Sponsored by:
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Track E:
Talking Back to the Television: New Design and Usability Guidelines for Creating Interactive TV
"Interactive" has become a big buzz word in the media, but in the rush to jump on the interactive band wagon, communication objectives can be subverted by the addition of interactive bells and whistles that add no value, or even detract from, the original medium. Interactive elements incorporated into an existing television show must be designed around usefulness to the viewer, and the potential to enrich, rather than distract from, the show’s content. This session maps out tried-and-proven techniques for developing interactive components for television shows that successfully engage viewers. Using case studies the panelists will offer practical tips on fitting content to the show, maximizing screen space, and choosing user interface.
Cynthia Brown, Director of Entertainment Content, Lycos, Inc.
Stuart Gross, Chairman /Chief Executive Officer, Random/Order
Joe Conboy, VP Programming, Local, Digital & New Media, The Weather Channel
Eric Smith, Director of Developer Relations, Liberate Technologies
Kevin Furuichi, Director of Production, OpenTV
Afshan Ali, WebTV Networks, Moderator
Additional speakers to be announced
Cynthia Brown is the Director of Content for the Lycos Entertainment Destination. In this role, she is responsible for managing all content and integration of content on the Lycos Entertainment Channel and also for the day-to-day management of programming and program content on Lycos Entertainment. Cynthia joined Lycos in its early infancy in 1996 as Executive Producer. She was responsible for building the original team of editors, program developers, and designers for Lycos and for leading the charter in the creation of Lycos as a commercial Web site and portal. Her immediate and ongoing projects include site development of Lycos TV (tv.lycos.com), a streaming media player; Multimedia Search and Content, a searchable directory of streaming media, photo and video search and download product; and the Lycos Entertainment Channel (www.lycos.com/entertainment). Prior to joining Lycos, Ms. Brown began her career in 1982 as one of the founding editors of PC magazine, the first consumer computer magazine to launch in America. With the sale of PC magazine to Ziff Davis, she moved on to spearhead the editorial and production teams for the founding of PC World magazine, a consumer-oriented computer magazine. After 10 years experience with magazine publishing, Cynthia served as Managing Editor of Osborne/McGraw-Hill’s book division where she was responsible for the innovation and publishing of Osborne’s five series consumer list, comprised of 65 titles annually on computers, software and technology. Ms. Brown is a graduate of Boston University School of Journalism. She is married with 2 children and living in Brookline, MA.
Joe Conboy, VP Programming, Local, Digital & New Media, The Weather Channel:
Joe Conboy is vice president for local, digital and new media at The Weather Channel. For over 13 years, Conboy has been a leader in programming for The Weather Channel. He has developed news and documentary units, led consumer research and developed successful programming strategies. Since June of 1999, Conboy has wokred in New Media and provided programming direction for Interative TV (IVD), Local Digital and broadband offerings. He initiated a broadband trial with innovativ.com which married TWC content with weather.com content that allows a viewer to experience the content in either a linear or non-linear fashion. He took TWC's ATVEEF application beyond loocal weather on demand - developing special content around TWC series Tornadoes and Hurricane: The Eye of the Storm. Mr. Conboy has over 20 years in television programming and production. He has been a member of NAB, RTNDA, NCTA and BDA. He has a B.A. in Communications from Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL.Afshan Ali, WebTV Networks: Afshan Ali is a Usability Engineer at Microsoft WebTV Networks, focusing mainly on television technology. Since joining WebTV in January 1999, she works closely with and conducts user research to support WebTV's Interactive Television Group, User Interface Design Group, and User Documentation Group. Along with Sheri Lamont, she co-authored Interactive Television Design Guidelines. In addition to conducting usability tests, field studies, and heuristic evaluations, Afshan is currently working on user interface design projects involving the integration of web content onto the TV viewing experience. Additionally, she has helped define new testing methodologies at WebTV including longitudinal usability studies, combination survey/home trials, and heuristic evaluations specific to interactive television. Prior to joining WebTV, Afshan was a doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology at Allegheny University of the Health Sciences in Philadelphia, PA. Afshan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Recent speaking experience includes Promax Broadcast Designers Association.
Stuart A. Gross, Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer, RANDOM/ORDER: Stuart Gross gained the attention of the national business community with his development of the first publicly-held advertising production company. As co-founder of Harmony Pictures/Harmony Holdings (with director Robert Lieberman), he created and implemented one of the most innovative and successful business plans in commercial production history, the industry’s first IPO, and generated revenues with an annual run rate of over $70 million. Gross expanded Harmony into six wholly-owned subsidiaries with an internationally recognized talent pool and a client list including virtually every major advertising agency and advertiser. From February 1997 to February 1998, Gross was CEO and president of Scala Computer Television Inc., an internationally-renowned media software company. He served an additional year as a consultant to Scala. As CEO, Gross brings visionary thinking and more than 25 years of business, finance, media, entertainment and technology experience to RANDOM/ORDER. He is orchestrating the company&Mac226;s growth into convergent media and building a dynamic management and creative team. He is an active member of the Directors Guild of America, a member of the Board of Directors of the Malibu Stage Company, a rated member of the United States Polo Association and holds a BS degree from the University of New Haven.