel 4 (UK) to accompany its two part documentary series on the War of 1066 and the battle for Middle Earth. A simple, fun strategy game that leverages causal gameplay elements and beautiful design while providing its audience with interesting information and knowledge about the War of 1066. 1066 – The Game was created by Preloaded, the developers behind Super Me and other social change game projects.

A Slow Year (Ian Bogost, USA): A Slow Year is a collection of four game “poems” for the Atari Video Computer System, one for each season, about the experience of observation and awareness. A Slow Year stakes out a deep and interesting design problem, searching for engaging and meaningful interactivity outside the traditional reaches of modern gameplay and typical genre design. Ian Bogot is a professor at Georgia Tech, and co-founder of Persuasive Games, creator of Airport Insecurity and a series of news games for the New York Times. Ian is also co-creator of IndieCade featured Cruel2BKind. A Slow Year was featured in the 2010’s Independent Game Festival (IGF) at the Game Developers Conference.

Auditorium (Cipher Prime, USA): Auditorium is an audio puzzle game where you convert light into sound, creating an explosion of orchestral music. Its addictively simple mechanic consists of manipulating icons to deflect light into a target on each level to generate bursts of music. The game has a flexible design, allowing for a range of solutions to each puzzle. Available for PC and Mac, and now iPhone, Auditorium was created by Philadelphia-based Cipher Prime.

B.U.T.T.O.N. (Brutally Unfair Tactics Totally OK Now) (Copenhagen Game Collective, Denmark): B.U.T.T.O.N. is a four-player, one-button party game played with Xbox controllers on the PC. The game has a WarioWare style mechanic consisting of short mini games in which players must stand back and rush the controllers to press the “right” button, although which button that is not always clear! Created by Copenhagen Game Collective, winner of the Most Fun Game at IndieCade 2008, B.U.T.T.O.N. was a hit at Gamma IV and at IndieCade’s E3 Showcase.

Bit.Trip Runner (Gaijin Games, USA): The fourth Bit.Trip game developed by Gaijin Games for WiiWare, Bit.Trip Runner features music from Anamanaguchi driving an energetic and exciting rhythm action platforming game. The game features awesome Boss Battles inside 50 challenging levels, and provides a visually impressive experience and auditory treat. Bit.Trip Runner provides addictive and fun, while exploring interesting interaction and puzzle spaces inside the realm of synaesthesia.

Blue Lacuna (Aaron Reed, USA): Blue Lacuna is among the largest text-based interactive stories ever produced, a full-length novel and adventure game in one. Blue Lacuna is rich with deep, beautiful writing, and a vast story world with emotional depth and meaningful player choice. Blue Lacuna is a triumph in prose-based interactivity from Aaron Reed, the writer and designer of Whom The Telling Changed, and a PhD candidate at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Cargo Delivery (Cat in the Sky, Brazil): Cargo Delivery is a skill-based puzzle game revolving around the adventures of Rufus. To achieve his goal of having a nice sailboat to call home, Rufus must sail a freighter with loads of cargo. The churning seas, which cause cargo to topple overboard, and numerous obstacles along the way, must be overcome for Rufus to earn enough money to realize his dream. The delightfully quirky graphics combine well with the cartoon physics, and make this an adventure worth taking. Created by Santo Andre, Brazil based Cat in the Sky.

Castle Vox (Sillysoft, Canada): Castle Vox is a new turn-based strategy game from SillySoft, developers of Lux and American History Lux. Castle Vox brings the engaging multiplayer social play and strategy of Diplomacy and Axis and Allies to the digital realm of turn based strategy. A fully realized digital board game, Castle Vox takes advantage of the computer medium to ease and finesse many of the mechanics of classic social strategy board games, and wraps them into a well designed, approachable and entertaining package.

Continuity (Ragtime Games, Sweden): A well-designed and mechanically clever mashup of a simple platformer with classic sliding puzzle gameplay. Continuity has a strong aesthetic design, and simple, refined, and well-balanced gameplay. Top notch attention to design details such as audio allow the simple pleasures of the mechanic to be presented at the forefront of the IGF-winning, addictive and entertaining game developed by Elias Holmlid, Dmitri Kurteanu, Guy Lima Jr., and Stefan Mikaelsson, aka Ragtime Games, a student team at Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg.

Creaky Old Memory (DADIU, Denmark): Creaky Old Memory puts players in the role of Tatiana, an elderly Russian lady who must journey through the nooks and crannies of her self-fabricated house in order to reveal the truth about her own past. The game cleverly blends multiple modes of gameplay as you first must collect different paintings to assemble a picture of Tatiana’s life, and then must search these paintings for hidden clues to unlock the deeper mysteries of the story. Created by a team at the National Academy of Digital Interactive Entertainment in Copenhagen, Creaky Old Memories’ deftly designed aesthetics are well integrated into the story and mood of the game, and help bring genuine meaning to the puzzle-based interactivity.

Every Day The Same Dream (Molleindustria, Italy): Made for the experimental gameplay project themed "Art game", Every Day The Same Dream is an attempt to translate a well known narrative about daily routine and white collar alienation into a playable form. Only by finding subtle deviations from the repetitive, looping levels can the player free the character from a meaningless eternal present. Designed by progressive game design collective Molleindustria, Every Day the Same Dream is a short, intellectually engaging experience that brilliantly captures the feel and tone of modern art film and art games, while cutting these recognizable ideas to their core concepts. This is Molleindustria’s first game to be selected for IndieCade.

Faraway (Steph Thirion, USA): Created by Steph Thirion for the Gamma IV showcase, Faraway is a one-button game where you swing your way through space, finding and connecting star clusters to create the most complex constellations you can. Faraway’s simple but lovely and iconic visual design lets the tightly designed interactions and gameplay take forefront. Steph Thirion is the creator of Eliss, winner of the Auteur Award at IndieCade 2009.

Fatale (Tale of Tales, Belgium): Fatale is an interactive vignette in real-time 3D inspired by the biblical story of Salome and the play about her by Oscar Wilde. Developed by Tale of Tales, the creators of IndieCade 2009 finalist The Path, and 2008 finalist The Graveyard, Fatale is a living tableau that allows you to freely explore many poetic, historical and literary references to the ancient legend, while bringing it relevance to a contemporary audience.

feelforit (Chris DeLeon, USA): feelforit, developed by “Game-A-Day” virtuoso Chris DeLeon, is a small art toy for iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone that exploits the affordances of the device’s accelerometer to create an abstract, spatialized metaphor for how we navigate our lives. By rotating the phone, you manipulate an interactive sculpture whose characteristic properties and rule sets are revealed to you as you play with it. This is the IndieCade debut of Chris DeLeon, a Carnegie-Mellon grad who is currently a master’s student in Georgia Tech’s Digital Media program.

Fractal (Cipher Prime, USA): Go over the top with this new audio puzzle game. Listen as the game reacts to your decisions, taking easy-to-learn, hard-to-master gameplay to new extremes. Fractal is played on a hex grid, and leverages simple, engaging puzzles to generate beautiful procedural audio. Created by Philadelphia-based Cipher Prime, Fractal is a rewarding and compelling auditory experience.

Gentleman of the South Sandwiche Islands (Taylor & Gray, USA): Created by a team of students in USC’s Interactive Media program, the Gentlemen of the South Sandwiche Islands is a lovingly-crafted board game in which gentlemen callers compete for the attentions of Lady Ashley by strategically crossing bridges to get her alone on of a series of small islands. A comedy of manners translated into a board game, the story, the surreal, Victorian art-style and its questionable 200-year history provide a backdrop for a devilish and highly entertaining game of absurd logic. Funded by Jim Taylor through Kickstarter, Gentleman of the South Sandwiche Islands is a great indie design story.

Groping in the Dark (Team Arex, South Korea): Groping in the Dark is a lyrical interactive narrative that tells the story of a kidnapped girl’s decision and attempt to escape her captors. The player progresses through the narrative by manipulating phrases of Korean text to unravel the story. The kinetic typography creates an almost mystical experience, turning letters into images and images into meanings. With its alternative to traditional visual representation in games, Groping in the Dark transforms a game into interactive poetry. Created by Seoul-based Team Arex.

Humans vs. Zombies (Gnarwhal Studios, USA): Humans vs. Zombies is a moderated game of tag where all but one player begin as humans, wearing bandanas on their arms and able to defend themselves with socks from the zombie horde. The horde is generated by the randomly-selected “Original Zombie,” who can tag human players and turn them into zombies, who wear bandanas on their heads. Humans will need to rely on cunning and teamwork to survive the zombie apocalypse and complete challenging missions organized by the game moderators. Created by Gnarwhal Studios, Humans vs. Zombies is a played in neighborhoods, military bases, and over 600 colleges and universities around the world and was featured at this summer’s Come Out and Play. It is part of IndieCade’s Outdoor and Pervasive Games track.

Limbo (Playdead, Denmark): Limbo is a hauntingly beautiful black and white “horror” platform puzzler, released to widespread acclaim this summer on the Xbox Live Arcade. The game is set among the rooftops of a mesmerizing macabre world that draws you into its dark narrative. The narrative, the story of a young boy trying to find his lost sister, is reinforced by a tightly designed film noir style that also expands the interesting, well implemented 2D platforming puzzle challenges. Created by Denmark’s Playdead, Limbo is a stunning example of the quality and experience that can be created out of careful attention to detail and delicate integration of the many different elements that make up a game.

Miegakure (Marc ten Bosch, USA): Miegakure is a platform game where you solve puzzles by exploring the fourth dimension. An inventive approach to spatial puzzle design and problem solving from Marc ten Bosch, Miegakure creates engaging and maddening puzzles from the mathematics and theory of a fourth spatial dimension. Miegakure was featured at the IGF, and at IndieCade’s E3 showcase, and is a stunning technical and design achievement, which educates and explores fourth dimension mathematical theory without requiring a PhD in math or physics.

Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess! (Mediatonic, United Kingdom): Monsters (Probably) Stole my Princess! is a vertical platformer which you take control of the super sexy aristocratic demon known only as "The Duke" in a fantastical world where chasing down giant yet adorable monsters is the business at hand. The game borrows from classic platformer mechanics, embellished with frantic gameplay, novel power-ups, strategic moves, and delightful macabre-cartoon aesthetic. Created by the UK’s Mediatonic as a PSP and PS3 Mini, the game is also now available on Xbox Live.

Recurse (Matt Parker, USA): An installation commissioned by the NYU Game Center for its “No Quarter” art game exhibition, Recurse has a simple, embodied mechanic: a video camera transforms the player’s body into a giant cursor. Crystals grow where the body intersects with objects on the screen. Players must grow Crystals in green zones while avoiding growing them in red zones. The zones shift intermittently to create new challenges. A digital game about movement in physical space, the Recurse’s distorted “funhouse mirror” encourages players to forget themselves as they twist and stretch their bodies in order to get a high score and effect the game’s abstract world. Created by New York-based artist/developer Matt Parker.

Retro/Grade (24 Caret Games, USA): Retro/Grade is an innovative PS3 game that fuses the white-knuckle thrills and over the top visuals of a shooter with the broad appeal of a rhythm game. The developers at 24 Caret Games have deeply explored their central idea of a time-reversed space battle through tight game mechanics and polished UI and user feedback. Retro/Grade is visually engaging, attractive, and leverages its aesthetic and auditory beauty to craft an addictive and entertaining user experience.

Sixteen Tons (Nathalie Pozzi and Eric Zimmerman, USA): Sixteen Tons, inspired by a folk song about a mining company town, is a gallery installation in which four players move heavy sections of steel pipe on a colorful grid. This simple gameplay is complicated by the social interaction of a mechanic in which players bid to hire other players (using real cash) to move their pieces, enacting the game’s central themes of debt bondage and forced labor. Created by architect Nathalie Pozzi and independent game designer Eric Zimmerman, Sixteen Tons was originally commissioned by the Art History of Games conference in Atlanta (February 2010). Its presentation at IndieCade is sponsored by the NYU Game Center.

Socks, Inc. (Jim Babb/Data Played, USA): Socks, Inc. is a family-oriented alternate reality that combines web 2.0 co-creation and adventure within an imaginary world entirely populated with sock puppets. Dubbed by its creator “World of Sockcraft,” players socialize within an imaginary Willy-Wonka-style factory, role-playing the story of their sock puppet. A player completes missions by creating storytelling content with their puppet and distributing it via video and still images. As a part of IndieCade, Socks, Inc. will host a sock puppet creation workshop, where participants can create an avatar, an account, and play through the first missions. Socks, Inc., created by New School Master’s Student Jim Babb/Data Played, debuted at ARGfest 2010 in Atlanta, and is part of IndieCade’s Outdoor and Pervasive Games track.

Solace (One Man Down, USA): Solace is an interactive aesthetic experience utilizing dynamic audio and “bullet hell” overtones to provide a unique perspective on the five stages of grief. One Man Down, a design team from Digipen Institute of Technology, has produced impressive visuals and audio to build a fully realized mood space for the game. Solace does not settle on traditional gameplay inside this environment, but explores “bullet hell” mechanics to reinforce the mood and message of the game.

Spirits (Spaces of Play, Germany): Spirits is an action-puzzle game for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad with a Lemmings-style mechanic in which players manipulate the wind to guide name-giving Spirits towards each level of the game world. The wind, which is both helpful and uncontrollable, can serve as the player’s friend and enemy at the same time. The game’s unique atmosphere is created by a combination of beautifully hand-drawn graphics and a music track comprised completely of orchestral musical instruments. Created by Berlin-based Spaces of Play.

Tic-Tac-Totum (Jesse Fuchs, USA): Tic-Tac-Totem is an “open source” tabletop game that uses the traditional game elements of dice and poker chips in clever and novel ways. The game rules, which consist of mini-games that determine the outcome of a Tic-Tac-Toe game, are presented and constantly modified via wiki. This is the IndieCade debut of developer Jesse Fuchs.

The Cat And The Coup (Peter Brinson, USA): The Cat and the Coup is a documentary game in which you play the cat of Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh, the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran. You observe and coax Mossadegh through the events of the coup as the cat, knocking over objects on the Prime Minister’s desk and scratching him. With its striking visual style and engaging mechanic, The Cat and The Coup brings a completely original novel ach to documentary gameplay. Developer Peter Brinson is the creator of IndieCade exhibited Meanwhile and a member of the team that created Waco Resurrection.

The Games of Nonchalance (Nonchalance, USA): An epic, immersive, poly-media, real-world adventure. Four episodes of interactive content lead participants on a journey through the fabric of San Francisco and discover the threads of a narrative woven into the city's past and present. Currently running in San Francisco, The Games of Nonchalance received the "Best of the Bay" SFBG 2009 award. Nonchalance’s Scoop!, a live pirate radio news game, was featured at Come Out and Play 2010. This is their debut game as part of IndieCade’s Outdoor and Pervasive Games track.

Trauma (Krystian Majewski, Germany): Trauma takes you into the subconscious of a young woman who survives a car accident as you explore her dreams and memories. The game has a compelling aesthetic and interaction design that involves navigating 3D photographs using a novel, gesture-based interface, drawing you intuitively into its narrative dreamspace. Trauma is a quintessential next-generation adventure game, an emerging genre among indie developers. Created by Polish-born, Cologne-based design student Krystian Majewski.

VVVVVV (Terry Cavanagh, Ireland): In VVVVVV, you play as the fearless leader of a team of dimension-exploring scientists who are separated after inadvertently crashing their ship. A high energy, cleverly designed platforming experience from Terry Cavanaugh, creator of Don’t Look Back and Self Destruct, VVVVVV deeply explores its central gravity-reversing mechanic through smart, interesting puzzles and a strong world and environment, supported by simple but compelling visual design and awesome music.

This year's festival will take place at Culver City, California from October 8 to 10. The first night of IndieCade will offer a "Red Carpet Awards Show" hosted by actor Levar Burton, where the winners of the twelve categories will be announced.

All 32 games, which were picked from over 350 submissions by 160 international jurors, will be available for the public to play at various locations during the festival.

"Indie developers continue to expand their range and depth, from offering casual games featuring sock puppets to fresh experiences where you voyage through the stars as a comet," says IndieCade's Stephanie Barish.

Barish adds, "The spirit of independent game creation burns brightly this year, and we are thrilled to be able to bring these games to professionals interested in cutting-edge digital media, game developers, artists, publishers, and enthusiasts of all ages."

The International Festival of Independent Games, better known as IndieCade, has announced the finalists for its upcoming festival taking place October 8–10 in Culver City, California. Thirty-two titles were selected from over 350 submission, and will be showcased throughout the three-day event with an awards ceremony scheduled for October 8 to be hosted by sci-fi staple LeVar Burton.

Award categories include: Jury Award, Aesthetics, Fun/Compelling, Gameplay Innovation, Technical Innovation, World/Story , Vanguard, Sublime Experience, Wildcard, Documentary, Sound and the IndieCade 2010 Honorary Trailblazer Award for Lifetime Achievement.

The 32 games selected as finalists are as follows:

1066 - The game (Preloaded / Channel 4, United Kingdom): A historical game commissioned by Channel 4 (UK) to accompany its two part documentary series on the War of 1066 and the battle for Middle Earth. A simple, fun strategy game that leverages causal gameplay elements and beautiful design while providing its audience with interesting information and knowledge about the War of 1066. 1066 – The game was created by Preloaded, the developers behind Super Me and other social change game projects.

A Slow Year (Ian Bogost, USA): A Slow Year is a collection of four game “poems” for the Atari Video Computer System, one for each season, about the experience of observation and awareness. A Slow Year stakes out a deep and interesting design problem, searching for engaging and meaningful interactivity outside the traditional reaches of modern gameplay and typical genre design. Ian Bogot is a professor at Georgia Tech, and co-founder of Persuasive Games, creator of Airport Insecurity and a series of news games for the New York Times. Ian is also co-creator of IndieCade featured Cruel2BKind. A Slow Year was featured in the 2010’s Independent Game Festival (IGF) at the Game Developers Conference.

Auditorium (Cipher Prime, USA): Auditorium is an audio puzzle game where you convert light into sound, creating an explosion of orchestral music. Its addictively simple mechanic consists of manipulating icons to deflect light into a target on each level to generate bursts of music. The game has a flexible design, allowing for a range of solutions to each puzzle. Available for PC and Mac, and now iPhone, Auditorium was created by Philadelphia-based Cipher Prime. 

B.U.T.T.O.N. (Brutally Unfair Tactics Totally OK Now) (Copenhagen Game Collective, Denmark): B.U.T.T.O.N. is a four-player, one-button party game played with Xbox controllers on the PC. The game has a WarioWare style mechanic consisting of short mini games in which players must stand back and rush the controllers to press the “right” button, although which button that is not always clear! Created by Copenhagen Game Collective, winner of the Most Fun Game at IndieCade 2008, B.U.T.T.O.N. was a hit at Gamma IV and at IndieCade’s E3 Showcase.

BIT.TRIP RUNNER (Gaijin Games, USA): The fourth BIT.TRIP game developed by Gaijin Games for WiiWare, BIT.TRIP RUNNER features music from Anamanaguchi driving an energetic and exciting rhythm action platforming game. The game features awesome Boss Battles inside 50 challenging levels, and provides a visually impressive experience and auditory treat. BIT.TRIP RUNNER provides addictive and fun, while exploring interesting interaction and puzzle spaces inside the realm of synaesthesia.

Blue Lacuna (Aaron Reed, USA): Blue Lacuna is among the largest text-based interactive stories ever produced, a full-length novel and adventure game in one. Blue Lacuna is rich with deep, beautiful writing, and a vast story world with emotional depth and meaningful player choice. Blue Lacuna is a triumph in prose-based interactivity from Aaron Reed, the writer and designer of Whom The Telling Changed, and a PhD candidate at the University of California, Santa Cruz. 

Cargo Delivery (Cat in the Sky, Brazil): Cargo Delivery is a skill-based puzzle game revolving around the adventures of Rufus. To achieve his goal of having a nice sailboat to call home, Rufus must sail a freighter with loads of cargo. The churning seas, which cause cargo to topple overboard, and numerous obstacles along the way, must be overcome for Rufus to earn enough money to realize his dream. The delightfully quirky graphics combine well with the cartoon physics, and make this an adventure worth taking. Created by Santo Andre, Brazil based Cat in the Sky. 

Castle Vox (Sillysoft, Canada): Castle Vox is a new turn-based strategy game from SillySoft, developers of Lux and American History Lux. Castle Vox brings the engaging multiplayer social play and strategy of Diplomacy and Axis and Allies to the digital realm of turn based strategy. A fully realized digital board game, Castle Vox takes advantage of the computer medium to ease and finesse many of the mechanics of classic social strategy board games, and wraps them into a well designed, approachable and entertaining package.

Continuity (Ragtime Games, Sweden): A well-designed and mechanically clever mashup of a simple platformer with classic sliding puzzle gameplay. Continuity has a strong aesthetic design, and simple, refined, and well-balanced gameplay. Top notch attention to design details such as audio allow the simple pleasures of the mechanic to be presented at the forefront of the IGF-winning, addictive and entertaining game developed by Elias Holmlid, Dmitri Kurteanu, Guy Lima Jr., and Stefan Mikaelsson, aka Ragtime Games, a student team at Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg.

Creaky Old Memory (DADIU, Denmark): Creaky Old Memory puts players in the role of Tatiana, an elderly Russian lady who must journey through the nooks and crannies of her self-fabricated house in order to reveal the truth about her own past. The game cleverly blends multiple modes of gameplay as you first must collect different paintings to assemble a picture of Tatiana’s life, and then must search these paintings for hidden clues to unlock the deeper mysteries of the story. Created by a team at the National Academy of Digital Interactive Entertainment in Copenhagen, Creaky Old Memories’ deftly designed aesthetics are well integrated into the story and mood of the game, and help bring genuine meaning to the puzzle-based interactivity.

Every Day The Same Dream (Molleindustria, Italy): Made for the experimental gameplay project themed "Art game", Every Day The Same Dream is an attempt to translate a well known narrative about daily routine and white collar alienation into a playable form. Only by finding subtle deviations from the repetitive, looping levels can the player free the character from a meaningless eternal present. Designed by progressive game design collective Molleindustria, Every Day the Same Dream is a short, intellectually engaging experience that brilliantly captures the feel and tone of modern art film and art games, while cutting these recognizable ideas to their core concepts. This is Molleindustria’s first game to be selected for IndieCade.

Faraway (Steph Thirion, USA): Created by Steph Thirion for the Gamma IV showcase, Faraway is a one-button game where you swing your way through space, finding and connecting star clusters to create the most complex constellations you can. Faraway’s simple but lovely and iconic visual design lets the tightly designed interactions and gameplay take forefront. Steph Thirion is the creator of Eliss, winner of the Auteur Award at IndieCade 2009.

" target="_blank">FATALE (Tale of Tales, Belgium): FATALE is an interactive vignette in real-time 3D inspired by the biblical story of Salomé and the play about her by Oscar Wilde. Developed by Tale of Tales, the creators of IndieCade 2009 finalist The Path, and 2008 finalist The Graveyard, FATALE is a living tableau that allows you to freely explore many poetic, historical and literary references to the ancient legend, while bringing it relevance to a contemporary audience.

feelforit (Chris DeLeon, USA): feelforit, developed by “Game-A-Day” virtuoso Chris DeLeon, is a small art toy for iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone that exploits the affordances of the device’s accelerometer to create an abstract, spatialized metaphor for how we navigate our lives. By rotating the phone, you manipulate an interactive sculpture whose characteristic properties and rule sets are revealed to you as you play with it. This is the IndieCade debut of Chris DeLeon, a Carnegie-Mellon grad who is currently a master’s student in Georgia Tech’s Digital Media program.

Fractal (Cipher Prime, USA): Go over the top with this new audio puzzle game. Listen as the game reacts to your decisions, taking easy-to-learn, hard-to-master gameplay to new extremes. Fractal is played on a hex grid, and leverages simple, engaging puzzles to generate beautiful procedural audio. Created by Philadelphia-based Cipher Prime, Fractal is a rewarding and compelling auditory experience.

Gentleman of the South Sandwiche Islands (Taylor & Gray, USA): Created by a team of students in USC’s Interactive Media program, the Gentlemen of the South Sandwiche Islands is a lovingly-crafted board game in which gentlemen callers compete for the attentions of Lady Ashley by strategically crossing bridges to get her alone on of a series of small islands. A comedy of manners translated into a board game, the story, the surreal, Victorian art-style and its questionable 200-year history provide a backdrop for a devilish and highly entertaining game of absurd logic. Funded by Jim Taylor through Kickstarter, Gentleman of the South Sandwiche Islands is a great indie design story.

Groping in the Dark (Team Arex, South Korea): Groping in the Dark is a lyrical interactive narrative that tells the story of a kidnapped girl’s decision and attempt to escape her captors. The player progresses through the narrative by manipulating phrases of Korean text to unravel the story. The kinetic typography creates an almost mystical experience, turning letters into images and images into meanings. With its alternative to traditional visual representation in games, Groping in the Dark transforms a game into interactive poetry. Created by Seoul-based Team Arex.

Humans vs. Zombies (Gnarwhal Studios, USA): Humans vs. Zombies is a moderated game of tag where all but one player begin as humans, wearing bandanas on their arms and able to defend themselves with socks from the zombie horde. The horde is generated by the randomly-selected “Original Zombie,” who can tag human players and turn them into zombies, who wear bandanas on their heads. Humans will need to rely on cunning and teamwork to survive the zombie apocalypse and complete challenging missions organized by the game moderators. Created by Gnarwhal Studios, Humans vs. Zombies is a played in neighborhoods, military bases, and over 600 colleges and universities around the world and was featured at this summer’s Come Out and Play. It is part of IndieCade’s Outdoor and Pervasive Games track.

LIMBO (Playdead, Denmark): Limbo is a hauntingly beautiful black and white “horror” platform puzzler, released to widespread acclaim this summer on the Xbox Live Arcade. The game is set among the rooftops of a mesmerizing macabre world that draws you into its dark narrative. The narrative, the story of a young boy trying to find his lost sister, is reinforced by a tightly designed film noir style that also expands the interesting, well implemented 2D platforming puzzle challenges. Created by Denmark’s Playdead, Limbo is a stunning example of the quality and experience that can be created out of careful attention to detail and delicate integration of the many different elements that make up a game.

Miegakure (Marc ten Bosch, USA): Miegakure is a platform game where you solve puzzles by exploring the fourth dimension. An inventive approach to spatial puzzle design and problem solving from Marc ten Bosch, Miegakure creates engaging and maddening puzzles from the mathematics and theory of a fourth spatial dimension. Miegakure was featured at the IGF, and at IndieCade’s E3 showcase, and is a stunning technical and design achievement, which educates and explores fourth dimension mathematical theory without requiring a PhD in math or physics.

Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess! (Mediatonic, United Kingdom): Monsters (Probably) Stole my Princess! is a vertical platformer which you take control of the super sexy aristocratic demon known only as "The Duke" in a fantastical world where chasing down giant yet adorable monsters is the business at hand. The game borrows from classic platformer mechanics, embellished with frantic gameplay, novel power-ups, strategic moves, and delightful macabre-cartoon aesthetic. Created by the UK’s Mediatonic as a PSP and PS3 Mini, the game is also now available on Xbox Live.

Recurse (Matt Parker, USA): An installation commissioned by the NYU Game Center for its “No Quarter” art game exhibition, Recurse has a simple, embodied mechanic: a video camera transforms the player’s body into a giant cursor. Crystals grow where the body intersects with objects on the screen. Players must grow Crystals in green zones while avoiding growing them in red zones. The zones shift intermittently to create new challenges. A digital game about movement in physical space, the Recurse’s distorted “funhouse mirror” encourages players to forget themselves as they twist and stretch their bodies in order to get a high score and effect the game’s abstract world. Created by New York-based artist/developer Matt Parker.

Retro/Grade (24 Caret Games, USA): Retro/Grade is an innovative PS3 game that fuses the white-knuckle thrills and over the top visuals of a shooter with the broad appeal of a rhythm game. The developers at 24 Caret Games have deeply explored their central idea of a time-reversed space battle through tight game mechanics and polished UI and user feedback. Retro/Grade is visually engaging, attractive, and leverages its aesthetic and auditory beauty to craft an addictive and entertaining user experience.

Sixteen Tons (Nathalie Pozzi and Eric Zimmerman, USA): Sixteen Tons, inspired by a folk song about a mining company town, is a gallery installation in which four players move heavy sections of steel pipe on a colorful grid. This simple gameplay is complicated by the social interaction of a mechanic in which players bid to hire other players (using real cash) to move their pieces, enacting the game’s central themes of debt bondage and forced labor. Created by architect Nathalie Pozzi and independent game designer Eric Zimmerman, Sixteen Tons was originally commissioned by the Art History of Games conference in Atlanta (February 2010). Its presentation at IndieCade is sponsored by the NYU Game Center.

Socks, Inc. (Jim Babb/Data Played, USA): Socks, Inc. is a family-oriented alternate reality that combines web 2.0 co-creation and adventure within an imaginary world entirely populated with sock puppets. Dubbed by its creator “World of Sockcraft,” players socialize within an imaginary Willy-Wonka-style factory, role-playing the story of their sock puppet. A player completes missions by creating storytelling content with their puppet and distributing it via video and still images. As a part of IndieCade, Socks, Inc. will host a sock puppet creation workshop, where participants can create an avatar, an account, and play through the first missions. Socks, Inc., created by New School Master’s Student Jim Babb/Data Played, debuted at ARGfest 2010 in Atlanta, and is part of IndieCade’s Outdoor and Pervasive Games track.

Solace (One Man Down, USA): Solace is an interactive aesthetic experience utilizing dynamic audio and “bullet hell” overtones to provide a unique perspective on the five stages of grief. One Man Down, a design team from Digipen Institute of Technology, has produced impressive visuals and audio to build a fully realized mood space for the game. Solace does not settle on traditional gameplay inside this environment, but explores “bullet hell” mechanics to reinforce the mood and message of the game.

Spirits (Spaces of Play, Germany): Spirits is an action-puzzle game for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad with a Lemmings-style mechanic in which players manipulate the wind to guide name-giving Spirits towards each level of the game world. The wind, which is both helpful and uncontrollable, can serve as the player’s friend and enemy at the same time. The game’s unique atmosphere is created by a combination of beautifully hand-drawn graphics and a music track comprised completely of orchestral musical instruments. Created by Berlin-based Spaces of Play.

Tic-Tac-Totum (Jesse Fuchs, USA): Tic-Tac-Totem is an “open source” tabletop game that uses the traditional game elements of dice and poker chips in clever and novel ways. The game rules, which consist of mini-games that determine the outcome of a Tic-Tac-Toe game, are presented and constantly modified via wiki. This is the IndieCade debut of developer Jesse Fuchs.

The Cat And The Coup (Peter Brinson, USA): The Cat and the Coup is a documentary game in which you play the cat of Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh, the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran. You observe and coax Mossadegh through the events of the coup as the cat, knocking over objects on the Prime Minister’s desk and scratching him. With its striking visual style and engaging mechanic, The Cat and The Coup brings a completely original novel ach to documentary gameplay. Developer Peter Brinson is the creator of IndieCade exhibited Meanwhile and a member of the team that created Waco Resurrection.

The Games of Nonchalance (Nonchalance, USA): An epic, immersive, poly-media, real-world adventure. Four episodes of interactive content lead participants on a journey through the fabric of San Francisco and discover the threads of a narrative woven into the city's past and present. Currently running in San Francisco, The Games of Nonchalance received the "Best of the Bay" SFBG 2009 award. Nonchalance’s Scoop!, a live pirate radio news game, was featured at Come Out and Play 2010. This is their debut game as part of IndieCade’s Outdoor and Pervasive Games track.

TRAUMA (Krystian Majewski, Germany): TRAUMA takes you into the subconscious of a young woman who survives a car accident as you explore her dreams and memories. The game has a compelling aesthetic and interaction design that involves navigating 3D photographs using a novel, gesture-based interface, drawing you intuitively into its narrative dreamspace. TRAUMA is a quintessential next-generation adventure game, an emerging genre among indie developers. Created by Polish-born, Cologne-based design student Krystian Majewski.

VVVVVV (Terry Cavanagh, Ireland): In VVVVVV, you play as the fearless leader of a team of dimension-exploring scientists who are separated after inadvertently crashing their ship. A high energy, cleverly designed platforming experience from Terry Cavanaugh, creator of Don’t Look Back and Self Destruct, VVVVVV deeply explores its central gravity-reversing mechanic through smart, interesting puzzles and a strong world and environment, supported by simple but compelling visual design and awesome music.

When the entire market focuses on one niche, and you choose another, you’re either a bold innovator, or a failure. Henry Ford’s quote about building cars for people wanting “faster horses” comes to mind. Last week I stopped by the “BlogHer” conference in New York, a highly popular national event which was full of energy, women bloggers and large consumer brands trying to reach those women. Many of the attendees are often characterized (rightly or wrongly) as “Mom bloggers.” But in the crowd I ran into a woman I’ve met in NYC several times, and who zigs where others have zagged. Instead of tapping into the power of the mom market, she’s discovered her own niche – “PANKS” or “Professional Aunt No KidS.”

Former print beauty editor and marketing communications executive Melanie Notkin is an aunt herself, and was frustrated by the lack of information sources for women who cared about kids, but weren’t their primary caregivers. She started Savvy Auntie in 2008 and has created her own establishment - with a pretty large demographic to back her up.

Howard Greenstein: How did you identify the need for your company?

Melanie Notkin: Savvy Auntie is a multi-platform lifestyle company for the nearly 50% of American women who are not moms but love a child in their life. At first, the desire to create this company came from my own experience realizing that my nephew and nieces were the most important and happiest aspects of my life and yet I had no resources designed for me. And anything out there was cheesy or old and “auntique-y.” Even as a pretty savvy New York City beauty executive, I felt pretty unsavvy about the important things I need to know about the lives of these children, from changing diapers to who the heck Dora the Explorer was.

As a marketer, I saw the potential of the market when I simply looked at US fertility data. 45.1 percent of American women through age 44 do not have children (there’s no data on women 45 plus). 14 percent of those who are mothers have their first child age 35 or over. So there’s a pretty long lifespan for women as aunts without kids of their own even for women who eventually become moms. And that trending is growing and growing, year after year. Plus these women have discretionary income and time relative to moms. So marketers jump at the chance to connect with them. Until Savvy Auntie there was no way to reach them directly. I dubbed this powerful segment: PANKs™.

HG: Did you test the market before starting? How?

MN: A couple of weeks after I decided to start this company, I gathered a number of women in my apartment to learn attitudes about aunthood. A week or two later, I discovered Twitter and began asking women all over America for their thoughts as @SavvyAuntie. Wow – talk about being able to test in Peoria for no cost! While I was able to plug some of that feedback into the development of the brand, I took my 15 plus years of marketing expertise at the time and jumped in. It’s tough to test a market before it self-identifies. I needed to showcase that PANKs were nearly 50% of American women before this segment realized how much they contribute to the American Family Village and the economy.

HG: How did you get your initial funding ?

MN: I am completely self-funded and was profitable in my first full year (2008). My late mother left me some inheritance when she passed away 20 years prior. Back then, even as a teenager, I had the foresight to wait for my dream to leverage it. Investing my life savings in me would have made my mother proud.

HG: What’s been the biggest challenge in starting up a company?

MN: Starting a company. I remember the day I woke up an ‘auntrepreneur.’ It was June 12, 2007. That morning I went to a seminar on business plans. Then I invested in business cards. While I didn’t yet have a name for my company, I felt it was important to invest in identifying my intention. Then I joined other classes and groups. I did everything I could within reason to begin the investment in this dream so I would not back out. I never looked back.

HG: How did you find a lawyer, accountant, developer and others to help you create the company?

MN: I networked with people I trusted for referrals. My developer, for example, was a recommendation from a former colleague.

HG: What tells you your company is on the right path?

MN: I learned I was on the right path rather quickly. Twenty three minutes after I launched SavvyAuntie.com I received an email from the digital media buying agency for PlaySkool. Two hours after I launched, I received and email from Sephora. The next day, Disney’s agency sent me an email. And so on. Two years later, the company and its audience to continue to grow.

HG: What’s your growth plan?

MN: In the two years since launching SavvyAuntie.com, I’ve also introduced Auntie’s Day™ and The Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards. I’ve appeared on national television and have a book coming out on March 22, 2011 with William Morrow/HarperCollins called: The Savvy Auntie Guide to Life – The Ultimate Source for Cool Aunts, Great Aunts, Godmothers and All Women Who Love Kids. Next up is more TV, products and who knows, maybe a movie. There’s no stopping this brand or the sixty million women it potentially serves.

HG: What keeps you up at night?

MN: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon or a good book. Thankfully, by living my life to my potential, I go to bed every night knowing I’m doing the best I can.

New York City - BlogHer - United States - Henry Ford - Family

Can Facebook solve the problems of long term care for the elderly?

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Andrew Lansley's plans for a radical NHS revamp could face delay after they were rejected by a coalition committee, according to the Financial Times

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A private school in south London has threatened to report a family to social services because their young children ride bikes to school alone, reports the Daily Mail

Social media and care of older people

The belief in the benign power of digital technology to solve the central and accelerating problem afflicting all public services (soaring demand and costs, dramatically shrinking resources) is pretty much an article of faith in fashionable policy circles. Social media has transformed the way we work, shop, travel, communicate; therefore it must revolutionise the economy of care and welfare.

So it was interesting to witness the modesty of the claims for social media at a Patient Opinion/Nesta conference held last week to discuss how it might change and improve the care of elderly people. For a subject that can generate gush in Google-sized proportions the general tone was, perhaps unexpectedly, pretty hype-free: yes the internet enables the creation of important and useful applications to the business of care; no it cannot on its own arrest the momentum of – let alone "solve" - the growing demographic crisis.

Not that the ideas and innovations showcased at the conference were not ingenious or inspiring - read about Sidekick Studio's Buddy, for example, on Geraldine Bedell's Agebomb blog here, or the online Tyze "networks of belonging" developed in Canada here. It was more a tacit acknowledgement that social care isn't just shopping: an iPhone app isn't going to be written anytime soon that will lift, feed and bathe a person, cut their toenails or drop them at the day centre.

The conference was reminded constantly - by David Sinclair of ILCUK for example - of the the daunting scale of the demographic timebomb: tens of millions of people of living longer, with more complex care needs (such as dementia), requiring more care hours; fewer people to pay for and deliver their care. A current cohort of older people resistant to the internet or excluded from it. A financially struggling care industry hampered by skills and staffing shortages and reluctant to embrace technology (like Telecare). A £1.8bn shortfall in the state social care budget.

This, in case we were in danger of forgetting, feels like a profound industrial and economic problem, not simply a shortage of connectivity. Dominic Campbell of FutureGov pointed out that social media innovation can't manage the "heavy lifting", in public services, literally and metaphorically. Adil Abrar of Sidekick Studios spoke with panache about the potential of digital, but he was emphatic we should not overstate its transformatory claims in the area of elderly care. Kate Ebbutt of Patient Opinion warned us not to get "hung up" about technology and to remember the "humanity behind the technology."

So where can social media make a difference? Essentially, where it makes a difference in any other walk of life. As Paul Hodgkin of Patient Opinion explained, it has the potential to enrich the quality of people's relationships with carers, friends and family. It can improve the efficiency and responsiveness of aspects of their care. And it can help marshal networks of care and support around previously isolated or lonely individuals.

Technology doesn't replace the basics of care, any more than "big society" can easily replace essential public services. But for many it can refine, improve and customise the care they receive, and in some small but important ways make the experience of being cared for more fulfilling or less traumatic. It can connect untapped reserves of humanity to sometimes distant, impersonal services. That sounds like a start.

On my radar...

• Harvard research that suggests acts of moral goodness - such as charitable activity - make your stronger and more resilient (but caution: so do acts of great nefariousness). Thanks to Tris Lumley for the tip...

"Participants were given $1, and were told either to keep it or to donate it to charity. They were then asked to hold up a 5-lb. weight for as long as they could. Those who donated to charity could hold the weight up for almost 10 seconds longer, on average."

•Flip chart Rick on why public sector bosses' pay will keep rising...

• Lord Nat Wei signs off from the Big Society Network...

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This week’s downloadable PlayStation 3 game is GundeadliGne for $5.99. This 2D Anime-style Scrolling Shooter is the second game in the Gundemonium series, the game allows players to play as one of two characters who must prevent demons from destroying mankind. The game supports two-player cooperative play and up to 6 unlockable characters with their unique abilities that can help you battle the demons and save humanity. Check out GundeadliGne:

This week’s PlayStation Portable Download is Tehra Dark Warrior for $4.99 and can also be played on the PS3. Tehra Dark Warrior is an RPG where players take on the roll of a female hybrid human/demon named Tehra created to maintain peace between the humans living in the land of Sistar and a mythical race of demons called Uka’h. Players can explore Tehra’s 3D environment to battle Orcs, Zombies, Trolls and other creatures to gain more skill and deadlier attacks by fighting in either human or demon form. Check out Tehra Dark Warrior:

Price Updates

*Unless specified all prices are temporary and can return to its full original price at any time.

• Aero Racer (PSP/Original Price $4.99/Permanent Price Now $2.99)
• Tank Battles (PSP/Original Price $6.99/Permanent Price Now $4.99)
• The Red Star (PSP/Original Price $14.99/Now $7.99)
• Justice League Heroes (PSP/Original Price $14.99/Permanent Price Now $9.99)
• Hot Brain (PSP/Original Price $14.99/Permanent Price Now $9.99)
• Scrabble (PSP/Original Price $19.99/Permanent Price Now $9.99)
• GI Joe: Rise Of Cobra (PSP/Original Price $39.99/Permanent Price Now $9.99)

Here’s what else is new

Downloadable Games

• History Ice Road Truckers (PSP/$2.99)
• Express Raider (PSP/$3.99)
• Pallurikio (PSP/$3.99)
• Beam Em Up (PSP/$4.49)
• Yetisports (PSP/$4.99)
• Mahjongg Artificats (PS3/PSP/$4.99)
• Gold Fever (PS3/PSP/$4.99)
• Rocks N’ Rockets (PSP/$4.99)
• Hitogata Happa (PS3/$5.99)
• Gundemonium Recollection (PS3/$5.99)
• Red Bull X-Fighters (PS3/PSP/$6.99)
• Catan (PS3/$6.99)
• PSOne Classic: Final Fantasy IX (PS3/$9.99)
• Gundemonium Collection (PS3/$14.99)*
• Tales Of Monkey Island – Full Season Bundle (PS3/$19.99)
• *Gundemonium Bundle Includes: Gundemonium Recollection, GundeadliGne and Hitogata Happa.

Game Demos

• Worms: Battle Islands Demo (PSP/Free)
• Backbreaker Demo (PS3/Free)
• Tales Of Monkey Island: Chapter 1 Trial (PS3/Free)
• MLB 10: The Show 3D Demo (PS3/Free)*
• NCAA Football 11 Demo (PS3/Free)
• Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip E3 Demo (PS3/Free)
• MotorStorm Pacific Rift 3D Demo (PS3/Free)*
• *3D demos along with games can now be found in a new 3D category of the store for those who own 3D capable BRAVIA HDTVs. Non-3D versions of games are available in the standard games categories. 3D version of games currently available include WipEout HD, Super Stardust HD and PAIN.

Avatars

• Super Street Fighter IV Cody Avatar (PS3/49 Cents)
• Super Street Fighter IV Akuma Avatar (PS3/49 Cents)
• Echochrome Jumping - Dark Avatar (PS3/49 Cents)
• Echochrome Jumping - Light Avatar (PS3/49 Cents)
• Echochrome Thinking Close Up Avatar (PS3/49 Cents)
• Echochrome Thinking Avatar (PS3/49 Cents)
• Echochrome Avatar Bundle (PS3/$1.25)*
• *Includes Jumping - Dark, Jumping - Light, Thinking and Thinking Close Up Avatars.

Bonus Content

• LittleBigPlanet PSP – MotorStorm Hessian Stitch Costume (PSP/Free)
• Toy Story 3: Aliens (PSP/99 Cents)
• Toy Story 3: Lost In Ghost Town (PSP/99 Cents)
• Toy Story 3: The Blazing Inferno (PSP/99 Cents)
• Toy Story 3: Zurgbots Factory (PSP/99 Cents)
• Toy Story 3: Bundle Of Fun 4-Pack (PSP/$2.99)*
• LittleBigPlanet PSP – MotorStorm Stitch Pack (PSP/$2.99)*
• BUZZ! Quiz World: The ‘00 Quiz (PSP/$2.99)
• Record Of Agarest War: Item Pack 19: Almighty Kit (PS3/$2.99)
• Record Of Agarest War: Item Pack 20: Neverland Kit (PS3/$2.99)
• Super Street Fighter IV: Super Brawler Costume Pack (PS3/$3.99)
• BUZZ! – Celebrities Quiz Pack (PS3/$5.99)
• Battefield Bad Company 2 Shortcut Kit – Recon (PS3/$6.99)
• Battefield Bad Company 2 Shortcut Kit – Medic (PS3/$6.99)
• Battefield Bad Company 2 Shortcut Kit – Assault (PS3/$6.99)
• Record Of Agarest War: Points Pack 6: Additional PP (PS3/$9.99)
• Tiger Wood PGA Tour 11: Emerald Dragon (PS3/$9.99)
• Battlefield Bad Company 2 Shortcut Kit (PS3/$19.99)*
• *The Toy Story 3 Bundle includes all four missions listed. The LittleBigPlanet PSP Pack includes 4 costumes and 12 stickers.This bundle may require manual installation and users must own a copy of LittleBigPlanet PSP to use. Battlefield Bad Company 2 Shortcut Kit includes Recon, Medic, Engineer and Assault Kits.

Guitar Hero

• Alice Cooper Track Pack (PS3/$5.49)*
• Individual Tracks Include:
• “I’m Eighteen” by Alice Cooper (PS3/$1.99)
• “School’s Out” by Alice Cooper (PS3/$1.99)
• “Welcome To My Nightmare” by Alice Cooper (PS3/$1.99)
• *The songs listed may be part of other Track Packs, review your current collection before purchasing a pack to prevent paying for a song you may already own in a separate collection as there is no refund for purchased tracks.

Rock Band

• Ozzy Osbourne Pack 01 (PS3/$9.99)
• Individual Tracks Include:
• “Crazy Babies” by Ozzy Osbourne (PS3/$1.99)
• “Diggin’ Me Down” by Ozzy Osbourne (PS3/$1.99)
• “I Don’t Wanna Stop” by Ozzy Osbourne (PS3/$1.99)
• “Let Me Hear You Scream” by Ozzy Osbourne (PS3/$1.99)
• “No More Tears” by Ozzy Osbourne (PS3/$1.99)
• “Soul Sucker” by Ozzy Osbourne (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Network

• “Day Of Mourning” by Despised Icon (PS3/$1.99)
• “Demon Woman” by Flight of the Conchords (PS3/$1.99)
• “Ikea” by of Jonathan Coulton (PS3/$1.99)
• “Never Let You Go ‘09″ by Third Eye Blind (PS3/$1.99)
• “The Attitude Song” by Steve Vai (PS3/$1.99)

Game Videos

• E3 Trailer Videos of Upcoming Games and the Conference itself can now be found in its own category in the PSN Store.
• Pulse E3 Special Edition 2 (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Summer 2010 PS3 Software Showcase (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Summer 2010 PSP Software Showcase (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Summer 2010 Product Montage (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Summer 2010 Move Montage Video (PS3/Free)
• Twisted Metal Clown Gameplay Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Enslaved Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Marvel vs Capcom 3 Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood E3 Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Transformers: War For Cybertron Multiplayer Game Modes Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Transformers: War For Cybertron CG Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Transformers: War For Cybertron Gameplay Reveal Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Fallout: New Vegas E3 Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Dead Space 2 Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode I E3 Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Vanquish Gameplay Trailer #1 (PS3/Free)
• Final Fantasy XIV Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Deus Ex 3 Network Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days – E3 Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Fist Of The North Star Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Quantum Theory E3 Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Trinity: Souls Of Zill O’Li – Network Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Warriors: Legend Of Troy E3 Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Red Faction: Armageddon Announcement Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Front Mission Evolved – E3 2010 Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Mindjack – E3 2010 Trailer
• Sony E3 Press Conference Part 2 (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Sony E3 Press Conference Part 3 (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Sony E3 Press Conference Part 4 (PSP/Free)
• Pulse Special E3 Edition Part 1 (PS3/PSP/Free)
• DC Universe Online E3 Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Cosmic Destruction E3 Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Mafia II – “Made Men” Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Call Of Duty: Black Ops: Uncut Reveal Trailer (PS3/Free)
• UFC Undisputed 2010 Penn Trailer (PS3/Free)
• UFC Undisputed 2010 Velasquez Trailer (PS3/Free)
• ModNation Racers: BTS: Track Studio (PS3/PSP/Free)
• ModNation Racers: BTS: SHARE (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Heavy Rain – Move Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Patapon 3 Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Gran Turismo 5 E3 2010 Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Gran Turismo 5 Retrospective Video (PS3/PSP/Free)
• The Fight Lights Out Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Sly Cooper Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• The Shoot Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Start The Party Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• InviZimals Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• EyePet Move Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• MotorStorm: Apocalypse Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• SOCOM 4: US Navy SEALs Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Killzone 3 – E3 Gameplay Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Killzone 3 – Teaser Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Dead Nation Trailer (PS3/Free)
• God Of War: Ghost Of Sparta E3 Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Kung Fu Rider Move Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• TV Superstars Move Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Sports Champions Move Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• EyePet PSP Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Blur Sweet Emotion Launch Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Knights In The Nightmare Teaser Trailer (PSP/Free)
• Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype: Gameplay Trailer 1 (PS3/Free)
• Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype: Gameplay Trailer 2 (PS3/Free)
• Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype: Gameplay Trailer 3 (PS3/Free)
• Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype: Gameplay Trailer 4 (PS3/Free)
• Battlefield Bad Company 2 – Onslaught Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Deathspank – Story Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Shank – Announce Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Dragon Ball Raging Blast 2 Trailer 1 (PS3/Free)
• Alpha Protocol Music Video (PS3/Free)
• Alpha Protocol Thorton Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days – Cops & Robbers Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days – Fragile Alliance Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days – Undercovercop Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands – Cinematic Intro Movie (PS3/Free)
• Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands – Launch Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands – Sand Army Trailer (PS3/Free)
• ModNation Racers Launch Trailer (PS3/Free)
• ModNation Racers Artist Spotlight: Naught Dog (PS3/Free)
• PlayStation Move Developer Diary Compilation (PS3/Free)
• GundeadliGne Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Gundemonium Collection Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Hitogata Happa Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Gundemonium Recollection Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable Full Trailer (PSP/Free)
• Armored Core Last Raven Promo Movie 1 (PSP/Free)
• Armored Core Last Raven Promo Movie 2 (PSP/Free)
• Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team Trailer #1 (PSP/Free)
• ModNation Racers PSP Launch Trailer (PSP/Free)

Digital Comics

(Warning: To view comics PSP owners must download the latest firmware featuring the reader and update their PSP systems first before downloading comics. Also note that some comics may contain suggestive themes, partial nudity, violence or gore. Always read the description before downloading or visit the PSN Comic site for detailed information about a comic series if you are easily offended.)

• 
• Scrooge McDuck and the Spring Money Bin (PSP/99 Cents)
• Scrooge McDuck and the Ghost’s Treasure or Vice Versa (PSP/99 Cents)
• Serpent Wars # 5 (PSP/99 Cents)
• Hope Falls # 2 (PSP/99 Cents)
• Wizards of Mickey # 8 (PSP/99 Cents)
• 2000AD Prog # 1684 (PSP/$1.99)
• Astonishing Tales (2009) # 1 (PSP/$1.99)
• Beyond # 4 (PSP/$1.99)
• Criminal (2008) # 2 (PSP/$1.99)
• Criminal (2008) # 3 (PSP/$1.99)
• Devi # 4 (PSP/$1.99)
• G.I. Joe # 18 (PSP/$1.99)
• Ms Marvel (2006) # 5 (PSP/$1.99)
• Ms Marvel (2006) # 6 (PSP/$1.99)
• Ms Marvel (2006) # 7 (PSP/$1.99)
• Ms Marvel (2006) # 8 (PSP/$1.99)
• Powers (2000) # 11 (PSP/$1.99)
• Powers (2000) 12 (PSP/$1.99)
• Ramayan 3392 AD # 4 (PSP/$1.99)
• The Sadhu # 4 (PSP/$1.99)
• Snakewoman # 4 (PSP/$1.99)
• Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers # 4 (PSP/$1.99)
• Alice in Wonderland (PSP/$2.99)

Themes and Wallpapers

• GundeadliGne Theme (PS3/Free)
• GundeadliGne Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Gundemonium Collection Theme (PS3/Free)
• Gundemonium Collection Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Gundemonium Recollection Theme (PS3/Free)
• Gundemonium Recollection Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Hitogata Happa Theme (PS3/Free)
• Hitogata Happa Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Anarchy: Rush Hour Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Knights In The Nightmare Theme (PSP/Free)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable Theme (PSP/Free)
• Pinball Heroes Theme – Fat Princess (PSP/Free)
• Pinball Heroes Theme – MotorStorm (PSP/Free)
• Gangsters PSP Theme 5 (PSP/$1.49)
• Gangsters PSP Theme 6 (PSP/$1.49)
• Terran Marines PSP Theme 1 (PSP/$1.49)
• Terran Marines PSP Theme 2 (PSP/$1.49)
• Say Cheesecake PSP Theme 1 (PSP/$1.49)
• Say Cheesecake PSP Theme 2 (PSP/$1.49)
• Gangsters Premium Theme (PS3/$1.99)
• Western Sky (PS3/$1.99)
• White Knight Chronicles International Edition Black & White Dynamic Theme (PS3/$2.99)

Image Source:PlayStation Comics Site

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Full Story » | Written by Lucy Newman for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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CONNECTIONS: The Digital Living Conference & Showcase concluded last week following multiple sessions focused on value-added services, new platforms and distribution models, and digital media consumption.

Intel Digital Home Group general manager of CE Retail, Wilfred Martis, will speak today at Connections, a premier digital living conference and showcase in Santa Clara. Titled, "Smart TVs: Ready for Primetime," Martis will explain how the long-foretold Smart TV Era is finally here. View the live stream at 9:00 a.m. PST or watch the replay here.

CONNECTIONS addresses business opportunities in New Media and Digital Content, Entertainment Platforms and Services, Home Controls and Energy Management, and Consumer Electronics CONNECTIONS: The Digital Living Conference & Showcase will take place June 8-10 at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

CONNECTIONS(TM) Addresses Business Opportunities in New Media and Digital ... Broadcast Newsroom CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase, hosted by leading research firm Parks Associates with support from the Consumer Electronics ... and more »

CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference & Showcase will take place June 8-10 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Hosted by international research firm Parks Associates, CONNECTIONS™ is the premier executive event focused on the market developments and growth factors for advanced digital lifestyle solutions.

read more

International research firm Parks Associates today announced Wilfred Martis , General Manager, Retail CE, Digital Home Group, Intel Corporation, will deliver the keynote "Smart TVs: Ready for Primetime" at CONNECTIONSa on Thursday, June 10, 9:00 a.m. CONNECTIONSa : The Digital Living Conference and Showcase will take place June 8-10, 2010, at the ...

DALLAS, TX, May 27, 2010 -- International research firm Parks Associates today announced CONNECTIONS : The Digital Living Conference & Showcase will feature more than 60 sponsors and supporters from the digital living markets.

MOD Systems today announced that it will demonstrate next week its solution for using digital download kiosks to enhance the entertainment supply chain, achieving economic and ecological benefits over traditional optical media sales at retail. MOD Systems will showcase its digital download kiosk at the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) Forum and Entertainment Supply Chain Academy (ESCA) events June 2-3 in Los Angeles. MOD Systems CEO Anthony Bay will also present at the upcoming Parks Associates CONNECTIONS: The Digital Living Conference, joining top entertainment and technology executives to discuss emerging channels and opportunities for secure digital content distribution.

read more

International research firm Parks Associates today announced CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference & Showcase will feature more than 60 sponsors and supporters from the digital living markets. Parks Associates will host CONNECTIONS™ on June 8-10 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, with more than 500 executives focused on new media, home controls and energy management, mobile and entertainment platforms, value-added services, and connected consumer electronics.

read more

Samsung, Sony Pictures, Verizon, and Intel to Deliver Keynotes at Digital Living Conference and Showcase On Tuesday May 25, 2010, 10:26 am DALLAS, TX-- - CONNECTIONSTM: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase will feature keynote presentations from Intel, Samsung, Sony Pictures, and Verizon.

CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase will feature keynote presentations from Intel, Samsung, Sony Pictures, and Verizon. The conference will take place June 8-10, 2010, in Santa Clara, Calif. These keynotes will discuss new video and TV technologies and their impact on business strategies, challenges and solutions in managing new digital content, and the changes throughout the home as the network ties together content, devices, and services.

read more

Thank you for inviting me here to open the New Zealand Hotel Industry Conference.

This is a really exciting time for tourism in New Zealand. The economy is growing again, more people are travelling, and next year we're hosting the Rugby World Cup.

There is simply no over-stating how important the World Cup will be for New Zealand. It's the third largest sporting event in the world, and our fantastic country will be in the spotlight for six weeks. We're expecting at least 85,000 international visitors, and billions more will be watching from home.

Things are certainly looking up.

It's a great time to think about how you can make the most of the opportunities coming your way.

Your industry has a big role to play in the future economic growth of this country.

I'd like to welcome new Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Kevin Bowler. Kevin has shown he is extremely optimistic for the tourism industry, and I'm looking forward to working with him.

Bouncing back from the recession  

Last year, businesses and families faced the worst global financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression. Uncertainty pervaded markets everywhere.

Internationally, it was the worst year for tourism in decades.

Businesses and households were travelling less, especially on long haul flights. This was made worse by swine flu, which led to a big reduction in travel out of major Asian markets.

Overall, the number of people travelling internationally was down four percent. Many destinations had sharp declines.

Those who were travelling were spending less. Spending by tourists was down 2.2 percent in the year to March.

It is a sign of New Zealand's attractiveness as a destination that we were the only country that didn't have an overall drop in visitor numbers.

That proves what we can do. It's testament to our world-class tourism industry, and the resilience of our tourism businesses.

Although we did have a drop in tourists coming from some long haul destinations, that was offset by an increase in Australian tourists.

We knew that in tough economic times, our Australian friends were more likely to holiday closer to home. 

So we took advantage of that, and in March last year gave Tourism New Zealand an extra $2.5 million for marketing in Australia.

The boost in Australian tourists made up for the drop in tourists coming here from other long-haul destinations such as the United States and Japan.

Those tourists are traditionally the high-spending ones, so this year we need to work particularly hard to attract them. I'll come back to my plan for that shortly.

I'm impressed at what the tourism industry achieved against the back drop of the economic recession.

I acknowledge it was a tough year for some of you. You may have had to make hard decisions about how to position your business.

But you can be proud of what you achieved. And it's great news for all New Zealanders that the sector is expected to bounce back quicker than originally forecast.

My vision for tourism

Last year at this conference, I spoke about my vision for tourism and how we can work together to achieve it.

To recap, I want us to make the very most of our competitive advantages, and to seize the many opportunities they provide.

That means we need to make New Zealand a higher-value tourist destination. We need to respond to the world as it changes. We need to improve the business environment. We need to work more closely with each other. And we need to make the most of the Rugby World Cup.

Today I want to talk about how tourism can help grow the economy, and help secure a brighter future for New Zealanders. 

Tourism growing our economy

Tourism is a huge part of our economy. It is one of our key export industries, making up about 10 per cent of our economy. One-in-ten Kiwis work in the tourism industry.

I believe tourism has the potential to grow far beyond what it is now.

We have many advantages. We have beautiful scenery, delicious food and wine, a unique culture, and a world-leading brand.

Our challenge is to make the most of these advantages, boost tourism earnings, and help grow our economy.

Next week Finance Minister Bill English will deliver a Budget squarely focused on building faster and more sustainable economic growth.

That's the only way we can create the jobs, higher incomes, and better living standards New Zealanders deserve.

I have no doubt that tourism will play an important role in helping us get the economy growing faster.

That's why I am delighted to announce today that this year's Budget will provide an additional $30 million for tourism marketing for the next year. 

Of this, $25 million will be used to market New Zealand as a tourist destination overseas, in key places such as Australia, China and the United States.

The other $5 million will be allocated to joint venture initiatives between regional tourism organisations and Tourism New Zealand. 

This follows an increase of $20 million in last year's budget. It will bring our total investment to just under $100 million this year.

The fact that we're boosting investment in tourism reflects my confidence in the industry to substantially increase the value of tourism to our economy.

Marketing New Zealand

I believe investing in marketing is vitally important. It will help Tourism New Zealand build on the great work it is already doing to promote New Zealand to those high-spending tourists that I mentioned before.

We need to work hard to attract tourists from places such as the United States, China, and Australia. These markets have huge potential.

In China for example, people are taking 54 million trips overseas every year. This is expected to increase to 100 million by the year 2020.

We know we need to focus on attracting high-value visitors who require a high-quality experience while in New Zealand. Now we have the funding to sell that message all over the world.

It is crucial that our marketing efforts are focused on the right markets, and that we target the right audiences. We need to get more bang for our marketing dollars.

Last year, I asked Tourism New Zealand to create a three-year strategy for marketing New Zealand. The new strategy fundamentally changes the emphasis of how Tourism New Zealand reaches markets and potential visitors.

We're relying less on traditional mass media, and more on new digital technologies like the internet.

This means we can reach a bigger audience with less money. It means we can engage with potential tourists to find out what they want. And it means we can target our marketing towards those higher-value visitors we want to attract.

Take the example of my appearance on the David Letterman show last year, reading out my top 10 reasons to visit New Zealand. There were almost four million people watching the show, but online coverage is estimated to have reached a further 75 million.

By using new technology, it's possible to reach far greater audiences.

Tourism New Zealand's recent launch of the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign into Beijing uses this new approach. It means we can reach a bigger audience in China than has been possible before.

At this stage, the additional $30 million in Budget 2010 is for one year. I want to make sure that the boost is delivering improved economic outcomes for New Zealand.

Alongside marketing efforts, the challenge for the industry is to remain price competitive.

Although we are aiming to attract visitors here for a high-quality experience, we are a long way from the rest of the world.

We need to think about the reasons tourists would and wouldn't choose New Zealand as a destination. And part of that means offering competitive prices for everything from accommodation and airfares to food and wine.

Improving the business environment

The Government is also working hard to create the right environment for you to do business in. We're committed to helping your business reach its potential, and to lifting the economic performance of this country.

Last week we saw a dramatic fall in the unemployment rate, from 7.1 per cent to 6 per cent. There is always some volatility in these numbers, but it shows that New Zealand has emerged from the recession in stronger shape than many other countries.

Now we need to focus on building faster and more sustainable economic growth. Our economic programme has six pillars. They are:

• A multi-billion dollar investment in infrastructure.
• Cutting red tape and regulation.
• Better business innovation and an ambitious trade agenda.
• Improving education and skills.
• Demanding better, smarter public services.
• And changes to the tax system to make it fairer, so that hard work and enterprise are rewarded.

Many of you run small and medium-sized businesses. Our progress in reducing red tape, reforming the Resource Management Act, and investing in infrastructure will make a difference to you. 

We are reviewing regulations such as the Building Act, the legislation governing the electricity sector, and the Overseas Investment Act.

We are reforming the Resource Management Act. This will reduce the costs, delays, and uncertainties.

To help businesses through the recession, we launched a Small Business Relief Package. This makes it easier and less expensive for small businesses to manage their cash flows and pay their taxes.

We're also boosting investment in infrastructure that will bring benefits to the tourism industry. That includes investing in state highways and broadband.

And of course the National Cycle Trail, which I'm pleased to report is progressing very well.

Work has begun on three of the trails, and we expect construction to begin on a fourth soon. Eventually we'll have trails around the country totalling 2000 kilometres. The Government is investing $50 million over three years for this project.

It's a great example of New Zealand making the most of our natural assets, and showcasing the very best our country has to offer as a tourist destination.

Attracting business visitors

We're also looking at the potential for an international-scale convention and exhibition centre that can cater for business visitors.

Attracting more business visitors to New Zealand has the potential to contribute significantly to our economy. When we host business events, we also get the benefits of sharing information, learning new things, and fostering business ties with other countries.

Many businesses around the world cut back on travel in response to the recession. Business arrivals to New Zealand fell by nine per cent last year, but as the global economy recovers, we can expect business travel to recover too.

That's why the Government is considering how we can host more international business events in New Zealand in the future. Especially in the fastest growing segment of the market - the 1500-plus delegate range.

Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee has recently held a series of meetings with venue owners and business event stakeholders in Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington.

They covered three main topics.

First, the possibility of developing an international-scale convention and exhibition centre. Second, the development of a National Business Events Strategy. And third, how the current network of convention venues in New Zealand can work together to attract a greater number of international business events to New Zealand.

The Minister will soon call for expressions of interest. We want your ideas on how the Government can partner with industry to attract more business visitors.

Rugby World Cup 2011

The next big opportunity for us is the Rugby World Cup 2011. And I don't just mean winning the tournament - although I am behind the All Blacks all the way!

One of my priorities for the Government at the moment is hosting a successful Rugby World Cup. This will be the most exciting and largest sporting event New Zealand has ever hosted.

It is our big chance to showcase New Zealand to the rest of the world, and we're expecting at least 85,000 visitors.

It will deliver huge benefits to our tourism and hospitality industries, and have a lasting impact on New Zealand's reputation. A Deloitte report estimates the World Cup will deliver a $1.25 billion boost to our economy.

Next year we'll be in celebration mode with festival events up and down the country.

You will have heard the recent announcement by Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully, about our plans for Queen's Wharf during the World Cup. We're going to use it for a fan zone, or party central as it's affectionately known.

Fans will want to congregate somewhere they can experience the spirit of the World Cup. We think Queen's Wharf will be a great place for that.

Our plan is to take the old sheds off Queen's Wharf, and put in place a mobile temporary facility that can host almost 8000 people. I believe it will be a focal point that many Aucklanders, New Zealanders and visitors will enjoy.

I'm delighted that communities all over New Zealand are getting in behind the Cup too.

A great example is Bluff. Bluff is going to have two oyster seasons next year. The first will be in March as usual. But they're going to save part of that catch, so the oysters continue to grow in preparation for their second oyster season - which will kick off in September for the World Cup.

Your role

As hoteliers, you will be a vital face for New Zealand during the Rugby World Cup. Ultimately the thing visitors will remember long after they have gone home is the hospitality and service they received during their stay.

The additional visitors that the Cup brings will provide an important boost during a tourism shoulder season.

As you know, there have been some concerns recently about accommodation pricing for the World Cup. News reports show some visitors are being asked to pay much higher rates during the World Cup than they usually would. 

Obviously hotels, motels, and travel wholesalers are going to make fair returns during the World Cup. Market forces will prevail to some extent. It's a great opportunity for the industry to make some money during what is a quiet tourism season.

But if we take it too far and overcharge visitors, we'll risk damaging New Zealand's tourism reputation. We need to balance the opportunity to make money on accommodation with how important our reputation is. 

We want to make sure visitors have a truly memorable experience. We want to make sure visitors get a taste of New Zealand and want to come back. You have an important role to play in ensuring their visit is an outstanding one.

This Government is determined to ensure that New Zealand makes the most of every opportunity that the World Cup presents. We want the positive impact of hosting the tournament to be felt long after the teams have gone home, and I'm confident we won't be disappointed.

The Shanghai Expo

Finally today, the Shanghai Expo, which opened this month, provides another great opportunity to showcase New Zealand to the world. I'm really looking forward to visiting in July.

There are almost 200 countries vying for the attention of the 70 million visitors expected during the six-month-long Expo. I'm probably biased, but I'm sure New Zealand's will be the best!

The Government has invested $30 million, with the aim of making New Zealand's pavilion a must see.

Visit the New Zealand pavilion and you'll see a man-made pohutukawa tree in flower, a giant block of New Zealand pounamu, ancient Chinese and New Zealand greenstone artefacts, and kapa haka group performances.

Carvers from Te Puia are crafting a 10-metre high waharoa, or carved entranceway, at the front of the New Zealand pavilion.

The waharoa is symbolic of the opening of doorways between our countries through which relationships can grow.

We're going to choose a suitable permanent home in Shanghai for the waharoa and this will be announced when I'm there in July. I hope it will provide a legacy long after the Expo has finished. 

Conclusion

Ladies and gentlemen, the National-led Government is strongly committed to tourism. We are determined to grow the industry for the benefit of all New Zealanders.

The extra funding I announced today will help ensure that is possible. It has been a tough few years, but now is the time to ensure you are positioned to take advantage of a recovering economy.

I'm really impressed by the talent, the enthusiasm, and the huge potential I see in the sector. I'm confident that we can work together to secure a brighter future for tourism in New Zealand.

Thank you for your hard work. I wish you all the best for a successful conference. 

Parks Associates will host two pre-show workshops on June 8, presenting research and analysis on digital lifestyle solutions and residential energy management prior to CONNECTIONS: The Digital Living Conference & Showcase , the premier event for digital living technologies and solutions.

Over 40 percent of U.S. broadband households are very positive on TV Everywhere services — offerings that let cable customers view TV programs online as part of their subscription — but only 16 percent are willing to pay an additional $5 per month for this service. These consumer realities create business challenges for companies in the digital living space, even as new technologies open more opportunities in value-added services and connected CE.

CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase, hosted by international research firm Parks Associates on June 8-10, 2010, at the Santa Clara Convention Center, tackles these and other issues in the markets for connected home technologies and digital living solutions. The conference agenda focuses on key topic areas:

Entertainment Platforms & Value-Added Services Consumer Electronics New Media and Digital Content Home Systems & Controls

Sessions feature analysis from industry executives and leading consumer research from Parks Associates on the best business and product strategies to succeed in the connected home industries:

Connected CE will exceed 100 million units worldwide in 2010 – and the number of device sales/installations of will increase threefold from 2010 to 2014. Over one-third of smartphone owners are very interested in using this portable device to stream multimedia content from home CE, program a DVR remotely, and monitor their home.

CONNECTIONS™ keynotes:

Scott Birnbaum, Vice President, Samsung LCD Group Eric B. Kim, Senior Vice President, General Manager, Digital Home Group, Intel Corporation Mitch Singer, CTO, Sony Pictures Entertainment; President, DECE Scott Smyers, Senior Vice President, Sony Electronics; President and Chairman of the Board, DLNA

Register today for CONNECTIONS™, June 8-10, 2010, Santa Clara Convention Center.

DALLAS, TX--(Marketwire - 03/18/10) - Parks Associates today announced the preliminary agenda for CONNECTIONS: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase , which will address the future of digital entertainment and connected CE with keynotes from Sony and Samsung. The three-day event will also feature research presentations and speaker panels on support services, DRM, energy management and ...

DALLAS, TX--(Marketwire - March 18, 2010) - Parks Associates today announced the preliminary agenda for CONNECTIONST: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase , which will address the future of digital entertainment and connected CE with keynotes from Sony and Samsung. The three-day event will also feature research presentations and speaker panels on support services, DRM, energy management ...

A ReadWriteWeb Guide

Whether you make your living as a professional pixel pusher or you simply hold yourself to a higher aesthetic standard, South by Southwest has a rich and varied stream of opportunities for designers.

We've put together a list of ten essential places, parties, panels and other events to help you tailor your SXSW 2010 experience to your own individual interests. From Web typography to "WTF WordPress?", SXSW rocks for web designers in particular. And the many social events also include a few rich, interactive visual experiences, as well. Read on, and let us know you favorite Austin spots in the comments.

Sponsor

This is part of a series of ReadWriteWeb guides to SXSW Interactive 2010. If this guide isn't your cup of tea, be sure to check back for more information soon!

Is WordPress Killing Web Design?

Strong words, valid question, and sure to be a contentious panel this year.

"Is WordPress killing web design? Leading creatives from the world of web design debate whether CMS tools have made designers lazy, and created a new set of design conventions that designers feel obliged to follow." With Brendan Dawes of magneticNorth, Dan Mall of Big Spaceship, Dan Oliver of Future Publishing/.net magazine, Jina Bolton of Crush + Lovely and Shane Mielke of 2Advanced Studios.

Visions

"Conceptart.org Events, Massive Black and The Art Department open ScreenBurn at SXSW Interactive with Visions,' a one-of-a-kind multimedia event combining cutting-edge, live, digital and traditional art performances from the top film, video game and classically trained artists in the art world. Experience pulsing music from local and international DJs, special performance by International Burlesque performer, Eva Strangelove, and provocative runway fashion by Loves, Mariessa - all surrounded by gorgeous muses for every imagination and inspiration. Join us for a night of traditional and digital performances like you have never seen before. With software combining with leading talent, the show is not to be missed."

24 Diner

After a late party, how about some delicious nosh in a beautifully designed environment?

Chef-inspired comfort food is served up around the clock at this relatively new spot. The foodies among you might appreciate the bacon gorgonzola burger or the famed roasted banana and brown sugar milkshake. Aesthetically, 24 Diner is a throwback to clean, mid-century modernism. While you're there, be sure to take in the many charming details of 24 Diner's interior design.

Valerie Casey Keynote

"Casey, founder and Executive Director of the Designers Accord, works with organizations all over the world to create positive social and environmental impact. She has been named a 'Guru you should know' by Fortune magazine, a 'Hero of the Environment' by Time magazine, and a 'Master of Design' by Fast Company."

Museum of Digital Art Showcase

"The Austin Museum of Digital Art presents a party featuring live electronic music and visual art. Expect video projections, interactive installations, and a Laptop Battle with musicians competing to outperform one another in a series of elimination rounds. Free for SXSW Interactive badgeholders."

Web Fonts: The Time Has Come

"After 15 years of contenting ourselves with system fonts, or image type, the planets are now in line for getting real fonts on the web. Some solutions are already working, and a cross-platform standard is emerging. Here web designer and type designers mix it up on how the font hurdles is finally being lept." With Stephen Coles of FontShop/Typographica, Roger Black and David Berlow of The Font Bureau, Jeffrey Veen of Google and Bert Bos of W3C.

Of course, there are several other type-related panels throughout the conference, including Get Stoked on Web Typography, CSS and Fonts: Fluid Web Typography,

Adobe Sunday Brunch

"There will be bacon, coffee and geekery at the Adobe Sunday Brunch. Join us at 10am on Sunday for FREE brunch at the Adobe Day Stage. Adobe product managers and evangelists will be sharing the latest on mobile development with Flash and more from Adobe Labs. RSVP at http://facebook.com/AdobeSXSW. There might even be a few surprises. Join us to find out."

Helpful hint: That Facebook link will also show you how to RSVP for Adobe's Happy Hour the following day.

Pain-Free Design Sign-Off

"Getting design approval can be like pulling teeth. Clients seem to make irrational decisions based on personal opinion. They ignore our expertise, reducing us to pixel pushers. However, it does not need to be this way. With good communication and a sound methodology, design sign off can be pain free." With Paul Boag of Headscape.

More sessions on external and internal process: Your Design Process Is Killing You with Sara Summers of Microsoft and Interactive Agency Workflow: Design and Development Process with Danny Riddell of Archetype.

Visual Note-Taking 101

"Ever since Leonardo put pen to paper, visual note-taking has been a route to improve the quality of your thinking, make information more memorable, and make your ideas easier to share with others. Learn practical techniques and ''tricks of the trade'' from modern visual note-taking masters: how to write, sketch, and diagram ideas live, in real time, as you hear them." With Sunni Brown of BrightSpot Info Design, Mike Rohde, Dave Gray of XPLANE and Austin Kleon.

Society of Digital Agencies Mixer

"It was only 3 short years ago that Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA) officially announced their launch at SXSW. In celebration of our growth and accomplishments SoDA is holding their signature Digerati Mixer just steps away from the Austin Convention Center. As always we invite all our industry friends to join our SoDA members in a fun and casual atmosphere for appetizers, drinks and conversation."

Other Events

Of course, this selection represents a mere smattering of all the things to do, see, hear and learn (and eat and drink) while you're in Austin. If you're inclined to spend a little more time inside the convention center, we also stumbled across these panels for designers:

Revealing Design Treasures from the Amazon
Design Fiction: Props, Prototypes, Predicaments Communicating New Ideas
Designing the First Fifteen Minutes
Persuasive Design: Encouraging Your Users To Do What You Want Them To!
Understanding Content: The Stuff We Design For

Those are a few of our SXSW Interaction recommendations for designers of all stripes. If you've got suggestions or feedback, let us know in the comments! See you in Austin, folks!

Discuss

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® today announced new speakers and a panel session focused on sustainable design for the home at the upcoming Greener Gadgets conference. Tom Hadfield, chief operating officer, LaboGroup and Leonardo Bonanni, founder and director of SourcemapTM join the world's foremost green innovators, thought-leaders and environmental stewards for the event, which will take place on Thursday, February 25, 2010 at the McGraw-Hill Conference Center in New York City. "This year's Greener Gadgets conference is a must-attend event for green technology and design professionals," said Karen Chupka, senior vice president of CEA, organizers of the Greener Gadgets conference. "Our speaker lineup and design competition entrants will showcase incredible innovation in sustainable design and demonstrate its impact on the consumer electronics industry." As COO of LaboGroup, a French innovation company, Hadfield worked on the development of the Andrea, a plant-based air purifier. The company is a member of the ArtScience Labs network of art and design labs experimenting on the frontiers of science. Hadfield is also the founder of the first commercial soccer website, Soccernet.com, later sold to ESPN, as well as Schoolsnet.com, an online education company. In 2001, Hadfield was named one of the 100 Global Leaders of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum. Bonanni is a PhD candidate at the MIT Media lab where he researches and teaches sustainable design. He is the founder and director of the open source project Sourcemap.org, a social network and tool for Life Cycle Assessment and Supply Chain Transparency. Sourcemap™ emerged from a curriculum he developed and currently teaches at MIT on radical sustainability in product design. He also independently practices architecture, industrial and interaction design. Greener Gadgets also will feature a panel session titled, "Green Living Begins at Home," with a focus on sustainable design strategies in urban and rural locations. Moderated by Sarah Rich, senior editor, Dwell, the panel will feature sustainable design innovators and technology leaders including, Ellen Honigstock, Architect P.C., residential green building advocate, Urban Green Council, NY Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council; Sarah Krasley, industry manager of sustainability, Autodesk; Kimberly Lancaster, founder, Green Life Smart Life Project and Jay McLellan, president and CEO, Home Automation Inc. (HAI). The Greener Gadgets Design Competition, an attendee favorite, is officially open for public vote. This year's competition highlights a new class of standout sustainable products, including those that reduce carbon footprint, support sustainable lifestyles or aid in energy conservation. Finalists will be judged in front of a live audience at the Greener Gadgets Conference in New York City on February 25, 2010, for a chance at $5,000 in prizes. Voting is live at on the Greener Gadgets website: http://www.greenergadgets.com/index.php/design-competition/ For more information about Greener Gadgets 2010, or to register, please visit www.GreenerGadgets.com. About CEA: The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $165 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also sponsors and manages the International CES - Where Entertainment, Technology and Business Converge. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA's industry services. Find CEA online at www.CE.org. UPCOMING EVENTS

• Digital Music Forum East February 24-25, 2010, New York, NY
• Greener Gadgets February 25, 2010, New York, NY
• EHX Spring 2010 March 24-27, 2010, Orlando, FL
• CES on the Hill April 20-21, 2010, Washington, DC
• Digital Patriots Dinner April 21, 2010, Washington, DC
• LA Games Conference April 29, 2010, Los Angeles, CA
• CEA Line Shows June 22-23, 2010, New York, NY
• 2010 SINOCES July 8-11, 2010, Qingdao, China
• 2010 CEA Industry Forum October 17-20, 2010, San Francisco, CA
• i-stage October 18, 2010, San Francisco, CA
• Digital Hollywood Fall October 18-21, 2010, Santa Monica, CA
• Future of Television East November 19, 2010, New York, NY

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A record number of new exhibitors – more than 330 companies – will join more than 2,500 exhibitors in unveiling their latest technology innovations at the 2010 International CES®. With more than 20,000 new products on display, the International CES is the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow. CE Spotlights throughout the CES show floor will feature key market categories including apps, green technology, gaming, location based services and more. Owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, the 2010 International CES returns to Las Vegas, January 7-10, 2010.

“Up Next at CES: Creativity, Content and Cash”

“With a record number of new exhibitors, scores of new product introductions, several new Spotlights on the show floor and a dynamic lineup of keynotes sessions, the 2010 International CES will be our best show yet,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. “More technology deals will be made during the four days of CES than anywhere else on earth. In fact, each CES attendee has an average of 12 meetings while at the show, reinforcing CES as the business hub for technology. Innovation is flourishing within the technology industry and the 2010 CES is the only place to see it all.”

Several CE Spotlights covering a variety of technology categories will be housed on the 2010 CES show floor. These include: the iLounge Pavilion, featuring all things iPod®, iPhone® and Mac® related; Living in Digital Times, highlighting technology relevant to all lifestyles; EHX@CES with custom CE products for home and commercial installation; Sustainable Planet, featuring the latest green technologies including advances in green building, alternative energy technologies and smart grid technologies and the Gaming Showcase with the latest gaming hardware and software. For a complete list of CE Spotlights visit www.cesweb.org/exhibits/displays/default.asp.

The 2010 CES will feature 20 market-specific TechZones highlighting the latest trends and emerging markets. New CES TechZones include the eBooks, Experience 3D, Femto, Lifestyle Gadgets, Mobile DTV, Netbooks and Safe Driver TechZones.

Top executives of the biggest names in technology and business will take the stage at the 2010 International CES with keynote addresses from Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer, Ford’s Alan Mulally, Intel’s Paul Otellini and Qualcomm’s Dr. Paul Jacobs, as well as Nokia’s Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo and Hisense’s Zhou Houjian, who will speak as part of the CES Technology and Emerging Countries Program.

Additionally, the 2010 CES will feature more than 250 sessions and 800 expert speakers as part of the CES conference program, which will cover a range of industry topics from social media to safe driving to technology policy. Conference programs for the 2010 International CES include, “Up Next at CES: Creativity, Content and Cash,” focused on addressing the major challenge of how to monetize new media and the “Tech Policy Summit,” which will discuss critical policy issues including broadband deployment and spectrum allocation. To search for CES conference sessions, visit www.cesweb.org/sessions/search/default.asp.

For more news about the 2010 International CES before, during and after the show, visit CESweb.org. Journalists are encouraged to arrive in Las Vegas by Tuesday, January 5, to take advantage of all the CES press events, including CES Unveiled from 4-7 p.m. on January 5.

About CEA:

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $172 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also sponsors and manages the International CES – Where Entertainment, Technology and Business Converge. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services. Find CEA online at www.CE.org.

Upcoming Events

• 2010 International CES January 7-10, 2010, Las Vegas, NV

• Digital Music Forum East February 23-24, 2010, New York, NY

• Greener Gadgets February 25, 2010, New York, NY

• EHX Spring 2010 March 24-27, 2010, Orlando, FL

• CES on the Hill April 20-21, 2010, Washington, DC

• Digital Patriots Dinner April 21, 2010, Washington, DC

• LA Games Conference April 29, 2010, Los Angeles, CA

• CEO Summit and Board Retreat June 16-19, 2010, Ojai, CA

• CEA Line Shows June 22-23, 2010, New York, NY

• 2010 SINOCES July 8-11, 2010, Qingdao, China

• 2010 CEA Industry Forum October 17-20, 2010, San Francisco, CA

It’s a brand new week, which means it’s time for Mashable’s guide to upcoming social media and web events, parties, and conferences. For more upcoming event listings, check out Mashable’s Events section.

Is your event not on this list? Contact us at least one month before your event and let’s establish a media partnership.

Mashable’s Weekly Social Media and Marketing Event Guide is proudly supported by Eventbrite, the Web’s Event Marketplace.

December 15, 2009, Santa Clara, CA: The 5th annual Digital Living Room at Sun Microsystems Auditorium features the definitive voices in the digital home. CBS.com GM Bill Binenstock, Intel Digital Home GM Bill Leszinske, Playstation Network Sr. Director Susan Panico, to name just a few. This year’s theme is the connected living room: the network of TVs, broadband Internet, settop boxes, consoles, portable and mobile devices and now 3D technology that’s transforming the home. Mashable readers enjoy a 15% discount on the ticket price: follow the link here and click Apply Discount button next to the keyword ‘mashable’.

December 16, 2009, Chicago, IL: Word of Mouth Supergenius is where you’ll learn to be a fantastic word of mouth marketer with 12 how-to classes, 12 real-world case studies, and 6 brilliant authors. You’ll learn practical, hands-on techniques to get started, grow your program, and earn amazing word of mouth. Word of Mouth Supergenius is where you’ll learn to be a fantastic word of mouth marketer with 12 how-to classes, 12 real-world case studies, and 6 brilliant authors. You’ll learn practical, hands-on techniques to get started, grow your program, and earn amazing word of mouth. Save $75 off registration by using the code ILoveMashableWOM.

January 11, 2010, Nashville, TN: The Social Media conference that comes to you. Social Fresh is a one day, case study rich conference targeted for marketers. Social Fresh Nashville will have 30+ speakers including Jason Falls of Social Media Explorer, Gavin Baker of Ruby Tuesday, and John Andrews of Collective Bias (formerly of Walmart). Save 15% when using code mashable.

January 12, 2010, New York, NY: PluggedIn is an exclusive deal making gathering, bringing together handpicked digital media founders, gatekeepers and investors to candidly interact in a laid back setting and unlock the full value of doing business together. PluggedIn is a polar opposite to your typical overcrowded, loud and ineffective conference. We keep it to a closed circle of in-the-know executives and offer a casual, off the record environment. Our objective is to cultivate substantive and concrete dialogue between a select group of decision makers and help make things happen. Use registration code mashable to get 25% off.

January 13, 2010, New York, NY: Social Integration – Harmonizing Social Channels into the Marketing, Communications, & Service Platform – Case Studies & Roundtables is a conference that will demonstrate case studies of how leading brands are integrating social media and social networking into and across the enterprise. We will approach the topic from the communicator/marketer’s perspective but technology, customer service, and operations professionals are welcome to participate. Use promo code MASH for a discounted rate of $155 at www.bdionline.com/socialintegration.html.

January 14, 2010, Century City, CA: The first-ever Schmoozd event, a new Social Media Mixer event in Los Angeles, will be held at the Xbar. X bar’s environment is the perfect place to network – a lounge designed with spots for hanging out as well as socializing and action. Whether closing the deal or sharing ideas, X bar’s renowned design, cuisine and location means X marks the spot. For more information, please visit www.schmoozd.com. Mashable readers get 50% off when registering via this link.

January 14-16, 2010, Sedona, AZ: Join us at #SMML for a Social Media Mastermind Conference. We are going to get personal. As you seek to glean more information about social media, how it works and how you can use it to gain more customers. You’ll see more results in 2 days than you will have in six months working alone! If you are ready to be energized, engage with your audience, work with the best and take home real solutions in developing your own social media strategy, then join us. Speakers include: Robin Harris, Raliegh Pinskey, Frances Flynn Thorsen, Shannon Evans and more. Use event code SMMLBiz to save 15% on your registration fee.

January 20-22, 2010, Washington DC: Social Media for Defense and Government is a unique forum on the embracement, implementation and utilization of new media platforms that meet the Governments goals of transparency that allow for more efficient internal and external communication. As the public develops their use of online tools for their personal, career and business development goals, DoD & Gov’t have made it their mission to reach the public via these new forms of media. The forum will provide insight into technologies including Twitter and Facebook as well as advanced elements such as the Governments general information page, blogs, and closed social media suite. Mashable readers get an exclusive 20% discount off the standard pricing with special code IUS_MASH_SMTM_#1 when registering!

January 23, 2010, Virginia Beach, VA: Social Media @ The Beach is a place for anyone looking to “get their feet wet” and explore social media. It’s an interactive conference with the laid-back atmosphere of a meet-up. The January event will focus on two main goals: boosting personal social networking skills and developing professional social media marketing strategies. The event is open to everyone, drawing community members of all ages, backgrounds and levels of social media experience. Enter mashable for the discount code to receive 15% off ticket price.

January 26, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Vator.tv, a leading platform for entrepreneurs and innovators to broadcast themselves, and provider of news and information through VatorNews, and Girls in Tech, a social network enterprise focused on education and empowerment of influential women in technology, are hosting the Catalyst Competition to find five women-led startups across any stage to present at the Catalyst Conference. Ten finalists will be selected by their peers through an online competition. Join the competition today and get the vote out.

January 27-28, 2010, Amsterdam, Netherlands: Enterprise Social 2.0: RIP or ROI? This senior executive event will bring together decision makers from the top Fortune companies to discuss innovative strategies on how to maximize business performance through social media engagement. The event will include keynote speeches, best-practice presentations as well as interactive discussion sessions. Use promo-code MASH14 for a €100 (Euros) discount for the 2 day conference registration fee.

January 28, 2010, San Francisco, CA: The ARF Industry Leader Forum — Putting Listening to Work is an interactive event to help advertisers, agencies, media and research companies determine how to use social media and digital behavior for their listening strategies. Learn how to use listening, evaluate listening applications, develop a listening strategy, integrate it into your existing research program, create an action plan and apply insights garnered. Attendees will receive The ARF Foundations Series – Listening tool, an $895 value, featuring 25 case studies and 30+ company reviews how listening is used for consumer insight, customer service, new product development, reputation management, competitive benchmarking, and breaking into new applications like media planning, targeting and predictive modeling. Speakers include: Jeremiah Owyang, digital media strategy superstar and blogger and Partner, Customer Strategy, Altimeter Group, Toyota Motor Sales, Saatchi and Saatchi Wellness and LinkedIn. Mashable readers can use promo code ARFMASH to save $100.

January 28-29, 2010, Bilbao, Spain: The biggest Search Engines: Search Marketing and Online Marketing Event starts the new year in the north of Spain: Bilbao the TIC city! SC Bilbao will offer 9 professionals workshops, 8 Conferences and the glorious Closed Party! 2 days of learning and networking at “Palacio Euskalduna” . Come and share with Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, SEMPO and the best Internet experts. There’s a special 30% discount on Conferences for all Mashable readers using the promotional code: ILOVESEARCH.

February 1-5, 2010, New York, London, Berlin, Toronto, San Francisco, São Paulo: Social Media Week’s second annual conference will take place between February 1st – 5th, 2010 simultaneously in New York City, Berlin, London, San Francisco, Toronto and São Paulo. The five day conference will explore the profound impact that social media has on culture, business communications and society at large. The week-long conference is designed as a series of localized events, which city partners are responsible for organizing. Over the course of the week and in each city, programs will span a variety of formats, ranging from talks, presentations and panel discussions, to interactive workshops, seminars, networking events and drinks receptions. RSVP here.

February 4, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Vator, a leading platform for innovators and entrepreneurs to broadcast themselves, is holding its inaugural Vator Splash competition to find 10 promising early-stage startups to present at the Vator Splash event. Enter the competition today and join other onstage presenters, such as Zynga CEO Mark Pincus, Smule CEO Jeff Smith, August Capital VC Howard Hartenbaum and Google Ventures VC Bill Maris. Buy your 25% discount ticket today using the code: VatorMashable

February 8, 2010, Tampa, FL: The Social Media conference that comes to you. Social Fresh is a one day, case study rich conference targeted for marketers. Social Fresh Tampa will have 30+ speakers including Chris Barger of GM, Maggie Fox of Social Media Group, and John Andrews of Collective Bias (formerly of Walmart). Get 15% off if using code mashable.

February 8-10, 2010, Philadelphia, PA: The 9th Annual ePharma Summit is the most innovative digital marketing event for pharma. Year after year, hundreds of marketing professionals from leading pharmaceutical companies attend ePharma for incomparable access to insider information for optimizing their brand strategy and perfecting consumer relationships. Join us next February to collaborate with industry leading industry minds and perfect your digital strategy by pursuing true e-marketing innovation. The 2010 event is packed with fresh case studies, hands-on workshops, hot topic debates, facilitated roundtable discussions, and live audience polling sessions. Register with Priority Code XP1506MASH to save 15% off standard registration!

February 8-11, 2010, Washington, DC: Attend the Advanced Learning Institute’s Forum on Social Media for Government: How To Engage Your Employees And Citizens By Using The Latest Web 2.0 Technologies To Drive Communication Results, to learn how to capture the power of social media in your organization, along with helpful tools, tips and techniques to get started. Hear practical advice, firsthand, from leading government agencies and organizations such as: CIA; IRS; U.S. Army Public Affairs; National Wildlife Federation; U.S. Department of Agriculture; City of Raleigh, NC; U.S. Navy; Morris County, NJ; U.S. Department of State Roanoke Public Libraries, VA; Court Services & Offender Supervision Agency; Department for International Development, Government of the United Kingdom; NOAA; National Institutes of Health; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; National Defense University; City of Richmond, VA; Porter Novelli; Booz Allen Hamilton, and more. Mention Mashable when registering to save $200.

February 9-13, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Macworld 2010 is a five-day event that educates, entertains and immerses attendees in the Apple products community. A comprehensive expo hall offers access to hundreds of Mac products and services, paired with expert advice, demonstrations and instruction. Macworld conference programs feature industry leading minds, presenting cutting edge product training on the topics attendees most want to see. From Mac Power Users to creative professionals to first-time users to Enterprise computing professionals, Macworld has the conference content, special presentations and exhibit hall attractions that create what has been called “Mecca for Mac Users”. Get 15% off as a Mashable reader.

February 10, 2010, New York City: The Online Community Unconference East is a gathering of online community professionals – managers, developers, business people, tool providers, investors – to discuss experience and strategies in the development and growth of online communities. As we have found with our past events, the best source of information on all of these challenges is other knowledgeable practitioners. Mashable readers are entitled to a discount by registering here with code mashable.

February 15, 2010, Barcelona, Spain: The Mobile Premier Awards recognize the year’s best in Mobile Startup Innovation and are the largest open, global startup competition in the mobile industry. The awards are the point of reference in startup premiers during the Mobile World Congress and are organized in collaboration with some of the main networks in the industry. Participation to the awards is free and open to any startup with a mobile angle. Sign up at www.mobilepremierawards.com and take your chance to walk the red carpet in Barcelona!

February 17, 2010, Atlanta, GA: Startup Riot is an annual event that focuses on giving fifty startups an opportunity to present, in three minutes, to a large audience of investors, corporate business development and M&A representatives, and other interested parties. Attendees are pre-screened so the room is never filled with service providers, job hunters, or others who are not the target audience. Selected presenting entrepreneurs pay nothing to attend. In 2010 we will move to a bigger venue for the event and the always popular after-party. Also new in 2010 are prizes for presenters and attendees. We are currently accepting applications to attend and present.

February 19-21, 2010, Los Angeles, CA: SCALE 8X is the 8th Annual Southern California Linux Expo. As the premier community run Linux / Open Source conference, it will feature tutorial sessions designed to show users of all skill levels what Open Source can do and how to do it. Whatever your interest is in Open Source, SCALE 8x will have something for you. Mashable’s readers can receive 40% off registration with the promo code MASH8.

February 22-24, 2010, New York City: From authoring, editing, and layout to distribution and consumption, new technologies are changing all aspects of publishing. TOC will help you navigate these changes and understand how to apply them to your business or organization for a more profitable future in publishing. You’ll also have the opportunity to participate in conversations that are shaping that future as often as they are describing it. The fourth annual O’Reilly TOC Conference is your opportunity to join those inventing the future of publishing. Register now and save at: en.oreilly.com/toc2010/public/register. Save an additional 15% when you use the Discount Code: toc10mas.

February 22–25, 2010 San Diego, CA: Online Marketing Summit, the premier educational event for marketing professionals, is coming to San Diego this February. Join your marketing peers as they share ideas, hear from expert practitioners, and learn best practices in the areas of: Social Media, Search, Email, Analytics, and more – in a completely vendor free environment! Register now and receive 25% off using discount code MASHABLE.

February 23-26, 2010, San Jose, CA: At FAST ‘10, explore new directions in the design, implementation, evaluation, and deployment of storage systems. Learn from leaders in the storage industry, beginning Tuesday, February 23, with ground-breaking file and storage tutorials by industry leaders such as Brent Welch, Marc Unangst, Michael Condict, and more. This year’s innovative 3-day technical program includes 21 technical papers, as well as two keynote addresses, Work-in-Progress Reports (WiPs), and a Poster Session. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to meet with premier storage system researchers and industry practitioners from around the globe. Register by February 8 and save! Mashable readers get $100 off using code FASTMASH10.

March 1-4, 2010, Ottawa, ON: Attend the Advanced Learning Institute’s Forum on Social Media for Government: How To Engage Your Employees And Citizens By Using The Latest Web 2.0 Technologies To Drive Communication Results, to learn how to capture the power of social media in your organization, along with helpful tools, tips and techniques to get started. Hear practical advice, firsthand, from leading government agencies and organizations such as: ON Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care; Parks Canada; Communications Community Office; City of Ottawa, ON; Public Safety Canada; Indian & Northern Affairs Canada; Toronto Police Service, ON; Canadian Forces Aerospace Warfare Centre; Human Resources & Skills Development Canada; Northern Lights Canada; Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation; Royal Bank of Canada; Genome Alberta; Business Development Bank of Canada; Thornley Fallis Communications; Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing, & more. Mention Mashable when registering to save $200.

March 2-4, 2010, Santa Clara, CA: Search Marketing Expo – SMX West content is so compelling, you’ll want to implement what you’ve learned before leaving the conference. Over 50 super-charged sessions on PPC, SEO, local search, search-friendly design, and social media marketing will help you flourish today, tomorrow and in the future. Whether you’re new to search or have years of experience, employed at a Fortune 500 company or run your own business or agency, you’ll be a more effective, innovative and inspired internet marketer after attending SMX East. Featured keynote – Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Get 3 jam-packed days of content for only $1145 if you register by January 30th and use discount code smx100mashable. For more info visit smxwest.com

March 4-5, 2010, Chicago, IL: At SOHO’s 2-Day, “The Co-Alignment of the Corporate and Personal Brand,” a Strategy Framework, develop your exclusive copy of “The Draft,” SOHO’s 16-page social communications policy workbook for businesses and corporations. The focus in 2010 is co-aligning the corporate brand with internal and external communications. SOHO brings to you presentations, case studies and Town Hall meetings with Chris Brogan and Dan Schawbel, and other experienced practitioners. For more information and to register, please visit Sohobiztube.com. Use discount code MashableChi for a 20% discount on a 2-day “The Draft” ticket.

March 15-16, 2010, London, UK: At Social Media World Forum, learn from social networks, brands, advertisers and analysts. Hear from leading social networks on their strategy, revenue models and how they are approaching the future. Worldwide case studies from global brands and corporations on their use of social media. Examine the current market conditions, future forecasts and predictions from leading analysts. Mention you are a Mashable reader to receive 15% discount.

March 19, 2010, London, UK: Justmeans’ Social Media and Stakeholder Engagement Conference will bring together the top minds in sustainability, marketing, innovation and technology. This executive forum will explore how technology can enable sustainable business by involving stakeholders in the value creation process and will showcase examples of success and failure in this rapidly evolving market. Use this link for a 10% registration discount.

March 24-25, San Francisco, CA: EyeforTravel’s Social Media Strategies for Travel conference goes beyond the ‘what is social media?’ debates (that were so 2008!) and examines the strategic importance of social media to travel brands. The 2 day conference will share leading case studies, hits, tips and advice from top travel companies including JetBlue, Hilton, Virgin America and more. Use the discount MASHABLE to save $100 on the registration fee!

March 30-April 1, 2010, San Jose, CA: Become Location Enabled at Where 2.0. Now in its sixth year, Where 2.0 is one of the world’s foremost events dedicated to exploring the emerging technologies in the geospatial industry. At Where 2.0, we expose the tools pushing the boundaries of the location frontier. Join us and meet the people behind the mashups, the people behind the platforms, and the people looking ahead to the future of geospatial. Find out what’s viable now, what’s lurking just below the radar and how to gain a competitive edge. Register now and save 15% at en.oreilly.com/where2010. Use code whr10mash.

May 17-19, 2010, Charlotte, NC: Search Exchange is a 3-day action packed internet marketing conference offering insights into social media marketing, search engine optimization, online reputation management, and pay per click advertising. Learn and network with industry professionals and business owners from around the world. Mashable readers save 10% using code mash10 during registration.

May 25-27, 2010, The Sage Gateshead, UK: Thinking Digital is overtly inspired by the TED and PopTech conferences in America. We attract more than 30 of the world’s most innovative, creative, insightful and/or accomplished people to come to Hall Two of the Sage Gateshead, United Kingdom annually and talk about their work, inspirations, insights and ideas. Our venue and speakers thereby attract a wonderfully eclectic mix of people from around Northern England, Europe and the world. Mashable readers save 25% using code tdc_mashable here.

June 29-30, 2010, London, UK: The 2nd annual Cloud Computing and Enterprise 2.0 World Forum is the perfect event to learn and discuss the future development and integration of cloud and enterprise 2.0 services and products. Building on the success of the 2009 show, this two day conference and exhibition will provide a focused platform for the global cloud computing and enterprise social media industry. The 2010 show will include a free-to-attend exhibition with scenario based workshop area and key service providers demonstrating their products.

The Mashable Weekly Social Media and Marketing Event Guide is proudly supported by Eventbrite, the Web’s Event Marketplace.

Eventbrite is an online events marketplace where tens of thousands of individuals, businesses and organizations of all sizes manage, promote and sell tickets to their events. Make your event a success on Eventbrite.

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Tags: conferences, Events, mashable

It’s a brand new week, which means it’s time for Mashable’s guide to upcoming social media and web events, parties, and conferences. For more upcoming event listings, check out Mashable’s Events section.

Is your event not on this list? Contact us at least one month before your event and let’s establish a media partnership.

Mashable’s Weekly Social Media and Marketing Event Guide is proudly supported by Eventbrite, the Web’s Event Marketplace.

December 15, 2009, Santa Clara, CA: The 5th annual Digital Living Room at Sun Microsystems Auditorium features the definitive voices in the digital home. CBS.com GM Bill Binenstock, Intel Digital Home GM Bill Leszinske, Playstation Network Sr. Director Susan Panico, to name just a few. This year’s theme is the connected living room: the network of TVs, broadband Internet, settop boxes, consoles, portable and mobile devices and now 3D technology that’s transforming the home. Mashable readers enjoy a 15% discount on the ticket price: follow the link here and click Apply Discount button next to the keyword ‘mashable’.

December 16, 2009, Chicago, IL: Word of Mouth Supergenius is where you’ll learn to be a fantastic word of mouth marketer with 12 how-to classes, 12 real-world case studies, and 6 brilliant authors. You’ll learn practical, hands-on techniques to get started, grow your program, and earn amazing word of mouth. Word of Mouth Supergenius is where you’ll learn to be a fantastic word of mouth marketer with 12 how-to classes, 12 real-world case studies, and 6 brilliant authors. You’ll learn practical, hands-on techniques to get started, grow your program, and earn amazing word of mouth. Save $75 off registration by using the code ILoveMashableWOM.

January 11, 2010, Nashville, TN: The Social Media conference that comes to you. Social Fresh is a one day, case study rich conference targeted for marketers. Social Fresh Nashville will have 30+ speakers including Jason Falls of Social Media Explorer, Gavin Baker of Ruby Tuesday, and John Andrews of Collective Bias (formerly of Walmart). Save 15% when using code mashable.

January 12, 2010, New York, NY: PluggedIn is an exclusive deal making gathering, bringing together handpicked digital media founders, gatekeepers and investors to candidly interact in a laid back setting and unlock the full value of doing business together. PluggedIn is a polar opposite to your typical overcrowded, loud and ineffective conference. We keep it to a closed circle of in-the-know executives and offer a casual, off the record environment. Our objective is to cultivate substantive and concrete dialogue between a select group of decision makers and help make things happen. Use registration code mashable to get 25% off.

January 13, 2010, New York, NY: Social Integration – Harmonizing Social Channels into the Marketing, Communications, & Service Platform – Case Studies & Roundtables is a conference that will demonstrate case studies of how leading brands are integrating social media and social networking into and across the enterprise. We will approach the topic from the communicator/marketer’s perspective but technology, customer service, and operations professionals are welcome to participate. Use promo code MASH for a discounted rate of $155 at www.bdionline.com/socialintegration.html.

January 14, 2010, Century City, CA: The first-ever Schmoozd event, a new Social Media Mixer event in Los Angeles, will be held at the Xbar. X bar’s environment is the perfect place to network – a lounge designed with spots for hanging out as well as socializing and action. Whether closing the deal or sharing ideas, X bar’s renowned design, cuisine and location means X marks the spot. For more information, please visit www.schmoozd.com. Mashable readers get 50% off when registering via this link.

January 14-16, 2010, Sedona, AZ: Join us at #SMML for a Social Media Mastermind Conference. We are going to get personal. As you seek to glean more information about social media, how it works and how you can use it to gain more customers. You’ll see more results in 2 days than you will have in six months working alone! If you are ready to be energized, engage with your audience, work with the best and take home real solutions in developing your own social media strategy, then join us. Speakers include: Robin Harris, Raliegh Pinskey, Frances Flynn Thorsen, Shannon Evans and more. Use event code SMMLBiz to save 15% on your registration fee.

January 20-22, 2010, Washington DC: Social Media for Defense and Government is a unique forum on the embracement, implementation and utilization of new media platforms that meet the Governments goals of transparency that allow for more efficient internal and external communication. As the public develops their use of online tools for their personal, career and business development goals, DoD & Gov’t have made it their mission to reach the public via these new forms of media. The forum will provide insight into technologies including Twitter and Facebook as well as advanced elements such as the Governments general information page, blogs, and closed social media suite. Mashable readers get an exclusive 20% discount off the standard pricing with special code IUS_MASH_SMTM_#1 when registering!

January 23, 2010, Virginia Beach, VA: Social Media @ The Beach is a place for anyone looking to “get their feet wet” and explore social media. It’s an interactive conference with the laid-back atmosphere of a meet-up. The January event will focus on two main goals: boosting personal social networking skills and developing professional social media marketing strategies. The event is open to everyone, drawing community members of all ages, backgrounds and levels of social media experience. Enter mashable for the discount code to receive 15% off ticket price.

January 26, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Vator.tv, a leading platform for entrepreneurs and innovators to broadcast themselves, and provider of news and information through VatorNews, and Girls in Tech, a social network enterprise focused on education and empowerment of influential women in technology, are hosting the Catalyst Competition to find five women-led startups across any stage to present at the Catalyst Conference. Ten finalists will be selected by their peers through an online competition. Join the competition today and get the vote out.

January 27-28, 2010, Amsterdam, Netherlands: Enterprise Social 2.0: RIP or ROI? This senior executive event will bring together decision makers from the top Fortune companies to discuss innovative strategies on how to maximize business performance through social media engagement. The event will include keynote speeches, best-practice presentations as well as interactive discussion sessions. Use promo-code MASH14 for a €100 (Euros) discount for the 2 day conference registration fee.

January 28, 2010, San Francisco, CA: The ARF Industry Leader Forum — Putting Listening to Work is an interactive event to help advertisers, agencies, media and research companies determine how to use social media and digital behavior for their listening strategies. Learn how to use listening, evaluate listening applications, develop a listening strategy, integrate it into your existing research program, create an action plan and apply insights garnered. Attendees will receive The ARF Foundations Series – Listening tool, an $895 value, featuring 25 case studies and 30+ company reviews how listening is used for consumer insight, customer service, new product development, reputation management, competitive benchmarking, and breaking into new applications like media planning, targeting and predictive modeling. Speakers include: Jeremiah Owyang, digital media strategy superstar and blogger and Partner, Customer Strategy, Altimeter Group, Toyota Motor Sales, Saatchi and Saatchi Wellness and LinkedIn. Mashable readers can use promo code ARFMASH to save $100.

January 28-29, 2010, Bilbao, Spain: The biggest Search Engines: Search Marketing and Online Marketing Event starts the new year in the north of Spain: Bilbao the TIC city! SC Bilbao will offer 9 professionals workshops, 8 Conferences and the glorious Closed Party! 2 days of learning and networking at “Palacio Euskalduna” . Come and share with Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, SEMPO and the best Internet experts. There’s a special 30% discount on Conferences for all Mashable readers using the promotional code: ILOVESEARCH.

February 1-5, 2010, New York, London, Berlin, Toronto, San Francisco, São Paulo: Social Media Week’s second annual conference will take place between February 1st – 5th, 2010 simultaneously in New York City, Berlin, London, San Francisco, Toronto and São Paulo. The five day conference will explore the profound impact that social media has on culture, business communications and society at large. The week-long conference is designed as a series of localized events, which city partners are responsible for organizing. Over the course of the week and in each city, programs will span a variety of formats, ranging from talks, presentations and panel discussions, to interactive workshops, seminars, networking events and drinks receptions. RSVP here.

February 4, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Vator, a leading platform for innovators and entrepreneurs to broadcast themselves, is holding its inaugural Vator Splash competition to find 10 promising early-stage startups to present at the Vator Splash event. Enter the competition today and join other onstage presenters, such as Zynga CEO Mark Pincus, Smule CEO Jeff Smith, August Capital VC Howard Hartenbaum and Google Ventures VC Bill Maris. Buy your 25% discount ticket today using the code: VatorMashable

February 8, 2010, Tampa, FL: The Social Media conference that comes to you. Social Fresh is a one day, case study rich conference targeted for marketers. Social Fresh Tampa will have 30+ speakers including Chris Barger of GM, Maggie Fox of Social Media Group, and John Andrews of Collective Bias (formerly of Walmart). Get 15% off if using code mashable.

February 8-10, 2010, Philadelphia, PA: The 9th Annual ePharma Summit is the most innovative digital marketing event for pharma. Year after year, hundreds of marketing professionals from leading pharmaceutical companies attend ePharma for incomparable access to insider information for optimizing their brand strategy and perfecting consumer relationships. Join us next February to collaborate with industry leading industry minds and perfect your digital strategy by pursuing true e-marketing innovation. The 2010 event is packed with fresh case studies, hands-on workshops, hot topic debates, facilitated roundtable discussions, and live audience polling sessions. Register with Priority Code XP1506MASH to save 15% off standard registration!

February 8-11, 2010, Washington, DC: Attend the Advanced Learning Institute’s Forum on Social Media for Government: How To Engage Your Employees And Citizens By Using The Latest Web 2.0 Technologies To Drive Communication Results, to learn how to capture the power of social media in your organization, along with helpful tools, tips and techniques to get started. Hear practical advice, firsthand, from leading government agencies and organizations such as: CIA; IRS; U.S. Army Public Affairs; National Wildlife Federation; U.S. Department of Agriculture; City of Raleigh, NC; U.S. Navy; Morris County, NJ; U.S. Department of State Roanoke Public Libraries, VA; Court Services & Offender Supervision Agency; Department for International Development, Government of the United Kingdom; NOAA; National Institutes of Health; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; National Defense University; City of Richmond, VA; Porter Novelli; Booz Allen Hamilton, and more. Mention Mashable when registering to save $200.

February 9-13, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Macworld 2010 is a five-day event that educates, entertains and immerses attendees in the Apple products community. A comprehensive expo hall offers access to hundreds of Mac products and services, paired with expert advice, demonstrations and instruction. Macworld conference programs feature industry leading minds, presenting cutting edge product training on the topics attendees most want to see. From Mac Power Users to creative professionals to first-time users to Enterprise computing professionals, Macworld has the conference content, special presentations and exhibit hall attractions that create what has been called “Mecca for Mac Users”. Get 15% off as a Mashable reader.

February 10, 2010, New York City: The Online Community Unconference East is a gathering of online community professionals – managers, developers, business people, tool providers, investors – to discuss experience and strategies in the development and growth of online communities. As we have found with our past events, the best source of information on all of these challenges is other knowledgeable practitioners. Mashable readers are entitled to a discount by registering here with code mashable.

February 15, 2010, Barcelona, Spain: The Mobile Premier Awards recognize the year’s best in Mobile Startup Innovation and are the largest open, global startup competition in the mobile industry. The awards are the point of reference in startup premiers during the Mobile World Congress and are organized in collaboration with some of the main networks in the industry. Participation to the awards is free and open to any startup with a mobile angle. Sign up at www.mobilepremierawards.com and take your chance to walk the red carpet in Barcelona!

February 19-21, 2010, Los Angeles, CA: SCALE 8X is the 8th Annual Southern California Linux Expo. As the premier community run Linux / Open Source conference, it will feature tutorial sessions designed to show users of all skill levels what Open Source can do and how to do it. Whatever your interest is in Open Source, SCALE 8x will have something for you. Mashable’s readers can receive 40% off registration with the promo code MASH8.

February 22-24, 2010, New York City: From authoring, editing, and layout to distribution and consumption, new technologies are changing all aspects of publishing. TOC will help you navigate these changes and understand how to apply them to your business or organization for a more profitable future in publishing. You’ll also have the opportunity to participate in conversations that are shaping that future as often as they are describing it. The fourth annual O’Reilly TOC Conference is your opportunity to join those inventing the future of publishing. Register now and save at: en.oreilly.com/toc2010/public/register. Save an additional 15% when you use the Discount Code: toc10mas.

February 22–25, 2010 San Diego, CA: Online Marketing Summit, the premier educational event for marketing professionals, is coming to San Diego this February. Join your marketing peers as they share ideas, hear from expert practitioners, and learn best practices in the areas of: Social Media, Search, Email, Analytics, and more – in a completely vendor free environment! Register now and receive 25% off using discount code MASHABLE.

February 23-26, 2010, San Jose, CA: At FAST ‘10, explore new directions in the design, implementation, evaluation, and deployment of storage systems. Learn from leaders in the storage industry, beginning Tuesday, February 23, with ground-breaking file and storage tutorials by industry leaders such as Brent Welch, Marc Unangst, Michael Condict, and more. This year’s innovative 3-day technical program includes 21 technical papers, as well as two keynote addresses, Work-in-Progress Reports (WiPs), and a Poster Session. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to meet with premier storage system researchers and industry practitioners from around the globe. Register by February 8 and save! Mashable readers get $100 off using code FASTMASH10.

March 1-4, 2010, Ottawa, ON: Attend the Advanced Learning Institute’s Forum on Social Media for Government: How To Engage Your Employees And Citizens By Using The Latest Web 2.0 Technologies To Drive Communication Results, to learn how to capture the power of social media in your organization, along with helpful tools, tips and techniques to get started. Hear practical advice, firsthand, from leading government agencies and organizations such as: ON Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care; Parks Canada; Communications Community Office; City of Ottawa, ON; Public Safety Canada; Indian & Northern Affairs Canada; Toronto Police Service, ON; Canadian Forces Aerospace Warfare Centre; Human Resources & Skills Development Canada; Northern Lights Canada; Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation; Royal Bank of Canada; Genome Alberta; Business Development Bank of Canada; Thornley Fallis Communications; Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing, & more. Mention Mashable when registering to save $200.

March 2-4, 2010, Santa Clara, CA: Search Marketing Expo – SMX West content is so compelling, you’ll want to implement what you’ve learned before leaving the conference. Over 50 super-charged sessions on PPC, SEO, local search, search-friendly design, and social media marketing will help you flourish today, tomorrow and in the future. Whether you’re new to search or have years of experience, employed at a Fortune 500 company or run your own business or agency, you’ll be a more effective, innovative and inspired internet marketer after attending SMX East. Featured keynote – Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Get 3 jam-packed days of content for only $1145 if you register by January 30th and use discount code smx100mashable. For more info visit smxwest.com

March 4-5, 2010, Chicago, IL: At SOHO’s 2-Day, “The Co-Alignment of the Corporate and Personal Brand,” a Strategy Framework, develop your exclusive copy of “The Draft,” SOHO’s 16-page social communications policy workbook for businesses and corporations. The focus in 2010 is co-aligning the corporate brand with internal and external communications. SOHO brings to you presentations, case studies and Town Hall meetings with Chris Brogan and Dan Schawbel, and other experienced practitioners. For more information and to register, please visit Sohobiztube.com. Use discount code MashableChi for a 20% discount on a 2-day “The Draft” ticket.

March 15-16, 2010, London, UK: At Social Media World Forum, learn from social networks, brands, advertisers and analysts. Hear from leading social networks on their strategy, revenue models and how they are approaching the future. Worldwide case studies from global brands and corporations on their use of social media. Examine the current market conditions, future forecasts and predictions from leading analysts. Mention you are a Mashable reader to receive 15% discount.

March 19, 2010, London, UK: Justmeans’ Social Media and Stakeholder Engagement Conference will bring together the top minds in sustainability, marketing, innovation and technology. This executive forum will explore how technology can enable sustainable business by involving stakeholders in the value creation process and will showcase examples of success and failure in this rapidly evolving market. Use this link for a 10% registration discount.

March 24-25, San Francisco, CA: EyeforTravel’s Social Media Strategies for Travel conference goes beyond the ‘what is social media?’ debates (that were so 2008!) and examines the strategic importance of social media to travel brands. The 2 day conference will share leading case studies, hits, tips and advice from top travel companies including JetBlue, Hilton, Virgin America and more. Use the discount MASHABLE to save $100 on the registration fee!

March 30-April 1, 2010, San Jose, CA: Become Location Enabled at Where 2.0. Now in its sixth year, Where 2.0 is one of the world’s foremost events dedicated to exploring the emerging technologies in the geospatial industry. At Where 2.0, we expose the tools pushing the boundaries of the location frontier. Join us and meet the people behind the mashups, the people behind the platforms, and the people looking ahead to the future of geospatial. Find out what’s viable now, what’s lurking just below the radar and how to gain a competitive edge. Register now and save 15% at en.oreilly.com/where2010. Use code whr10mash.

May 17-19, 2010, Charlotte, NC: Search Exchange is a 3-day action packed internet marketing conference offering insights into social media marketing, search engine optimization, online reputation management, and pay per click advertising. Learn and network with industry professionals and business owners from around the world. Mashable readers save 10% using code mash10 during registration.

May 25-27, 2010, The Sage Gateshead, UK: Thinking Digital is overtly inspired by the TED and PopTech conferences in America. We attract more than 30 of the world’s most innovative, creative, insightful and/or accomplished people to come to Hall Two of the Sage Gateshead, United Kingdom annually and talk about their work, inspirations, insights and ideas. Our venue and speakers thereby attract a wonderfully eclectic mix of people from around Northern England, Europe and the world. Mashable readers save 25% using code tdc_mashable here.

June 29-30, 2010, London, UK: The 2nd annual Cloud Computing and Enterprise 2.0 World Forum is the perfect event to learn and discuss the future development and integration of cloud and enterprise 2.0 services and products. Building on the success of the 2009 show, this two day conference and exhibition will provide a focused platform for the global cloud computing and enterprise social media industry. The 2010 show will include a free-to-attend exhibition with scenario based workshop area and key service providers demonstrating their products.

The Mashable Weekly Social Media and Marketing Event Guide is proudly supported by Eventbrite, the Web’s Event Marketplace.

Eventbrite is an online events marketplace where tens of thousands of individuals, businesses and organizations of all sizes manage, promote and sell tickets to their events. Make your event a success on Eventbrite.

Reviews: Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Mashable, Twitter, linux

Tags: conferences, Events, mashable