Click on the Video Below and Sample a Session from a previous Digital Hollywood event. For Additional Video Sessions, Click Here Digital Hollywood, Santa Monica Monday, June 11th Track III. User Generated Media & Social Networks – Media, Communications and Entertainment Reinvented 1:00 PM – 2:15 PM Session A: UGM, Social Networks and Traditional Media: Strategies in Content, Communications and Commerce, Part I In the past year, the YouTube - MySpace - Facebook experience has revolutionized the world of entertainment, information and communications. The world of social communities, once thought to be a thing of the past has exploded and is once again on the front pages of our newspapers and magazines. There are web pages and web experiences for every human nuance and niche. Every family communicates through photo sharing and movie sharing websites. The blogging and social networking worlds have become the new "major media networks." In this session we will explore user generated media as a phenomenon, as a business and as a communications and entertainment medium. Ty Ahmad-Taylor, Vice President, Product Development, MTV Networks and Logo Matt Farber, President, Wilderness Media & Entertainment & founder, LOGO, Viacom Lane Beauchamp, Managing Editor, CBS Television Stations Digital Media Group Todd Herman, General Manager, Global Media Strategy, MSN Media Network Robert Tercek, co-founder & President, PeopleJam Brandon Gross, Creative Executive/Manager Viewer Created Content (VC2), Current TV Adrian Sexton, Executive Vice President of Digital, Participant Productions, Moderator Todd Herman, Director of Media Strategy, is responsible for the strategy, implementation and communication of advertising sales for MSN Video. Mr. Herman began working in streaming media in 1996, shortly after its inception, while working at the forefront of the Hot Talk Radio movement. In 1998, he co-founded and served as CEO of theDial, (now Loudeye Radio), a seminal Internet Radio Pioneer. theDial provided private labeled audio and Internet radio technology to offline music service providers and top 100 web properties; theDial was the first company to welcome multiple Fortune 500 companies to Internet Radio advertising. As President of Mediagasm, LLC, he consulted media and technology companies on crossing online and broadcast advertising models, his clients included Microsoft, Windows Media, MSNBC.com and Ads.com -an early pioneer in serving Television advertising online- where he conceived his three C's of streaming media for consumers: control, condense & combine. He sits on the board of the International Webcasters Association and is a contributing author to The Streaming Media Bible by Steve Mack (2002, Wiley & Sons). Before co-founding theDial, Mr. Herman worked in most every facet of radio including several years as a nationally known radio talk show host. Todd Herman is an exciting, provocative speaker on media, advertising, pop culture and the Internet as the entertainment delivery device of the future -- and the present. Ty Ahmad-Taylor, Vice President, Product Development, MTV Networks and Logo: Ty Ahmad-Taylor, Senior Director, Interactive Products, Comcast Cable: Ty Ahmad-Taylor began his career at the New York Times in their graphics department, working in National and International news. While there, he covered the Waco, TX standoff, the Los Angeles riots, the Gulf War, the Oklahoma City bombing and other large news events from a visual perspective, using schematics, databases and cartography. In 1995, his last year at the paper, he wrote articles on the emerging Internet, special effects in cinema, and the video game industry. From the Times he moved West to join the @Home Network. Ty became the Creative Director of @Home in 1997, and led their efforts to create next-generation portals for broadband and interactive television. After a year sabbatical in 2000, where he took cooking and French lessons, he returned to technology, working as the Chief Creative Architect for MetaTV, an iTV concern based in Mill Valley, CA, just north of San Francisco. While there, Ty generated user interface patents, and led the design of interactive television portals for Comcast, Cox, Echostar and other MSO and satellite operators. After working at Comcast Cable Corporation as the Director of Strategic Planning in their broadband group, where his mandate included devising and executing Comcast’s wireless (GPRS, UMTS and WiFi) strategy, and interactive content and applications. He was the Senior Director for Cross-platform applications at the company. His job duties encompassed applications that straddle distribution channels, such as search, games and music. He is currently the Vice President for Product Development at MTV Networks in New York City, working on their music websites as well as the infusion of online community throughout their properties. Ty has over 11 years of experience in designing for broadband, 10 years in interactive television, and 17 years in information design. He has lectured at Digital Hollywood, CES, Milia, AIGA conferences, HOW Design Conferences, Seybold Seminars, as well as the Poynter Institute for Journalism in St. Petersberg, Fla. Ty lives in New York City, though he is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. Matt Farber, President of Wilderness Media and Entertainment, is Founder of MTV Networks’ new gay and lesbian channel LOGO. His creation of Wilderness in 2001 facilitated the development of LOGO. Through Wilderness, Farber is currently Executive Consultant for MTV Networks, where he spearheaded LOGO’s development leading up to its launch in 2005. Recently, Farber expanded Wilderness beyond television to publishing, radio, the Internet, and talent management. Before creating Wilderness and LOGO, Farber served as President and CEO of Tonos Entertainment, an Internet-based music company founded by industry luminaries Carole Bayer Sager, David Foster and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, where he handled financing, strategic development and operations and was credited with raising over $17 million in funding during 2000. From 1991-99, Farber served in a variety of executive roles at MTV Networks. Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President for MTV and VH1 Programming Enterprises as well as General Manager for MTV2/The Digital Suite. As Senior Vice President for MTV and VH1 Programming Enterprises, Farber developed and launched a series of initiatives including MTV2, MTV.com and VH1.com, MTV Radio Network and the MTV/VH1 audio business. Farber also oversaw all MTV interactive initiatives including CD-ROMS, videogames and interactive television. Farber began his MTV Networks career as MTV’s Vice President of Music Programming where he helmed development of all music-based programming for MTV. Prior to his time at MTV Networks, Farber was the Director of Planning and Special Projects at Arista, where he reported directly to Clive Davis and was involved with key Arista initiatives/artists including Arista’s 15th Anniversary, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin. He began his career in radio, working at a variety of East-coast radio outlets such as D.C.’s WAVA-FM, Atlanta’s WAPW-FM and Philadelphia’s WWSH-FM. Farber graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Wharton School of Business with a B.S. in Economics, and is active in many LGBT organizations including GLAAD, PFLAG, and HRC. Robert Tercek, President, Founder, PeopleJam, Inc.: Robert Tercek is recognized as one of the world's foremost authorities on digital entertainment. He has shared his provocative vision for the future of networked entertainment as a featured speaker at many industry conferences, including: the 3GSM World Congress, CES, CTIA Wireless, MIPTV, MIP, NAB, NATPE, CTAM, MILIA, GDC, E3, Digital Hollywood, iHollywood Forum, Billboard's DEM Expo, the PocketPC Summit, Mobile Content and Commerce, the KidScreen Summit, Premium Music Berlin, the Tokyo Games show, the Rotterdam Film Festival, Comdex, the Digital Coast Summit. Mr. Tercek has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, the Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Electronic Entertainment, CNN, Salon, the Digital Coast Reporter, MocoNews, Le Monde, Sony Style, and the Asahi Shinbun. His comments and perspectives have been included in dozens of publications, including Wired, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times, Time Magazine, The San Jose Mercury News, CNet, USA Today, Fortune Magazine, Forbes, RCR Wireless, Wireless Week, Mobile Entertainment, and many others. During his 20 year career, he has supervised the design and launch of content and programming services for every new digital platform. His credits include the launch of the first multichannel satellite television programming service in Asia, some of the earliest multimedia games for personal computers, the first multiplayer online games, the first interactive television services in North America, the first downloadable games for set top boxes in the UK, the world's first deployments of video in mobile networks, and some of the world's most innovative games for mobile phones. Mr. Tercek is a veteran entrepreneur. He has co-founded several successful new media businesses. He is currently the co-founder & president of PeopleJam, an online portal dedicated to personal development and collaborative improvement. He is also the co-founder of Comedy.com, an online comedy destination. Earlier, he participated as a co-founder of MTGP, an international media consultancy, and 7th Level, a computer game publishing company which went public in 1994. Robert Tercek's experience spans traditional media, including broadcast and cable television, as well as new media, including game publishing, online entertainment and mobile content distribution. He has served in executive leadership positions at major media companies and new media ventures. Mr. Tercek began his career as a television director in the late 1980s. At MTV: Music Television, Mr. Tercek was a Creative Director. He supervised the launch of MTV in Asia, tailoring the pop culture channel for youth audiences in India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, China, and Hong Kong as well as contributing to the branding and position of MTV Latino and MTV Japan. Mr. Tercek served as Director of On Air Creative for MTV worldwide during 1992 - 1993. Brandon Gross, Creative Executive/Manager Viewer Created Content (VC2), Current TV: Brandon managed grassroots marketing at Universal Music Group’s “Jimmy and Doug’s Farmclub.com” while earning his undergraduate degree at Brown University. After graduating with a BA in Modern Culture and Media, he attended USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program, simultaneously joining the agent trainee program at United Talent Agency. At UTA, Brandon worked for board member, Nick Stevens, and helped to develop the foundation of the then nascent UTA Online Department. Brandon joined Current TV, based in San Francisco, in December 2006 as a Producer in Viewer Created Content (VC2), where he is now a Creative Executive in programming and Manager of VC2 Outreach. In this role, Brandon develops and implements new formats for both the broadcast and broadband platform, while creating programs to engage content creators on a mass participation level. Brandon works with award winning filmmakers to produce original programming and acquire edited versions of their documentaries, in addition to developing platform agnostic formats for broad participation. Brandon manages the outreach strategy as it pertains to reaching potential content creators through film festival participation and contests. While at Current, Brandon has commissioned and overseen the production and broadcast of over 50 user-generated videos. Adrian Sexton joined Participant Productions, as Executive Vice President in charge of Digital, in January, 2007. He will oversee the company's expansion into global media, the production of new programs and digital distribution. Sexton most recently consulted with Participant on the DVD release of the Academy Award ® nominated documentary “AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH,” Richard Linklater’s “FAST FOOD NATION” and “THE WORLD ACCORDING TO SESAME STREET.” Sexton comes to Participant from TAG Strategic, a digital media and entertainment agency he co-founded with EMI veteran and digital pioneer Ted Cohen. TAG’s diverse client roster has included Lionsgate, Eyespot, Qualcomm, Revver, Sandisk and LivePlanet. He continues his successful relationship with select TAG clients which are relevant to Participant’s strategic mandates. Before forming TAG, Sexton headed Digital Media at Lionsgate, where he oversaw the day-to-day operations, production, media planning and business development for digital and mobile properties. His duties encompassed theatrical, home entertainment, television, international and physical studios. He oversaw the digital campaigns for such movies as the Best Picture Academy Award ® -winning “CRASH,” Oscar ® -winning “MONSTER’S BALL,” as well as “FAHRENHEIT 9/11,” and the “MADEA’S FAMILY REUNION” and “SAW” franchises. A pioneer in the creation of studio blogs for emerging directors and audience participation, Sexton released the first MPAA-approved age-gates for online content, and negotiated an innovative digital cinema deal with BMW Films around Lionsgate titles “SHATTERED GLASS” and “THE COOLER.” Sexton identified multiple-platform marketing, distribution and sales opportunities for the studio’s 8000+ title film library in such high-growth markets as broadband, mobile, digital cinema, peer-to-peer and IPTV. Sexton also was part of the team which secured the $350 million credit facility involving the acquisition of Artisan Entertainment. Sexton delivered the studio keynote address at the 2006 Intel Viiv announcement in Tokyo, and is a frequent media presenter. He is also an Advisory Committee Member for non-profit Film Independent and its Los Angeles Film Festival. Additionally, he is on the Interactive Media Peer Group Awards Committee for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Prior to Lionsgate, Sexton was the New Media Director at Mediapact Capital, a media management and investment capital firm. His professional experience also includes work in television at Sony Pictures Entertainment with programs including “MAD ABOUT YOU,” “PARTY OF FIVE,” “THE KING OF QUEENS” and “DAWSON’S CREEK”; in production and development at HBO Pictures with "AND THE BAND PLAYED ON" and “THE LATE SHIFT”; and, at 20th Century Fox and Saban Entertainment. Sexton graduated with dual bachelor degrees in Government and English from Cornell University, and received his Masters from the University of Southern California as a Phi Kappa Phi fellow.