Program for the Day

8:30 AM to 9:15 AM

Breakfast and Registration

Join your fellow attendees for breakfast and some pre-conference mingling. Register in advance to save money and time at regsitration.
9:15 AM

Welcome and Opening

Charles Hudson and Redpoint Ventures
9:30 AM

What Users Want — Branded and User-Generated Virtual Goods

One of the key decisions in any virtual goods offering is determining what users want. Looking for answers as to what your users want from your virtual goods offering? Curious about how to blend branded and user-generated virtual goods? Our panel of experts will share their experience on what it takes to get started and how to make a well-informed decision on this crucial topic.

  • Brian Balfour, Viximo
  • Lee Clancy, IMVU
  • Amy Jo Kim, Shufflebrain
  • Sean Ryan, Meez
  • Moderator: Margaret Wallace, Rebel Monkey
10:30 AM

Making Virtual Economies Work — Lessons from the Leaders

Managing a virtual economy is no easy task. Managing inflation, dealing with billing, and being vigilant on fraud are just a small fraction of the issues facing anyone managing a virtual economy. Our panelists will share their experiences and insights on this important subject.

  • Susan Choe, Outspark
  • Lee Crawford, Twofish
  • Christopher Donahue, Live Gamer
  • Karl Mehta, Playspan
  • Moderator: Susan Wu, Ohai
11:30 AM

Lunch

We’ll have box lunches available for everyone from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM. Grab a bite and take advantage of the opportunity to catch up with friends, check your Blackberry, or recharge your batteries.
1:00 PM

Virtual Goods and Social Networks

Virtual goods are beginning to make a major footprint on leading social networks. Aside from offering an alternative to advertising, virtual goods offer application developers a solid opportunity to capitalize on the user engagement they generate. What will it take to fully take advantage of the virtual goods opportunity on social networks? Our panel of leading thinkers will share their views on this topic.

  • John Hwang, RockYou
  • David King, Lil Green Patch
  • Shervin Pishevar, SGN
  • Andrew Trader, Zynga
  • Moderator: Mark Wallace, Wello Horld
2:00 PM

Breakout Sessions #1

Interested in diving deeper into some specific topics? We have a great set of expert-led breakout sessions that will dive deeper into some of the most interesting areas of the virtual goods industry:

  • Session A: Metrics for Virtual Goods Businesses: The Whirled Case Study - Daniel James and Andrew Chen
  • Session B: Music as the Ultimate Virtual Goods? Nabeel Hyatt
  • Session C: Virtual Goods and the iPhone
3:00 PM

Break

Need caffeine? How about a cookie or a snack? We’ll have refreshments on hand to keep you going through the rest of the day.
3:30 PM

Generating Real Revenue from Virtual Goods

The goods are virtual, but the revenue is real. Interested in figuring out how to turn browsers into buyers and driving more engagement around virtual goods? We’ve assembled a strong group of panelists who can share their insights on how to tackle the challenge of converting virtual goods into real revenue.

  • Adam Caplan, Super Rewards
  • Matt Mihaly, Sparkplay Media
  • David Perry, Acclaim
  • Anu Shukla, Offerpal Media
  • Moderator: Joel Brodie, Gamezebo
4:30 PM

Getting Paid - Build a Dominant Payments and Billing Strategy

Designing and merchandising virtual goods is only half of the equation. For a virtual goods model to work, determining what payment types to accept and how to combat fraud are critical issues. Our panel of experts will share their views on what it takes to succeed in this crucial part of the business.

  • Christian DeBaun, PayByCash
  • Gene Hoffman, Vindicia
  • David Marcus, Zong (Echovox, Inc.)
  • Lex Bayer, Spare Change Payments
  • Tim Pechmann, GMG Entertainment
  • Moderator: Paul Thind, Habbo
5:30 PM

Closing

Charles Hudson and Redpoint Ventures
5:45 PM

Reception

After a full day of conference sessions and conversations, join the group for a beverage before you head out for the evening.