April 26, 2007 - Beverly Hilton, LA
EconSM is the first conference focused on business models and deals as much as the creative process and enabling technologies in the social media ecosystem.
Conference Blog
05/07/2008
EconSM 2008 Survey
| By Seth Bro - Wed 07 May 2008 08:59 AM PST
Thank you for participating in our conference survey. To receive your complimentary 2007-08 Social Media Deals Report, please fill out the following fields:
And, if you enjoyed EconSM, consider attending two of our upcoming industry seminars…
04/25/2008
Manuel Perez
By Amanda Natividad - Fri 25 Apr 2008 09:55 AM PST
As supervising producer at CNN.com, Manuel Perez leads the site’s breaking news coverage, shaping original stories and multimedia features and coordinating long-term projects. His area of responsibility includes oversight of CNN Exchange, a new section of CNN.com that invites users to get involved in the news by sharing their photos, video, stories and opinions. He has been with CNN.com since 2001. Before making the switch to online journalism, he was a reporter at the Washington Post and at New York Newsday, where he was part of the staff that won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for spot news coverage.
04/24/2008
Peter Kang
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 24 Apr 2008 06:50 PM PST
Peter Kang is Group Creative Director across the Ogilvy San Francisco and Los Angeles offices heading up digital innovation and 360 integration for accounts such as Cisco, Yahoo!, Mattel and Naturemade. He has more than 14 years of integrated marketing and multimedia development experience with clients as diverse as Yahoo!, Cisco, Toyota, Sony, EMI, Diddy, Jennifer Lopez, and more. Prior to joining Ogilvy, he was with Saatchi & Saatchi. Kang’s mobile and gaming expertise led Toyota to the industry’s first ad-supported scripted mobisodes for Fox’s Prison Break, and to the first free ad supported game on XBOX Live. He is currently part of the design team for the new Street Fighter HD and SF4 videogames for Capcom and serves on the board for the global Evolution videogame tournaments.
04/24/2008
Jason Rapp
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 24 Apr 2008 03:30 PM PST
Jason L. Rapp is the Senior Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions for IAC. In this role, he is responsible for identifying, recommending and executing all corporate mergers, acquisitions, investments and divestitures.
Previously, Jason worked for seven years at The New York Times Company, most recently as Vice President for Online Development and Associate General Manager of NYTimes.com. During his tenure, Jason executed over a dozen corporate development initiatives, including the acquisition of About.com. Earlier, Jason was a vice president at Robinson, Lerer & Montgomery. From 1994 to 1995, he was a political aide in the Clinton White House, serving as a staff assistant for judicial selection in the Office of Counsel to the President. From 1993 to 1994, he was Director of Radio Operations for the Democratic National Committee.
Jason received an M.B.A. degree with distinction from Columbia University. He is a volunteer fundraiser for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
04/23/2008
Big And Small, Social Media Investments And M&A Continue To Capture Headlines
By Elizabeth Osder - Wed 23 Apr 2008 05:54 PM PST
We’re just three business days away from EconSM and the program seems more and more on target each day. With the Pennsylvania primary over our opening night panel on election and politics, our panelists will share the latest on how social media is changing the political landscape. We’re seeing more and more start ups grow up and buy and merge with others like in the case of AtomicOnline buying fashion community FashionSpot today. And there’s certainly no shortage of headline-grabbing major acquisitions and big payoffs like AOL-Bebo and Apple’s acquisition of microprocessor company PA Semi last night. So we’re looking forward to having you join the conversation. Go here to register. In the meantime, continue to check out paidContent.org for ongoing coverage on VC and M&A.
04/23/2008
Bob Dylan and EconSM
By Elizabeth Osder - Wed 23 Apr 2008 01:31 PM PST
I just came from a pre-conference visit to the Skirball Cultural Center and am thrilled with the venue. Sometimes Los Angeles really surprises me; it’s got so many beautiful places and surprising resources. EconSM will be a great conference since we’re not going to be stuffed in a hotel ballroom, but in a beautiful outdoor/indoor space nestled in the Sepulveda cutting through the Santa Monica mountains. I wanted to let folks know that there’s a terrific exhibit on Bob Dylan at the center, and encourage you to return on Wednesday to see it since you won’t have time to duck away Tuesday from EconSM’s packed schedule, conversations and networking.
04/17/2008
Rafat Ali
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 17 Apr 2008 03:01 PM PST
Rafat Ali founded paidContent.org in 2002 and has overseen its growth into ContentNext Media, including the addition of mocoNews.net, ContentSutra.com and paidContent:UK, as well as the expansion into conferences and other events. (Editor & Publisher called him “journalism’s poster boy for career independence from news companies.”) Prior to ContentNext, Rafat was managing editor of the Silicon Alley Reporter and was at Inside.com. Rafat was the Knight Foundation Fellow at Indiana University, his alma mater, in 1999-2000.
04/17/2008
Staci D. Kramer
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 17 Apr 2008 02:54 PM PST
Staci D. Kramer is co-editor and EVP of ContentNext Media, whose main properties are paidContent.org, paidContent:UK, contentSutra.com and mocoNews.net. She joined the company in late 2004 as executive editor of paidContent.org. She has been writing about the intersection of technology with media, entertainment and sports since the days before the Web. Formerly a contributing editor at Inside.com, an editor at large for Cable World and senior editor for the Online Journalism Review, the veteran journalist has written for Time, Life, Sports Business Journal, the Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, and others. She is a former national director at large of the Society of Professional Journalists and founded a list serve for the discussion of journalism ethics, which she operated for a decade.
04/09/2008
AOL-Yahoo? Microsoft-Yahoo? Your Questions Answered At EconSM
By Amanda Natividad - Wed 09 Apr 2008 09:42 PM PST
Who knows what the next three weeks will bring but if the latest Yahoo-Google-AOL-NWS headlines are any indication, the ante is being raised for some of our speakers at EconSM including Jeff Weiner, EVP of Yahoo’s Network division, Ron Grant, President and COO of AOL and Michael Lang, EVP, Business Development and Strategy of Fox Networks. Earlier today, in a surprising move, Yahoo announced a two-week Google AdSense trial in which it will outsource 3 percent of its U.S. search queries’ ads to its competitor. Will the deal—giving Google 90 percent of the online ad market—make Microsoft push harder into its attempted Yahoo acquisition? Or does Google’s 5 percent ownership of AOL make the Yahoo-Time Warner talks more serious? Check out paidContent.org for our full coverage and join us on Tuesday, April 29th, to engage in the discussions.
Our sponsors till now: DeSilva & Phillips; Montgomery & Co; The Jordan, Edmiston Group; Operative; KickApps; Pluck; Snap.com; and CoComment. To become a sponsor, e-mail our sales staff at advertising AT contentnext.com.
04/08/2008
Robert Andrews
By Amanda Natividad - Tue 08 Apr 2008 03:03 PM PST
Robert Andrews has reported on digital media and technology for 13 years. A former BBC News journalist, he has been a regular contributor to Wired News, Journalism.co.uk, New Media Investor and more. He has also written for titles including Digital Home, PC Plus and New Media Express and has appeared in Time, Los Angeles Business Journal, Media Life and on BBC Radio. Robert taught university online journalism and has worked to develop social media for marketing and business communication before joining ContentNext Media as its paidContent:UK editor in early 2007.
04/08/2008
Elizabeth Osder
By Amanda Natividad - Tue 08 Apr 2008 03:00 PM PST
Elizabeth Osder, EconSM’s Editorial Program Director, is a consultant specializing in social media, new product development, and internet business strategy for media companies navigating the changing landscape of interactive media. Elizabeth has worked as an editor, producer, educator, consultant and executive for leading new and old world media companies including Yahoo!, Google, The New York Times, Financial Times, NPR and taught in the graduate journalism programs at USC Annenberg, Columbia University and New York University.
A founder of the Online News Association, Elizabeth serves on Alumni Board of Trustees of Mount Holyoke College. She holds an M.A. from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and was a John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University.
04/07/2008
Jordan Levin
By Amanda Natividad - Mon 07 Apr 2008 12:03 PM PST
Jordan Levin brings two decades of media industry experience to Generate, a next-generation production and management studio where he serves as founding partner and CEO. Formerly the CEO of The WB, Levin was part of the founding executive team responsible for defining series that established the network’s youthful brand such as Dawson’s Creek, 7th Heaven, Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, and Everwood, for which he also directed an episode. In addition to The WB, Levin oversaw Kid’s WB! and established The WB’s original movie division by launching the American Girl film franchise. Prior to The WB, Levin was a member of the creative group that revitalized the Disney brand in network television. Levin has lent his expertise as a consultant to leading digital companies and currently sits on numerous Boards including non-profit organizations, academic institutions, political advocacy groups and media companies.
04/06/2008
EconSM: The Full Schedule
By Amanda Natividad - Sun 06 Apr 2008 11:22 PM PST
The 2008 edition of our Economics of Social Media conference is just weeks away and we’re ready to share our full schedule. We kick off Monday, April 28, at the Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica with an opening night reception and our first session: Campaign ‘08: Media and Candidates Mixing It Up (Or Getting Mixed). Tuesday, April 29, we move to the Skirball Cultural Center for a full day of sessions and lots more networking opportunities including a closing reception.
We still have a special rate for the Hotel Angeleno until Tuesday, April 8, so check out the full details at out our venue page. And if you haven’t done so already, register for the conference today.
Our sponsors till now: DeSilva & Phillips; Montgomery & Co; The Jordan, Edmiston Group; Operative; KickApps; Pluck; Snap.com; and CoComment. To become a sponsor, e-mail our sales staff at advertising AT contentnext.com.
04/04/2008
Seth Goldstein
By Amanda Natividad - Fri 04 Apr 2008 01:50 PM PST
Seth Goldstein is the co-founder and CEO of SocialMedia Networks. An experienced entrepreneur, Seth has created a number of Internet businesses, including online advertising company, SiteSpecific, in 1995. Seth was Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Flatiron Partners from 1998 to 2000. In 2002, he co-founded Majestic Research, a next generation Wall Street research firm that provides leading hedge funds with proprietary data insights. In 2005, he created Root Markets, a financial exchange marketplace for Internet mortgage leads.
Seth is also an angel advisor to a number of Web services companies including Aggregate Knowledge, Lijit and Downfly. He was the first investor in del.icio.us, (now part of Yahoo!). He contributed articles on monetizing social media to the Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek.
04/03/2008
Michael Lang
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 03 Apr 2008 12:58 PM PST
Michael Lang is Executive Vice President of Business Development and Strategy for Fox Networks Group, supervising business development across Fox Entertainment, supporting new business initiatives in such areas as cable and broadcast television, digital media, mobile and video games. He joined the company in 2004.
Prior to Fox, Michael ran his own strategic consulting firm where he worked with clients in media retail and financial services and helped private equity and venture capital firms. In the late 90s he was a founding executive for online entertainment start-up Z.com. He began his entertainment career in corporate strategic planning at The Walt Disney Co. In his spare time, Michael serves as an advisor to Cal State Dominguez Hills University and in local politics in the City of Manhattan Beach. He attended Harvard Business School.
04/02/2008
Larry Kramer
By Amanda Natividad - Wed 02 Apr 2008 10:04 PM PST
Larry Kramer was appointed Senior Advisor to Polaris in 2007. During his 20-year journalism career he won several awards, including the National Press Club Award and The Gerald Loeb award for business reporting. His staffs won two Pulitzer Prizes.
After leaving the newspaper business to become a media entrepreneur, Larry founded DataSport, Inc., and spent almost a decade developing MarketWatch.com. He served as Chairman and CEO through three acquisitions until its sale in 2005 to Dow Jones Corp. He then joined CBS to create its Digital Media Division, serving as President until 2006, serving as an advisor until this month. Larry serves on the boards of ContentNext Media, Answers.com, Xinhua Finance, BlackArrow as chairman, CreditCard.com and Harvard Business School Publications. He is also on the Advisory Boards to the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University and Jib Jab Media Inc. He served as Chairman for Online Publishers Association in 2005 and 2006 and for two years on the Pulitzer Prize jury. He graduated from Harvard with an MBA degree.
04/02/2008
The Hotel Angeleno: Discount Rate Expires Soon
By Amanda Natividad - Wed 02 Apr 2008 01:28 PM PST
With EconSM just around the corner, be sure to book your hotel now. The discount rate for Luxe Hotel Sunset Boulevard is gone, but you have until Tuesday, April 8, to reserve a room for $189 per night at the Hotel Angeleno. The Hotel Angeleno is located just off the Sunset Boulevard exit of the 405 and offers complimentary car service to the Skirball Cultural Center and other destinations within a three-mile radius.
Register online or call 1.866.ANGELENO to make your reservations. Don’t forget to mention you’re with EconSM so you can get the group rate.
03/31/2008
Social Media Deep Dive Wth MTV Networks
By Elizabeth Osder - Mon 31 Mar 2008 06:18 PM PST
In a twist for us, we’ll be hosting the leadership from across MTV Networks for a deep dive exploration of their social media efforts. Enterprise efforts pose unique challenges—and opportunities as we see new and old media conglomerates try to manage innovation across properties and platforms. Our panelists will provide a terrific window into almost every content category. From kids to teens, young adults to adults, MTV brands touch nearly every demographic on every screen.
Our enterprise deep dive panel, moderated by Staci D. Kramer, Co-Editor and EVP, ContentNext Media/paidContent.org, include:
—- Mika Salmi, President of Digital Media
—- Nada Stirratt, Executive Vice President of Digital Advertising
—- Erik Flannigan, Executive Vice President of Digital Media for the Entertainment Group (COMEDY CENTRAL, AtomFilms, Gametrailers, Spike)
—- Courtney Holt, Executive Vice President of Digital Music and Media for the Music & Logo Group (MTV, VH1, CMT, and Logo);
—- Steve Youngwood, Executive Vice President of Digital Media for the Kids & Family Group (Nickelodeon, Addicting Games, ParentsConnect and Neopets)
Join us at EconSM as we discuss MTV strategies for creating deeply engaging content and social experiences across all platforms, and how innovative creative content has resulted in business growth opportunities for MTVN. Leave some of your thoughts on the blog comments or register now to join the discussion at EconSM on April 28th and 29th.
Our sponsors till now: Desilva & Phillips; Montgomery & Co; The Jordan, Edmiston Group; Operative; KickApps; Pluck; Snap.com; and CoComment. If you want to become a sponsor, e-mail our business side at advertising AT contentnext.com.
03/29/2008
AOL, Bebo, YouTube, MTV and other EconSM Speaker Additions
By Elizabeth Osder - Sat 29 Mar 2008 10:03 PM PST
We continue to confirm speakers and timely conversations at EconSM. Last week we confirmed a spotlight conversation with AOL President Ron Grant, and Bebo President Joanna Shields talking about AOL’s surprise $850 million acquisition of Bebo, and a lineup of MTV Networks executives discussing the enterprise social media efforts.
Get your tickets here.
Some additional speakers added:
—Joanne Bradford, EVP, National Marketing Services, Spot Runner (formerly MSN)
—Shawn Colo, Co-founder and Head of M&A, Demand Media
—Jordan Hoffner, Head of Content Partnerships, YouTube
—Courtney Holt, EVP-Digital Music, MTVN Music and Logo Group
—Mika Salmi, President-Global Digital Media, MTVN
—Nada Stirratt, EVP-Digital Advertising, MTVN
—Steve Youngwood, EVP-Digital Media, MTVN Kids and Family Group
Our sponsors till now: Desilva & Phillips; Montgomery & Co; The Jordan, Edmiston Group; Operative; KickApps; Pluck; Snap.com; and CoComment. If you want to become a sponsor, e-mail our business side at advertising AT contentnext.com.
03/29/2008
Jordan Hoffner
By Amanda Natividad - Sat 29 Mar 2008 04:15 PM PST
Jordan Hoffner is the head of content partnerships at YouTube. He is responsible for establishing content partnerships across all content verticals, specifically focusing on the entertainment, sports, film, television and broadcast sectors. Jordan transferred to the YouTube team shortly after the company was acquired by Google to help drive new partnerships for the next generation video platform. At Google, Jordan led the premium, archival and information video content efforts.
Prior to joining Google, Jordan was Vice President of NBC Universal Digital Studios. During his tenure there, he served as a production assistant, producer, Director of NBC Corporate Development, Vice President and General Manager of NBC Weather Plus, and Vice President of Digital Programming and Operations.
Jordan currently serves on the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) Board of Directors. He earned his MBA in Finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business in 2001.
03/27/2008
Shawn Colo
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 27 Mar 2008 09:44 PM PST
Shawn Colo is head of mergers and acquisitions for Demand Media. Having co-founded the company with Richard Rosenblatt in April 2006, Shawn and his team have sourced, negotiated, and completed over 30 acquisitions, including the acquisition of ExpertVillage and recently, Pluck.com. Shawn is responsible for high-level strategic relationships, including Demand’s relationship with the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which led to the creation of LiveStrong.com.
Prior to Demand Media, Shawn spent 10 years in the private equity industry as a Principal with Spectrum Equity Investors, a private equity firm focused on investing in media and communications companies. Shawn has served on corporate boards in the US and Europe, where he spent several years building the firm’s European business from London. Shawn is a graduate of Princeton University, with a degree in Engineering and Operations Research.
03/27/2008
Dennis Haarsager
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 27 Mar 2008 12:34 PM PST
Dennis L. Haarsager was named Interim Chief Executive Officer, NPR on March 6, 2008. He had served as Chairman, NPR Board of Directors since 2007 and been a member of the Board since 2005. He recently stepped down from his position as Associate Vice President and General Manager of Educational and Public Media for Washington State University’s public broadcasting and educational media organization.
Prior to WSU, Dennis served as State Coordinator for Idaho Public Broadcasting and as Director of Administration for South Dakota Public Broadcasting. He is currently on the boards of National Public Media as Chair and American Public Television. He has served on a number of public media boards including public radio’s Station Resource Group, where he was Chair.
He edits four weblogs—most actively, technology360.com—and has written several articles for public broadcasting and technology publications.
Photo credit: 2008 NPR, by Stephen Voss
03/26/2008
Joanne Bradford
By Amanda Natividad - Wed 26 Mar 2008 06:49 PM PST
Joanne Bradford is Executive Vice President of National Marketing Services at Spot Runner. A 20-year media industry veteran, Joanne most recently served as Corporate Vice President and Chief Media Officer of MSN Media Network at Microsoft.
Prior to that, Joanne served as Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing and Chief Media Revenue Officer for Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions across all Microsoft properties. She was Vice President and Director of North American Advertising Sales at BusinessWeek magazine before joining Microsoft in 2001.
Bradford’s many accolades throughout her career include being named one of BusinessWeek’s Media Up-and-Comers, Advertising Age’s 2003 “Women to Watch,” the “Chairman’s Award,” an internal Microsoft honor bestowed on exceptional employees and a McGraw-Hill “Excellence in Management” award in 2000.
03/26/2008
AOL President Ron Grant And Bebo President Joanna Shields Will Be In The EconSM Spotlight
By Amanda Natividad - Wed 26 Mar 2008 12:01 AM PST
If all goes according to plan, by the time we meet in LA for EconSM at the end of April, AOL’s surprising $850 million acquisition of Bebo will be a done deal. That won’t put an end to the questions though, especially since it only marks the beginning of integrating the social net with AOL (NYSE: TWX). That’s why we’re especially pleased to announce that two of the key players—AOL President Ron Grant and Bebo President Joanna Shields—will be at EconSM to talk about the deal that’s made headlines across the globe. What does this mean for Bebo users? How will AOL use Bebo in international markets and what can Bebo for AOL here in the U.S.? Can AOL make the most of Bebo’s ad inventory? And how will AOL avoid the integration issues it faces now with Platform-A? For answers to these and to ask questions of your own register today and we’ll see you at EconSM. And don’t forget, the Early Bird discount ends today at 12 PM PST.
Our sponsors till now: Desilva & Phillips; Montgomery & Co; The Jordan, Edmiston Group; Operative; KickApps; Pluck; Snap.com; and CoComment. If you want to become a sponsor, e-mail our business side at advertising AT contentnext.com.
03/24/2008
Ron Grant
By Amanda Natividad - Mon 24 Mar 2008 01:36 PM PST
As President and Chief Operating Officer of AOL, Ron Grant plays a key role in the implementation of AOL’s new advertising-focused strategy and transition to a global Web services company. Before he was named to his current position with AOL in 2006, Ron was Senior Vice President, Operations, for Time Warner, AOL’s parent company. In that position, he worked closely with Time Warner’s President and Chief Operating Officer in areas including strategy, digital initiatives, and operational efficiencies for Time Warner divisions and played an important role in the development of the business plan launched by AOL in 2006.
Before moving to Time Warner, Ron was Senior Vice President of Business Affairs and Development for AOL. Earlier, he was a partner in the communications and entertainment practice of Mercer Management Consulting. Ron earned an MBA in finance and international business from Columbia Business School.
03/24/2008
Joanna Shields
By Amanda Natividad - Mon 24 Mar 2008 01:27 PM PST
As President of Bebo, Joanna Shields is responsible for all commercial aspects of the business as well as developing the Bebo experience globally and providing the community with engaging content across all platforms.
Prior to Bebo Joanna was Managing Director for Google Europe, Russia, Middle East & Africa. In this capacity, Joanna orchestrated partnerships with media and telecom companies, most recently leading Google’s alliance with BSkyB and the BBC.
Joanna’s experience spans over 20 years, during which she has held key senior management positions in leading technology and internet companies, including Vice President, International, for RealNetworks; CEO of Veon, an internet media technology developer, acquired by Philips Electronics; VP and managing director EMEA for Decru, acquired by NetApp; and VP of worldwide sales at Electronics for Imaging (EFI).
03/24/2008
Courtney Holt
By Amanda Natividad - Mon 24 Mar 2008 12:27 PM PST
Courtney W. Holt is Executive Vice President, Digital Media, MTV Networks Music and Logo Group where he oversees all digital initiatives. In this role, Courtney is responsible for identifying ways to further engage audiences across a spectrum of touch points. He also works closely with Integrated Marketing and Ad Sales teams to drive new business partnerships and advertising models.
Prior to joining MTV Networks in 2006, Courtney was Executive Vice President of New Media, Creative and Strategic Marketing at Interscope Geffen A&M..
Beginning his career in the early 1990s as a freelance producer and director of music videos and commercials, Holt was eventually appointed director of video production for Atlantic Records. A&M tapped Holt in 1996 to serve as their VP of New Media. In 1999, Holt assumed the position of Executive Vice President of Marketing at A&M. He guided artists’ marketing efforts, forged innovative partnerships and created strategic partnerships.
03/24/2008
Mika Salmi
By Amanda Natividad - Mon 24 Mar 2008 12:06 PM PST
Mika Salmi is the President of Global Digital Media for MTV Networks. Mika works across MTVN’s portfolio of multiplatform brands to develop the company’s universe of music, games, entertainment, networking and interactivity for targeted audiences.
Mika was previously CEO of Atom Entertainment, a portfolio of four online destinations for casual games, short films and video. He founded Atom Entertainment in 1998 with its first brand AtomFilms. AtomFilms merged with Shockwave.com in early 2001 to form AtomShockwave Corp.
Prior to creating Atom Entertainment, Mika led business development for the media and entertainment industries at RealNetworks. He also spent eight years in the music business, working for TVT Records, Sony Music and EMI Music, where he discovered bands such as Nine Inch Nails and Presidents of the United States of America. Mika earned his MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.
03/24/2008
Erik Flannigan
By Amanda Natividad - Mon 24 Mar 2008 11:59 AM PST
Erik Flannigan is Executive Vice President, Digital Media, MTV Networks Entertainment Group, which is comprised of a multi-platform portfolio of brands featuring the Comedy Central, Spike TV and TV Land cable channels as well as internet sites AtomFilms, GameTrailers.com and Xfire. Erik supervises the linear channels’ digital media teams, overseeing the networks’ digital programming initiatives and digital businesses.
Erik joined MTVN from AOL in Los Angeles in 2006, where he had been vice president of programming. Before that, he was at Buena Vista Datacasting/The Walt Disney Company as vice president of programming and prior to that, vice president of music services and programming at RealNetworks in Seattle. Earlier, Erik was senior vice president, Entertainment Verticals, for the Walt Disney Internet Group in Seattle.
During his various tenures in the digital media world, Erik was also active in publishing as managing editor of ICE magazine, contributing editor of The Rocket as well as working on several albums and books.
03/24/2008
Steve Youngwood
By Amanda Natividad - Mon 24 Mar 2008 11:45 AM PST
Steve Youngwood is Executive Vice President, Digital Media, MTVN Kids and Family Group. In this role, Steve leads and manages the various MTVN Kids and Family Group brands’ expansion across current and future digital platforms. Additionally, he oversees the Group’s wireless, gaming, interactive television and digital video initiatives.
A nine-year Nickelodeon veteran, Steve was most recently the Senior Vice President, Media Products for Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products. He was a key member of the team that created Tak, Nickelodeon’s first hit original video game property that is now being developed as a TV series; led the team that introduced MTV Networks programming to iTunes, Google and other video distribution platforms; and helped establish the Nick Records label.
Steve first joined the company as a Director, Business Development. Previously, he was a consultant at McKinsey and Company in both the United States and Germany. He received an M.B.A. from Stanford Business School.
03/24/2008
Nada Stirratt
By Amanda Natividad - Mon 24 Mar 2008 11:23 AM PST
Nada Stirratt is Executive Vice President, Digital Advertising for MTV Networks. In this role, she leads the company’s digital sales operation in its aggressive expansion into online, mobile and multiplatform advertising across all properties.
Prior to MTV Networks, Nada spent three years at Advertising.com, where she held several leadership positions during her tenure, including SVP of Corporate Development. Upon the successful sale of Advertising.com to AOL in 2004, Nada moved to head-up the media-buying arm of Advertising.com where she was tapped to do the same on the ad sales side in 2005.
Prior to joining Advertising.com, Nada was Vice President, Business Development at AOL and earlier, was SVP of Advertising Sales at Moviefone. Nada spent eight years in magazine sales; first at Hearst, where she managed the beauty category for Cosmopolitan and then at Conde Nast, where she served as advertising director of Allure magazine.
03/23/2008
Cocktails, Conversation & Campaign ‘08 At Casa Del Mar In Santa Monica
By Elizabeth Osder - Sun 23 Mar 2008 01:58 PM PST
We’ve locked down the time, place and topic for EconSM’s opening night mixer: Please join us at the fabulous Casa Del Mar on the beach in Santa Monica Monday evening, April 28th, for a thought-provoking panel on social media, politics and the 2008 presidential election. The 50-minute panel will begin at 7:00 p.m., leaving plenty of time for mixing, mingling and networking with other conference attendees.
Moderating the panel will be Dennis Haarsager, the new interim CEO of NPR . Our panelists include:
—- Betsy Morgan, CEO, HuffingtonPost.com
—- Leonard Brody, CEO, NowPublic
—- Micah Sifry, Founder, Personal Democracy
—- Chuck DeFeo, President and GM, TownHall.com
—- Mitch Gelman, SVP and senior executive producer, CNN.com
So plan on joining us for our opening night reception and learn more about how campaign strategists have aggressively adopted the best practices of social network media and are embracing the tools and techniques that help messages reach a new wired generation. What techniques are driving voters’ engagements and what challenges do social media present to mainstream media, news gathering and campaign strategy?
Let’s get the conversation going here, please submit your questions to me, or add them as comments on our blog.
Register here, for EconSM April 28th and 29th in Los Angeles.
03/21/2008
Loic Le Meur
By Amanda Natividad - Fri 21 Mar 2008 04:18 PM PST
Loic Le Meur is a serial French entrepreneur who has created and sold 4 Internet startups. After selling his last company, Ublog, to SixApart in 2003, Loic served as Executive VP, EMEA for the company until 2007. He left SixApart in the spring of 2007 to join President Sarkozy’s campaign team advising on the Internet. Loic, currently a blogger and vlogger, is still honorary Chairman at Six Apart and investor in several startups such as LinkedIn and Technorati. He also organizes one of Europe’s largest technology events, LeWeb3.
Prior to Ublog, Loic’s other companies included: RapidSite France which was sold to France Telecom; and B2L which was sold to ad group BBDO. Loic is also a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. He launched the WEF blog in 2004 and has been advising and blogging for the Forum since then.
03/20/2008
Jean-Philippe Maheu
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 20 Mar 2008 03:27 PM PST
As Chief Digital Officer for Ogilvy North America, Jean-Philippe Maheu is charged with accelerating digital revenue growth and digital innovation at Ogilvy. He leads digital innovation for Ogilvy clients including Dove, IBM and Kraft. He is also responsible for recruiting and nurturing talent and strategic partners across the spectrum of the digital landscape, including mobile marketing, video, gaming, digital media, search and social media.
Jean-Philippe is the former chief executive officer of Razorfish, a web professional services company. He served as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School’s entrepreneurship program and is a member of the New York City Investment Fund.
03/20/2008
Mitch Gelman
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 20 Mar 2008 03:11 PM PST
Mitch Gelman is the senior vice president and senior executive producer of CNN.com. Promoted to this position in January 2001 from his role as executive editor of CNNSI.COM, Mitch now oversees editorial operations for CNN.com. In this role, Mitch guided the recent relaunch of CNN.com, and, with David Payne, also recently directed the team that developed, built and launched iReport.com, CNN’s first uncensored user-generated community Web site.
Before joining CNN in 1998, he was projects editor for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and from 1995 to 1997, he was with Starwave Corp as editor-in-chief of ESPNET Sports Zone. Earlier, Mitch was a reporter at New York Newsday from 1987 to 1995. He also worked for Time magazine in London and New York and has written one non-fiction book and seven children’s books on sports.
He shared in a Pulitzer Prize awarded to the New York Newsday staff for spot news reporting in 1992.
03/20/2008
Patrick Keane
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 20 Mar 2008 02:51 PM PST
Patrick Keane was named Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer at CBS Interactive, in February 2007. His responsibilities span across a number of core CBS business units with his primary focus being to help CBS monetize new inventory generated by next-generation platforms. In addition to working on sales strategy, he manages CBS Interactive’s efforts in online research, reporting and analytics as well as competitive research, sales training and search engine optimization.
Prior to joining CBS, Patrick spent more than four years at Google. He served as Head of Advertising Sales Strategy at Google, where he built and led Google’s North American Field Marketing team, an organization comprising of industry marketing, sales analytics, sales marketing, and corporate events. Earlier, Patrick was Vice President and Senior Analyst at Jupiter Research
Patrick is a member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Board of Directors and was featured in AdAge’s “40 Under 40” section in 2007.
03/19/2008
Leonard Brody
By Amanda Natividad - Wed 19 Mar 2008 01:34 PM PST
Leonard Brody is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist and author and is co-founder and CEO of NowPublic, a citizen generated news platform. Leonard is also a Venture Partner at Growthworks Capital and acts as an adviser to venture capital funds in the US, Europe and Asia and to several companies including the Associated Press, Red Herring and Sonic Foundry. Currently, he is also an adviser to the Canadian Ministry of International Trade and a Director of Canadian technology association, CATA.
Recently he has spoken at conferences throughout the world such as NASSCOM, the World Newspaper Congress, CEBIT and CTIA. He is co-author of the books, Innovation Nation: Canadian Leadership from Jurassic Park to Java and Everything I Needed to Know About Business…I Learned from a Canadian.
03/19/2008
Chris Henchy
By Amanda Natividad - Wed 19 Mar 2008 12:42 PM PST
Chris Henchy runs Gary Sanchez Productions, a production company co-founded by comedians Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, which partnered with Sequoia Capital to launch Funnyordie.com. Henchy was involved in the creation of the website is integral in its ongoing commitment to showcase the best comedy on the web. Henchy has been a writer and producer on such shows as Entourage, Life with Bonnie and Spin City. He also created ABC’s I’m with Her and most recently produced a comedy pilot for HBO entitled East Bound and Down. He has also written the feature film Land of the Lost for Will Ferrell and Universal Pictures.
03/18/2008
Kevin Rose
By Amanda Natividad - Tue 18 Mar 2008 04:03 PM PST
Kevin Rose is the founder and chief architect of Digg. He oversees all aspects of the management and development of the Web site. He is also a co-founder of the Internet Television Network Revision3 where as a member of the board he provides strategic direction to the company. Kevin co-hosts the Revision3 show, Diggnation, a weekly video podcast based on digg.com news stories and content. Diggnation consistently ranks as one of the top podcast downloads from the Apple iTunes Music Store.
Prior to founding Digg and Revision3, Kevin was a co-host of the technology television programs Attack of the Show on the G4 Network and The Screen Savers on TechTV.
03/18/2008
Steve Wadsworth
By Amanda Natividad - Tue 18 Mar 2008 03:38 PM PST
Steve Wadsworth is president of the Walt Disney Internet Group. WDIG offers interactive entertainment and information content and services, develops new media platforms for distributing Disney content, and provides execution support and a technology platform for the company’s internet properties. Steve was among the founders of Disney’s Internet efforts when the company formed Disney Online in September 1995, and he was appointed president of the Walt Disney Internet Group in 1999.
Prior to being named Disney’s Internet chief, he served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of WDIG. Before joining The Walt Disney Company in 1993, Steve was a principal for the Windsor Park Group in Los Angeles. In 2004 and 2005, he served as chairman of the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and has since been named chairman emeritus by the group. He holds a M.B.A. from the UCLA Graduate School of Management.
03/18/2008
Jim Louderback
By Amanda Natividad - Tue 18 Mar 2008 03:20 PM PST
Jim Louderback joined Revision3 as the CEO in July 2007. Jim has spent 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. He most recently served as senior vice president and editorial director for Ziff Davis Media’s Consumer group, along with being Editor in Chief of PC magazine.
Prior to jumping into the media world, Jim built computer systems for Fortune 500 companies, managed the ticketing and ground operations for regional airlines, and attended various institutions of higher learning in the Northeast. He has a Math degree from UVM, and an MBA from NYU’s Stern School, but don’t hold that against him.
03/18/2008
Chuck DeFeo
By Amanda Natividad - Tue 18 Mar 2008 03:04 PM PST
Chuck DeFeo is VP and general manager of conservative online community Townhall.com, as well as the websites for Salem Communications’ five nationally syndicated news/talk radio hosts and its twenty-six owned and operated news/talk radio station websites. Prior to joining Salem, DeFeo served as eCampaign Manager for Bush-Cheney ‘04, where he developed the online strategy and managed Internet operations for President Bush’s re-election campaign.
DeFeo spent much of his career serving as a legislative and technology aide to Senator and Attorney General John Ashcrof, having created the first online petition for a member of Congress in 1996. He has also assisted numerous Congressional, Senate, State and Presidential candidates with their online strategies. DeFeo serves as a contributing editor for Personal Democracy Forum and is a member of MeetUp.com’s Politics and Governance Advisory Council.
03/18/2008
Shawn Gold
By Amanda Natividad - Tue 18 Mar 2008 11:43 AM PST
Shawn Gold is CEO of newly formed SocialApproach, a digital media advisory focused on Social Discovery platforms and technologies. Formerly, he was SVP, head of marketing & content for MySpace. He also oversaw the growth of its franchises including Music, Film, Comedy and MySpace Celebrity, as well as creating its “Impact awards” and “Our Planet” programs.
Gold has over 15 years of experience in digital marketing including serving as publisher of WeblogsInc, now an AOL company. In 2000 he became president and chief strategy officer of Intermix (formerly eUniverse). Additionally, he headed marketing and communications for WHN, an ecommerce company that provided marketing services to the 2002 Olympics, ABC, NBC and more.
In 1995, Shawn was GM and Founder of Icon New media’s Advertising Division. He is a founding board member of the Producers Guild of America’s New Media Council and author of The Guide to Laughing at Life book series.
03/18/2008
Dalton Caldwell
By Amanda Natividad - Tue 18 Mar 2008 11:23 AM PST
Dalton founded imeem in 2004 and serves as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. imeem is a social media network that helps consumers interact and express themselves with music, video and photos, and form connections with other users based on shared tastes and interests. The Web-based service imeem.com launched initially as an instant messaging service but quickly became a site focused on music sharing and today attracts over 24 million unique users each month. Dalton is responsible for driving the overall product strategy and technical operations of the organization.
Dalton earned dual degrees in Psychology and Symbolic Systems from Stanford.
03/16/2008
Keynote Q&A With Steve Wadsworth, President, Walt Disney Internet Group
By Elizabeth Osder - Sun 16 Mar 2008 10:00 PM PST
We’re pleased to announce that Steve Wadsworth, President of Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) , will join us at EconSM08 for a keynote Q&A—and that Kara Swisher of AllThingsD will be doing the interview. Disney CEO Bob Iger is on the record—multiple times—about the value of social media to the Walt Disney Company; Steve is charged with making it work. In the past year alone, WDIG acquired highly sought-after Club Penguin, completely relaunched Disney.com with social networking matched to different age groups, and created the Disney Online Studios to focus on games, virtual worlds and online social communities.
Steve is a Disney digital veteran, part of the founding group of Disney Online back in 1995 and president of WDIG since 1999. In addition to its own internet and mobile services, WDIG supports all of Disney’s internet properties, including ESPN.com and ABC and develops new media platforms for use across the company.
Among the subjects likely to come up: Disney’s social media strategy, how it stretches from virtual worlds—both created and acquired—to ABC-ESPN to Disney.com and points in between, how it is already playing out in terms of engagement with users of different ages, where Disney is headed and how social media differs from—and meshes with—Disney’s other endeavors.
Register today—and be ready with your own questions.
03/16/2008
Toni Schneider
By Amanda Natividad - Sun 16 Mar 2008 09:59 PM PST
Toni Schneider is CEO of Automattic, the makers of the WordPress.com blogging service and the Akismet anti comment spam service, and is a venture partner at VC firm True Ventures. Prior to his current roles, Schneider was a VP at Yahoo! where he ran the Yahoo! Developer Network, a new initiative to turn Yahoo! into an open web services platform for third party software developers. He joined Yahoo! through their acquisition of Oddpost where he was CEO. Prior to Oddpost he held technical and marketing roles at several Silicon Valley startups. Schneider studied Computer Science at Stanford. More info can be found on Toni’s blog.
03/16/2008
Kara Swisher
By Amanda Natividad - Sun 16 Mar 2008 09:47 PM PST
Kara Swisher started covering digital issues for The Wall Street Journal’s San Francisco bureau in 1997. Her column BoomTown originally appeared on the front page of the Marketplace section and on WSJ.com. Previously, Ms. Swisher covered online news and wrote feature articles on technology for the paper. She has also written a weekly column for the Personal Journal on home gadget issues.
With Walt Mossberg, she currently co-produces and co-hosts D: All Things Digital, a conference with interviewees in the tech and media industries. She is also the author of aol.com: How Steve Case Beat Bill Gates, Nailed the Netheads and Made Millions in the War for the Web and the sequel, There Must Be a Pony in Here Somewhere: The AOL Time Warner Debacle and the Quest for a Digital Future.
Kara is a graduate of Georgetown University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
03/15/2008
Digg’s Kevin Rose At EconSM
By Elizabeth Osder - Sat 15 Mar 2008 02:11 PM PST
We’re delighted to have Kevin Rose, Founder and Chief Architect of Digg joining our conversation about “Grown Up Start Ups” as we discuss how companies compete after growing past the early-adopters stage. How do you bring in real revenues? How do you fend off acquisition offers and keep your head down and grow? Joining him on this panel moderated by MySpace veteran Shawn Gold, CEO of Social Approach, will be the CEOs of three other fast growing social media powerhouses: Keith Richman, CEO, Break.com, Dalton Caldwell, CEO, Imeem, and Toni Schneider, CEO, Automattic Media, the web developing company behind WordPress. To join the conversation, register here, and we’ll see you on April 29.
03/13/2008
Micah Sifry
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 13 Mar 2008 03:42 PM PST
Micah L. Sifry is co-founder and editor of Personal Democracy Forum, a website and annual conference that covers the ways technology is changing politics, and TechPresident.com, an award-winning group blog on how the candidates and the web use each other.
In addition to organizing the annual Personal Democracy Forum conference with his partner Andrew Rasiej, Micah consults political organizations, non-profits and media entities on adapting to the web, and is currently a senior technology advisor to the Sunlight Foundation. Micah was an editor and writer with The Nation magazine for thirteen years and now keeps a keeps a personal blog. He is the author of Spoiling for a Fight: Third-Party Politics in America and co-edited The Iraq War Reader, The Gulf War Reader and Is That a Politician in Your Pocket? with Nancy Watzman. He is also an adjunct professor at the Political Science Department of the City University of New York/Graduate Center.
03/13/2008
Deals are Heating Up, AOL buys Bebo for $850M, Catch More at EconSM
By Elizabeth Osder - Thu 13 Mar 2008 07:52 AM PST
Social Media deals are stealing headlines today with AOL’s $850M acquisition of Bebo. Citing the value of Bebo’s rapidly scaling global user base—which now boasts 40 million members and 80 million unique users—and its vision as a player in the social web, AOL CEO Randy Falco said, “this positions us to offer advertisers even greater reach and marketers significant insights into the desires and needs of consumers.” Read ongoing coverage at paidContent.org and join us at EconSM April 29th, to keep the conversation going. Early bird registration ends next week, so sign up here and save $300.
03/12/2008
Dick Glover
By Amanda Natividad - Wed 12 Mar 2008 04:28 PM PST
Dick Glover is President and CEO of Or Die Networks, which includes FunnyorDie.com (home to award-winning video “The Landlord,” featuring Will Ferrell), ShredorDie.com, and BlueCollarorDie.com.
Prior to Funny or Die, Glover was Vice President of Broadcasting and New Media for NASCAR and for NASCAR Digital Entertainment. At NASCAR, Glover ran the Los Angeles office overseeing all television, new media businesses, entertainment programming and promotion on behalf of the sport. A 20-year veteran of broadcasting and media, Glover was previously an Executive at the Walt Disney Company in various senior management roles in their ABC and Internet Groups. Glover also spent seven years with ESPN, most recently as Executive Vice President, Programming where he was responsible domestic programming efforts, which included ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic and ESPN.com, and planned the development and launch of ESPN.com in 1994.
03/12/2008
Dmitry Shapiro
By Amanda Natividad - Wed 12 Mar 2008 01:52 PM PST
Dmitry Shapiro founded Veoh Networks in late 2004 and now serves as the company’s Chief Innovation Officer. Dmitry started Veoh with a very short to-do list: First, democratize. Open the business of television—once strictly a members-only deal—to a virtual community of broadcasters. Second, connect those broadcasters with new, global audiences, hungry for a limitless world of compelling programming to fill every niche interest, and desire.
Before he imagined Veoh, Dmitry built Akonix Systems, a P2P network security company with over 1.5 million deployed enterprise licenses in companies such as Viacom, Disney, Newscorp, and Cingular. Before that, Dmitry led the technology groups at CollegeClub, an online college community and Fujitsu Telecommunications.
03/12/2008
Thomas Mueller
By Amanda Natividad - Wed 12 Mar 2008 12:37 PM PST
Thomas Mueller is VP/Creative Director of Product Development and User Experience for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia’s Internet initiatives. In his previous role as Executive Creative Director for ArnoldOne New York, he developed integrated marketing campaigns for such brands as ESPN Mobile and SpikeTV.
Thomas received a M.F.A. in media design from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and also graduated from Harvard Business School. His work can be found in a variety of books and magazines, such as I.D. Magazine, Communication Arts Magazine. He also lectures at design and marketing conferences as well as Internet industry events, and has taught in the graduate program at the School of Visual Arts in NY and at Art Center College of Design in NYC. He also has served on the Corporate Advisory Board of Art Center College of Design, as well as on the Board of the Art Directors Club New York.
03/10/2008
Ross Levinsohn
By Amanda Natividad - Mon 10 Mar 2008 04:11 PM PST
Ross Levinsohn is a partner at Velocity Interactive Group. Prior to this, he was president of Fox Interactive Media where he devised News Corp’s digital strategy and oversaw a partnership with Google and acquisitions of MySpace, IGN.com, Askmen.com and others. Previously, Ross served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Fox Sports Interactive Media, where he oversaw the online, wireless and broadband presence for Fox Sports. Earlier in his career, Ross held senior management positions with AltaVista Network and CBS Sportsline, where he oversaw all content and development for the sports site and HBO.
Ross currently serves on the board of Napster.com, storage and media management firm Fabrik, Inc., virtual world innovator VSIDE, and Indian Internet holding company Fuse+Media.
03/10/2008
Gordon McLeod
By Amanda Natividad - Mon 10 Mar 2008 02:33 PM PST
Gordon McLeod is president of The Wall Street Journal Digital Network which includes WSJ.com, MarketWatch.com, Barrons.com, WSJ.com Classifieds, Dow Jones Classified Ventures, AllThingsD.com and The Wall Street Journal Office Network.
Gordon previously served as general manager of Time Inc. Interactive, creative director for CBS News, and co-founder of Grisanti-McLeod Inc., a strategic and creative political and consulting firm. He has a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in political economy from the University of California, Berkeley. He currently serves on the boards of the Online Publishers Association (OPA) and FiLife.com, a joint venture between Dow Jones and InterActive Corp (IAC). He is also a member of the Google Publisher Advisory Council.
03/09/2008
Save the Date, April 29, 2008: More Speakers, More Panels at EconSM
By Elizabeth Osder - Sun 09 Mar 2008 11:15 PM PST
Our EconSM conference planning is kicking into high gear, and we have several new speakers and topics to announce (with more to come this week):
—We’ll hear from Jeff Weiner, EVP of Yahoo’s Network Division, who, among other responsibilities, has the key role of making sure Yahoo’s content, technology and ambitious social media efforts finally mesh. For Weiner, like other Yahoo execs, the goal as Microsoft looms isn’t business as usual—it’s full steam ahead.
— We’ll be diving deeply into the intersection of advertising, entertainment and social media with Frank Cooper, VP-Marketing, Pepsi-Cola North America; Gordon Paddison, EVP-Marketing, New Line Cinema and Dick Glover, CEO, Funny or Die.
—We’ll be examining the ROI for media companies layering community into their existing sites with Jeff Price, President, SI Digital; Kinsey Wilson, Executive Editor, USA Today; and Thomas Mueller, VP/Creative Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
—And we’ll probe the current investment landscape with the likes of Geoff Yang, Founding Partner, Redpoint Ventures; Michael Hirshland, General Partner, Polaris Venture Partners; Ross Levinsohn, Partner, Velocity Investment Group.
Other confirmed speakers include Leonard Brody, CEO, NowPublic; Dalton Caldwell, CEO, Imeem; Chuck DeFeo, GM, Townhall.com; Shawn Gold, Social Approach; Betsy Morgan, CEO, The Huffington Post; Keith Richman, CEO, Break.com; Robert Scoble, FastCompany.TV; and Kara Swisher, AllThingsD.
Early bird registration will be closing shortly, so click here to register for the conference April 29, 2008 in Los Angeles.
03/09/2008
Can Social Media Combat the Economics of Attention?
By Elizabeth Osder - Sun 09 Mar 2008 12:29 PM PST
If economics is the management of scarcity, how best do we apply it to the mass of information available on the internet? Information is a commodity, but attention is the scare resource, the holy grail that we’re trying to engage with the best social media innovations. I just read an interesting book by UCLA rhetoric professor Richard A. Lanham called The Economics of Attention: Style and Substance in the Age of Information. (No, we don’t get a cut.) The book takes on the fundamental challenge to media companies vying for audience attention. There’s lots to chew on in this terrific book as we look at social media practices as a way of re-engaging audiences. We’ll be digging deeply into the true ROI of attention when looking at how panelists from news, finance, lifestyle and sports sites are layering community onto their sites.
Here’s an excerpt and an interview with the California Literary Review.
03/08/2008
Geoff Yang
By Amanda Natividad - Sat 08 Mar 2008 10:55 PM PST
Geoffrey Y. Yang is a founding partner of Redpoint Ventures and a general partner with Institutional Venture Partners, a firm he joined in 1987. He emphasizes investments in consumer media and infrastructure. His media and advertising investments include Ask Jeeves, Excite, MySpace, TiVo, and Gaia Online. His networking investments include BigBand, Calix, Foundry Networks, Juniper Networks, MMC Networks and Wellfleet.
Geoff was formerly Director of the National Venture Capital Association and Director and President of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists. In addition, he has served on the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC). He was also an Associate with First Century Partners, an affiliate of Smith Barney. Earlier, Geoff had been in technical support and marketing at IBM Corp.
Geoff holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
03/06/2008
Kinsey Wilson
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 06 Mar 2008 07:14 PM PST
Kinsey Wilson is executive editor of USA Today and usatoday.com, with shared responsibility for strategic planning and day to-to-day editorial management of one of the nation’s most widely read news publications. In 2007 he spearheaded an award-winning redesign of the website that included integration of social media features.
Before the print and online editions were merged, Kinsey was vice president and editor-in-chief of usatoday.com. He began his journalism career at City News Bureau of Chicago and from 1988-1995 was a reporter at Newsday. For the last 12 years he has been involved in online journalism, first at Congressional Quarterly, where he helped lead the company’s digital publishing strategy, and since April 2000 at USA Today. Kinsey is past president of the Online News Association (2007) and chaired the national advisory board of the Poynter Institute from 2006-2008.
03/06/2008
Jeff Weiner
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 06 Mar 2008 07:12 PM PST
Jeff Weiner is the Executive Vice President of Yahoo!‘s Network Division. In his current role, Weiner oversees the company’s category leading consumer web products, communications and community, search products and media.
From 2002 to 2006, Weiner served as Senior Vice President overseeing the Yahoo! Search and Marketplaces division. During his tenure, Weiner was part of the Search leadership team that directed the acquisition and integration of Inktomi, AltaVista, FAST as well as the development of Yahoo! Search Technology. Additionally, he helped launch several social search products - including Yahoo! Answers - and led the acquisitions of del.icio.us and Flickr.
Prior to Yahoo!, Weiner was the co-founder of Windsor Digital, a private equity firm focused on digital and media investments. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of DonorsChoose.org and Malaria No More.
03/06/2008
Robert Scoble
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 06 Mar 2008 07:05 PM PST
Robert Scoble, most notable for his technology blog, scobleizer.com, is Managing Director of Mansueto Digital’s FastCompany.tv, an online video network. He also hosts a daily video series, ScobleTV, which garners about one million views each month. Most recently, Robert was VP of Media Development at PodTech.net.
Robert first began blogging when working at NEC Mobile Solutions as a sales support manager for TabletPC. He was then tapped to join Microsoft’s Channel 9 MSDN Video team by Vic Gundotra, then GM of Platform Evangelism. There, he wrote openly about Microsoft, occasionally criticizing his employer and praising competitors’ products, winning him legions of fans who respected his honesty. This year, Robert was voted #9 on Forbes’ list of the Top 25 Internet Celebrities.
03/06/2008
Keith Richman
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 06 Mar 2008 07:02 PM PST
Keith Richman is co-founder and chief executive officer of Break Media, an entertainment community for men. Keith is responsible for providing overall strategic direction and leading business development and marketing.
Earlier, Keith was the Co-Founder and Vice-President of OnePage, acquired by Sybase in 2002 and Co-Founder and Director of Business Development for Billpoint Inc., acquired by eBay in 1999. Previous posts also include Business Development Manager at Excite and Classifieds2000, as well as director of Corporate Planning at the Walt Disney Company, where he focused on consumer products, cable and emerging media.
Keith was included in The Hollywood Reporter’s Next Gen 2007 New Media list of the most talented executives in film, television, representation, legal and new media, all age 35 and under, recognized in the annual “40 Under 40” by Multichannel News and named one of the “10 to Watch” by Television Week in 2006.
03/06/2008
Gordon Paddison
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 06 Mar 2008 06:58 PM PST
Gordon Paddison is Executive Vice President, New Media Marketing for New Line Cinema. Most recently he has been responsible for the strategic analysis and structuring of New Media Marketing plans across all of the company’s divisions. He has spearheaded marketing campaigns for movies such as Wedding Crashers, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and the Austin Powers franchises.
Gordon was honored in 2005 by Variety and iMedia as the Integrated Marketer of the Year. In 2001, he was named one of the top 100 creative people in show business in Entertainment Weekly’s “IT List” issue and was among Variety’s “The Digital Dozen”: twelve individuals who will have a strong hand in shaping the new, wired Hollywood.
Gordon also co-authored the textbook, Internet Marketing: Building Advantage in a Networked Economy, which has been adopted by over 200 universities around the world.
03/06/2008
Frank Cooper
By Amanda Natividad - Thu 06 Mar 2008 06:57 PM PST
Frank Cooper III is the vice president of marketing for Pepsi-Cola North America. In his current role, he oversees PCNA’s entire non-cola soft drink portfolio representing over $6 billion in revenue on an annual basis. Frank was formerly PCNA’s vice president of promotions and interactive marketing, where he supervised the company’s national and account-specific retail marketing efforts and leading PCNA’s digital marketing strategy and initiatives.
Prior to Pepsi, Frank spent a decade working as a senior business executive and entrepreneur. From 2001-2003, Cooper headed the Interactive Music Marketing division at AOL. In 1998, Cooper co-founded internet company Urban Box Office Networks, Inc. (UBO).
Cooper received his juris doctorate from Harvard Law School, serving as the Supreme Court editor of the Harvard Law Review.
03/05/2008
Jeff Price
By Amanda Natividad - Wed 05 Mar 2008 05:17 PM PST
Jeff Price is president of Sports Illustrated Digital, where he oversees the magazine’s website as well as other digital products. He joined SI in 2002 as VP/CMO, where in that capacity he oversaw all marketing functions, television projects, partnerships, athlete relations and special events.
Prior to joining SI, Jeff was the CMO at sports marketing company Millsport. His previous experience also includes serving as CMO at sports technology startup Trackus, VP for sponsorships and events at Mastercard, GM for the Big 12 Conference for USA Sports, and working in team services and special events at the NBA. In both 1999 and 2000, he was named to Sports Business Journal’s annual list of “Forty-under-40”.
Jeff attended Bates College, where he was a four-year varsity football player and earned his B.A. in American History. He also received an MS in Sports Management from the University of Massachusetts.
03/05/2008