nextMEDIA: June 6-8th, Banff, Canada
nextMEDIA: The Future of Digital Content is an annual conference taking place in Banff, Canada each year.
nextMEDIA – The Future of Digital Content is where the world’s content creators, broadcasters, financiers, carriers, digital publishers, technology solution-providers, and advertisers meet to extend their knowledge and nurture key business relationships.
Set in spectacular Banff, Alberta, nextMEDIA is the sister event to the world renowned Banff World Television Festival. The event takes advantage of the synergies connecting the television and new media industries by facilitating a high-value networking environment.
The Fairmont Banff Springs is one of the world’s finest heritage resorts. Modeled after a Scottish baronial castle and set amid the grandeur of the Canadian Rockies, “The Springs” is a grand and gracious edifice, combining timeless elegance and state-of-the-art facilities.
Banff Hotel photo courtesy of Flickr user rgoshko
NextMEDIA launched 4 years ago and this event is of interest to content producers, media executives and Web entrepreneurs not only within Canada, but around the world. Looking at the schedule, there are an exceptional list of Canadian speakers.
Day 1 Keynote: Bill Buxton, Insights Into the Field of Human-Computer Interaction
In his keynote address Bill will speak to emerging trends in physical computing and outline how a more human-centered approach to design can create better technology.
Bill is, himself, the recipient of numerous awards, including a Canadian Human-Computer Communications Society Award for contributions to research in computer graphics and human-computer interaction. In 2000, he was presented with the “New Media Visionary of the Year Award” at the Canadian New Media Awards. More recently, Bill was named Doctor of Design, Honoris Causa by the Ontario College of Art and Design.
For the past two years, Bill has been Principal Scientist at Microsoft Corp., where he has consulted on Microsoft Surface, the first commercially available surface computer. He recently authored a new book, Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design (Morgan Kaufmann).
Day 2 Keynote: Jim Louderback, CEO of Revision3, The Future of Digital Content
Jim Louderback joined Revision3 as the CEO in July 2007 after 16 years in various media and technology management roles, including leading editorial and lab efforts for PC Week, and being on the launch team for ZDTV/TechTV – the first 24-hour cable network devoted to technology. During his keynote, Jim will outline the important relationship existing between content and community, and discuss the various strategies that have made Revision3 a hit with both audiences and advertisers.
Revision3 was founded in April 2005 by Kevin Rose and Jay Adelson, co-founders of the social bookmarking site digg, and David Prager, a producer, tech writer and journalist with ZDTV and TechTV.
Relevance: There are a number of interesting Digital and Social Media events happening across Canada this summer(e.g. vidfest in Vancouver, nextMEDIA in Banff, Social Tech Training in Toronto). This is definitely an opportunity not to miss in Banff.