Virtual Worlds Forum

Programme

6 October 2008: Day 1: Stream 1

1. 9.10am–9.50am

   PLENARY - Keynote address

   

   Mel Guymon, Head of 3D Operations and Product Manager for Google's Lively
   

2. 9.40am–10.20am

   Hard facts and figures

   PLENARY - Hard facts and figures - who's using virtual worlds and for what?
   How has the picture changed since last year and what are the forecasts?
   
   Entertainment sector

   • What evidence is there that the technology has shifted into the mainsteam?
     
   • What metrics are important?
     
   • Market segmentation – kids, teens, adults
     
   • Who’s making money? In what territories?
     
   • Projections for growth in Europe and worldwide
     

   
   Enterprise and education

   • What are the figures to support the buzz around enterprise virtual worlds?
     
   • How are virtual worlds being used for innovation in education, collaboration and R&D?
     
   • Virtual worlds as a serious platform for trade and commerce not solely play – how are virtual world economies developing?
     
   • Projections for growth in Europe and worldwide
     

   Jessica Mulligan, COO, ImaginVenture SA
   Steve Prentice, VP and Gartner Fellow, Gartner
   

3. 10.20am–10.50am

   PLENARY - Keynote address

   Emerging models for online gaming : trends in direct to consumer entertainment offerings

   John Burns, Senior Director of Online Publishing, Electronic Arts Europe
   

4. 10.50am–11.20am

   Morning break

   Tea and coffee will be served to Congress and Expo participants

   
   Congress networking area and Expo hall

5. 11.20am–12.10pm

   Kids and Teens

   A close look at the mechanisms of operating kids/teen virtual worlds
   
   Case study: Habbo – the continuously evolving teen virtual world

   • Developing and operating a successful teen virtual world - insight into teenager behaviour
     

   Case study: Dizzywood - building a safe and fun world for kids

   • Starting with a story: how classic storytelling fits into virtual worlds for kids
     
   • Evaluating business models: choosing between advertising, subscription, micro-transaction and more
     
   • Appealing to the under-10 crowd: experiments that worked and some that didn't
     
   • It's all about safety: how to make sure a kids world stays safe, private and secure
     
   • Approaching partnerships and distribution: special considerations
     
   • The secret is service: why customer care is critical for kids
     

   Timo Soininen, CEO, Sulake Corporation Ltd.
   Scott Arpajian, Co-founder, Dizzywood
   

6. 12.10pm–12.50pm

   Brands in kids / teens virtual worlds

   Conversation - what results are brands getting from their experiences of kids and teen virtual worlds – are the results living up to their objectives?
   
   

   • How receptive are kids/teens to having brands in their virtual world?
     
   • How does a brand evaluate the success of a campaign?
     
   • What metrics – if any – are being used?
     
   • How are these brands adding to user experience and using presence to add value for this demographic?
     
   • How are brands approaching researching with kids? When is it / isn’t it appropriate?
     
   • How to handle kids generated content

   Philippe Moitroux, CEO, TAATU
   Celia Francis, CEO, WeeWorld Inc
   Michel Cassius, Board Member, Dubit
   Edita Kaye, Publisher iVinnie.com and Founder Association of Virtual Worlds
   

7. 12.50pm–2.00pm

   Lunch

   Lunch will be served to Congress delegates in the congress networking area.

   
   Congress networking area

8. 2.00pm–2.45pm

   Legal and regulatory perspectives

   What do kids / teens virtual worlds and their associated brands need to prepare for in terms of existing and forthcoming legislation?
   
   Legislators are concerned about protecting kids and teens from all sorts of dangers, and some of these laws apply to virtual worlds as well: issues are ranging from privacy protection to violent media content, from excessive spending to unfair advertising practices. Not all jurisdictions focus on the same issues, though, and sometimes the obligations imposed on the operators are contradictory. Given the long development cycles of some virtual worlds, forthcoming legislation always has to be taken into account. Even today, though, responsible operators of virtual worlds take measures way beyond what the legislator expects from them, giving advice to parents, protecting children and their brand at the same time.

   Dr. Andreas Lober, Partner, SchulteRiesenkampff
   Carolin Kasparek, Legal Adviser, Bigpoint GmbH
   Dr Michael Müller, LL.M., Lawyer, Head of Interactive Business, ProSiebenSat1 Group / Seven Games
   David Naylor, Partner, Field Fisher Waterhouse
   

9. 3.00pm–3.30pm

   kids and teens behaviour online

   Lifting the lid on kids and teens behaviour online – how to conduct research that supports designing virtual worlds for this demographic?
   

   • Conducting research in virtual worlds for this demographic
     
   • What environment suits which age groups best?
     
   • What are the gender differences? How can this be addressed research-wise?
     
   • How should designers design for certain age niches?
     
   • What impacts the point at which kids will progress and evolve up the age range of virtual worlds? Does it stop – why / when?
     
   • To what extent do kids use virtual worlds differently from adults?

   Liz High, Founding Partner, Intrepid
   

10. 4.00pm–4.45pm

    education through virtual worlds

    Conversation – where next for education in kids and teens virtual worlds?
    

    • How important is the learning component in kids virtual worlds?
      
    • Balancing fun and learning components
      
    • How are schools experimenting with virtual worlds as a learning channel?
      
    • There are lots of people working in this area, but are there any results?
      

    Lizzie Jackson, AHRC Researcher, University of Westminster
    Dr. James M. Bower Ph.D, Founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Visionary Officer, Numedeon Inc
    Marc Goodchild, Head of Interactive and On-Demand, BBC Children's Interactive
    

11. 4.45pm–5.30pm

    Is mobile the untapped market for virtual worlds?

    Will mobile enable a mass market window into virtual worlds?
    

    • On- or off-deck: What is the role of current players in the mobile ecosystem? What role should telcos play?
      
    • How to handle discovery in off-deck situations?
      
    • Web-to-mobile conversion. Is it necessary, or even possible?
      
    • How feasible is cross-platform? When and how should virtual world be accessible via web and mobile?
      
    • What should the role of each platform be and how can the user interact with the world in each medium?
      
    • What are the resource and capacity issues over a thin client?
      
    • When will rich content be a reality? How will they work as an adjunct to virtual worlds?
      
    • What new business models might open up for telcos and their partners?
      

    Timo Soininen, CEO, Sulake Corporation Ltd.
    Tim Gorree, IT Architect, Web Technologies, Nokia Corporation
    Lizzie Jackson, AHRC Researcher, University of Westminster
    

6 October 2008: Day 1: Stream 2

1. 11.20am–12.50pm

   Enterprise 3D Virtual environments>

   Making the business case for investing in enterprise 3D virtual environments for competitive advantage.
   
   Keynote presentation - 3-D Intranet: Rewriting collaboration in the enterprise
   In this session Luba from IBM will focus on best practices and lessons-learned from a large-scale enterprise (IBM) adopting virtual worlds, including: training and learning, rehearsals and events, games for team building, accessibility and translation in-world
   
   Leveraging virtual worlds to develop a new client relationship
   In this presentation, you will hear from ABN Amro - the leading financial company - who has taken steps to develop their presence in 3D online social communities
   

   • Examining the changes taking place online to understand the 3D Experience project
     
   • Creating content and applications in Second Life and Active Worlds to optimize added value
     
   • Establishing a new type of relationship and communication vehicle with customers by meeting them outside the office
     
   • Integrating a multi-channel strategy by incorporating Internet, interactive television and virtual worlds
     
   • Analyzing the possible future of expanding branches and customer advice in an online world

   
   McKinsey case study - Firmspace: A basic platform for 3D virtual meetings
   

   • The business need for 3D in consulting
     
   • Early experience with Second Life
     
   • A more business-friendly software platform
     
   • Designed by architects, not graphic artists
     
   • Website reservation and invitation system
     
   • Ensuring confidentiality in chat and displays
     
   • Helpful features for managing meetings
     
   • Target users and application areas
     
   • Insights gained from early adopters
     
   • Firmspace subscriptions available to all
     

   
   Philips case study - Exploring business opportunity domains with a view to new and increased value at lower cost
   

   • Creating a community for co-creation and discovery
     
   • The 4 business opportunity domains
     
   • Can web 3D leapfrog web 2.0?
     
   • Business transformation, the next challenge
     

   Luba Cherbakov, Director, Technology and Innovation, CIO Office, IBM
   Popke Rein Munniksma, Head of 3D Experience, Direct Channels & Innovation, ABN AMRO Bank N.V.
   David Gettman, Consultant, McKinsey & Company
   Dolf Wittkämper, Senior Director, Philips Design

2. 12.50pm–2.00pm

   lunch

3. 2.00pm–2.40pm

   Enterprise virtual worlds

   What are the operational implications of enterprise virtual worlds? Who is responsible and how is it integrated into the business?
   

   • What level of regrouping and restructuring is required in the marketing, communications, IT departments in particular?
   • Where should ownership of the virtual world sit?
   • Movement of skills around the business
   • Migrating the business mindset from web 1.0 to web 2.0 (or web 3.0?)
   • Having a credible champion in the business – who should do this?
   • How to make the virtual environment part of the norm rather than being a bolt-on – integration strategies

   Robert Gehorsam, President, Forterra Systems, Inc.
   Greg Nuyens, CEO, Qwaq
   Steve Prentice, VP and Gartner Fellow, Gartner
   Luba Cherbakov, Director, Technology and Innovation, CIO Office, IBM

4. 2.40pm–3.30pm

   Virtual world applications in the education sector

   What examples are there of the novel application of 3D games and virtual worlds in the education sectors?
   
   Medical education using virtual worlds
   Imperial College is pioneering the use of virtual worlds for medical service design, training and simulation, for example by enabling clinical staff to practice and perfect procedural innovations in realistic scenarios but in perfect safety. They have also worked on the use of publicly accessible virtual worlds for a more effective and engaging representation of the patient experience. In this case study Dave Taylor will outline some of their recent work.
   
   Playful pedagogy: the computer games-based classroom At a time when computer games and virtual worlds are increasingly being cited as models for motivating meaningful learning amongst children, this presentation examines how teachers’ pedagogies and curriculum design might adapt to these powerful media. It will draw on several interconnected research and development projects carried out by Futurelab between 2005 and 2008, including a one-year study of teachers’ uses of games in secondary school classrooms. Ben will specifically ask how the playful pedagogies of games and VWs challenge existing educational practices, provide case studies of teachers applying games in curricular planning, and discuss the implications of these media being regarded as ideal learning platforms for a “digital age.”

   Dave Taylor MSc MBCS, Programme Lead, Virtual Worlds and Medical Media, Imperial College, London
   Dr Ben Williamson, Senior Researcher, Futurelab

5. 4.00pm–4.45pm

   Progress in interoperability

   Interoperability, transferability of standards and open source solutions – what progress are we making?

   Tom Standage, Business Editor, The Economist
   Christian Renaud, CEO, Technology Intelligence Group
   Chris Howard, Manager, Worldwide Solution Development and Delivery, Emerging 3D Internet & Virtual Business, IBM Research
   Francesco D’Orazio, Founder and CEO, Myrl
   Adam Frisby, Chief Technical Architect, Sine Wave Company

6. 4.45pm–5.30pm

   Governance

   How can governments and industry work together to produce an international governance framework for virtual worlds?

   • What are the issues that need to be borne in mind - from the point of view of:
     
   • - government
     
   • - industry?
     
   • How can the wide range of Virtual Worlds be encompassed in a workable framework?
     
   • What initiatives are already in place to deal with governance issues?
     
   • How should the interfaces between Virtual Worlds and the Real World be handled and by whom?
     
   • Virtual worlds and society – the blurring of personal and professional life is being accelerated as enterprises adopt 3D spaces. What is the social and political impact of this shift?
     

     Anne Grikitis, Business Engagement Team, Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform
     Ren Reynolds, Philosopher and writer
     Dr. Olaf Weber, LL.M.,, Legal Service, European Commission
     Patrice Chazerand, Secretary General, Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE)

7 October 2008: Day 2: Stream 1

1. 9.10am–9.10am

   plenary - keynote address

   Why virtual worlds are really taking off, and how we can prevent a nose dive?

   • How virtual worlds differ from social networks. Why do they empower individuals in ways that social networks just can’t compete with?
     
   • The benefits of connecting users through entertainment (i.e. online events, gaming, media viewing/listening)
     
   • The importance of incorporating brands into the virtual world in a manner that excites users, instead of alienating - or worse boring - them
     
   • The responsibility of each virtual world to the industry and its users. How do we avoid complacency and keep users enthusiastic about the medium?
     

     Craig Sherman, CEO, Gaia Online

2. 9.40am–10.20am

   Global Trends

   Global differences in business models, usage patterns and take up rates between major eastern and western markets

   • What are the cultural differences that influence the success or failure of different virtual world business models globally?
     
   • What are the most popular payment methods in each region and why?
     
   • Are virtual worlds built (intentionally or unintentionally) to reflect the societies they originate from or as global phenomena?
     
   • What new trends are coming out of Asia and what is the likelihood of their adoption in the west?
     

   Arend Stührmann, Associate Producer, EVE Online
   Anatoly Ropotov, Executive Vice President of Products, Astrum Online Entertainment
   Eric Emanuel, Head of Online Business, NCsoft
   Dave Green, Communications Director, London Games Fringe

3. 10.20am–10.50am

   plenary - keynote address

   Choosing the right business model - experiences in adapting a business to embrace technology

   • Understanding how technology is changing consumer behaviour
     
   • Translating an offline experience into an online experience
     
   • Keeping ahead of the game
     

     Geoff Iddison, Chief Executive Officer, Jagex

4. 10.50am–11.20am

   Morning break

   Tea and coffee will be served to Congress and Expo participants
   
   Congress networking area and Expo hall

5. 11.20am–12.10pm

   Business issues for entertainment channels and brands

   Virtual worlds and MMOs – entertainment’s latest platform?

   • How can virtual worlds assist in the navigation and consumption of AV and other content?
     
   • How are savvy media companies using virtual worlds to create compelling new way of delivering entertainment?
     
   • Are they likely to move litigation from P2P networks to virtual worlds instead of embracing them?
     
   • What are the business, technical and legal issues that entertainment channels and brands face when using virtual worlds as complete media platforms?
     
   • PC versus console debate
     
   • What new revenue streams are emerging? What is the value of content and what is the balance between professional content, premium content and user generated content – will it subside?
     
   • Will entertainment kick start the long awaited mainstream adult uptake of virtual worlds?
     
   • How are virtual worlds being applied to the arts? How can it be progressed?

   Cindy H. Rose, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Walt Disney Internet Group EMEA
   Filip Fastenaekels, Producer Digital Media, VRT
   Jeroen Dontje, Head of Endemol Virtual, Endemol

6. 12.10pm–12.50pm

   The best of both worlds - How are games / social worlds merging?

   How are virtual worlds and MMOs merging to make a killing in the games market?

   • What are the tools and tricks from each side which can be combined to increase accessibility? What are the lessons learned so far?
     
   • Why are churn rates so high in virtual worlds – what can be done to address it?
     
   • How are niche / microworlds developing as the next big opportunity?
     
   • Tapping into the psychology of presentation in virtual worlds – how can this be capitalised on by the games market?
     

   Ed Bartlett, Vice President, Publisher Relations Europe and Co-Founder, IGA Worldwide
   Malcolm Clark, CEO, CyberSports Limited
   Craig Sherman, CEO, Gaia Online

7. 12.50pm–12.50pm

   lunch

   Lunch will be served to Congress delegates in the congress networking area.
   
   Congress networking area

8. 2.00pm–2.45pm

   virtual worlds and immersive marketing

   Conversation - Are virtual worlds the killer app for immersive marketing? What lessons have been learned by brands and agencies from the first B2C campaigns?

   • Retention, churn reduction and fostering long term engagement – what’s the secret?
     
   • Addressing the needs of the consumer - determining which applications generate enough value add to persuade them to join the virtual world
     
   • Build own community or find one that matches your target market – what’s best for your brand?
     
   • Should the focus be purely on high value / high communication needs consumer products?
     
   • Is market research a good application to explore for brands in virtual worlds?

     Giles Rhys Jones, Digital Strategy Director, Ogilvy Group UK
     Rodrigo Bruecher, New media, Marketing Communication, SEAT S.A. / VW Group
     Matthew Brotherton, Project Manager & Innovation Consultant, Applied Technology Centre, BT Group Chief Technology Office

9. 2.45pm–3.15pm

   Developing ROI models for virtual worlds campaigns

   How do you measure engagement and community building? How closely is this related to monetizing the audience?

   • Are virtual worlds the killer app for immersive marketing? What lessons have been learned from the first B2C campaigns?
     
   • Retention, churn reduction and fostering long term engagement – what’s the secret?
     
   • Integrating virtual worlds into your web 2.0 strategy

   Giff Constable, VP of Products and Strategy, The Electric Sheep Company

10. 3.45pm–4.30pm

    Web 2.0 strategy and virtual worlds

    Integrating virtual worlds into your web 2.0 strategy - harnessing social networks, virtual worlds and MMOs to create community

    • Playing to the strengths of social networks and virtual worlds – what are they each good at?
      
    • How can they be mixed and for what? What role might casual gaming play in their integration?
      
    • What should a mass market casual virtual world look like?
      
    • How interested are social network players in adding virtual worlds to their offerings? How is partnering developing?
      
    • Will virtual worlds grow into social networks themselves? How good are they at supporting them?
      
    • Looking at the collision of mobile social networks and virtual worlds - where will people consume?
      

    Raph Koster, President, Metaplace
    Marco Behrmann, CIO & Entropia Universe Community Director, MindArk PE AB
    Mirko Caspar, CMO & Co-founder, Metaversum
    Burckhardt Bonello, Founder & CEO, sMeet
    Stuart Dredge, Freelance journalist and blogger, covering games, music and technology

11. 4.40pm–5.30pm

    Future of virtual worlds

    What is the future of proprietary and non proprietary virtual worlds?
    

    • What plans do the major players have for the next 12 months?
      
    • How many proprietary virtual worlds can coexist?
      
    • There is a gap in the market that needs filling – will existing players reinvent what they do?
      
    • The future of virtual worlds – the melding of man, mind and machine – what new applications will peripheral devices enable?
      
    • How might emerging markets start to be served by localised (or generic) virtual worlds?

    Jessica Mulligan, COO, ImaginVenture SA
    Raph Koster, President, Metaplace
    Frank Campbell, Chief Business Officer, MindArk PE AB
    Bernard Horan, Senior Staff Engineer, Sun Labs
    Ginsu Yoon, VP Business Affairs, Linden Lab

7 October 2008: Day 2: Stream 2

1. 11.20am–12.10pm

   virtual world implementation strategies

   Enterprise and Serious Gaming applications

   Jeff Barr, Web Services Evangelist, Amazon
   Jelena Godjevac, Co-founder and Executive Director, HP Micro-Enterprise Acceleration Institute

2. 12.10pm–12.50pm

   user experience

   What is required for enterprise applications to achieve their full potential?
   

   • Building better engagement tools and natural communication tools
     
   • How to tie virtual world with real world content on the web to ensure accessibility to all
     
   • Using virtual worlds as an alternative or supplementary (richer) learning tool rather than a replacement for web content
     
   • Eliminating the complexity of navigating within and using 3D interfaces
     

   Julien Onillon, Vice President, Global Head of Investor Relations, ArcelorMittal
   Liliana Mircescu, Head, Staff Development and Learning Unit, International Organization for Migration (IOM)
   Tatiana Dearden, Corporate Training and Development, SGS HR
   Edita Kaye, Publisher iVinnie.com and Founder Association of Virtual Worlds

3. 12.50pm–2.00pm

   lunch

   Lunch will be served to Congress delegates in the congress networking area.
   
   Congress networking area

4. 2.00pm–2.30pm

   Who are the buyers?

   Who buys virtual goods and why?

   • What different motivations do consumers have for spending money on virtual goods?
     
   • Who are the spenders? Some data from a recent survey

   Vili Lehdonvirta, Researcher, Helsinki Institute for Information Technology

5. 2.30pm–3.15pm

   monetisation and business models

   Panel discussion – Monetising virtual worlds and MMOs: How are business models for subscriptions, virtual goods and currencies evolving and with what impact on engagement, stickiness, churn rates, ROI?

   • Pre-paid cards, premium SMS, subscription, advertising, micro-payments - what works and why
     
   • Monetising casual gaming and media tie-ins - what makes people want to buy virtual items in different contexts?
     
   • Using physical products as a gateway to a virtual world or online play experience
     
   • Subscription versus RMT debate – what are the pros and cons?
     
   • How do you sell power-ups and performance boosts without spoiling the game?
     
   • Sustainability: are there limits to how long you can sell virtual items to the same user? What if the user has already bought everything? What kind of sinks can you use without angering the buyer?
     
   • What are the business models for selling user-created content? Revenue sharing with users or third party content developers?

     Michael Acton Smith, CEO and Founder, Mind Candy
     Nils-Holger Henning, Director of Business Development, Bigpoint GmbH
     Björn Wahlgren, CEO, Paynova AB
     Grant Murgatroyd, Editor, Corporate Financier

6. 3.45pm–4.30pm

   Financial Perspectives

   Financial and industry perspectives on how the value chain is developing and how partnerships might drive value for all

   • What are VCs and investors projections for how the market will develop and how the value chain will evolve?
     
   • Are we starting to see a difference between infrastructure providers (graphics engines, character AI, etc.) and the consumer front end?
     
   • Working with complex partnerships for profitable virtual worlds projects

   Stefan Lemper, Partner, Aurellia Private Equity
   Nic Brisbourne, Partner, DFJ Esprit
   Uri Adoni, Venture Partner, JVP (Jerusalem Venture Partners)
   Mike Butcher, UK & Europe Editor, TechCrunch
   Adam Martin,