Program
Thursday, June 21st, 2007
Join fellow conference attendees for happy hour at Blue Chalk Cafe (map) from 8:00pm to 11:00pm to kick off the conference! See you there.
Friday, June 22nd, 2007
This year's Virtual Goods Summit at Stanford University's Annenberg Auditorium brings together leading entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, technologists, and industry participants to spend the day discussing the present and future of this exciting new space.
| 8:30am | Registration and Coffee |
| 10:00am | Welcome |
| 10:15am | Virtual Goods Success Stories The growing market for virtual goods has already produced a number of success stories. Are you curious about what it takes to build a successful community or entertainment site with a strong virtual goods component? Our panel of industry experts will share their stories about how they grew their businesses and how virtual goods played a role in driving their success. » Paul Thind, Habbo » David Wallerstein, Tencent » Kyra Reppen, MTV Networks » Min Kim, Nexon » Justin Hall, Passively Multiplayer (moderator) » Click here to see the video for this session |
| 11:30am | Why Virtual Goods Matter: What's Driving User Adoption? Virtual goods offerings continue to garner more momentum in the marketplace. Why do consumers want to spend their money on items that only exist in a virtual context? Is it even appropriate to make a distinction between what motivates people to invest in virtual goods as opposed to real-world goods? Join us for a conversation about what motivates people to invest their own time and money in digital goods and why virtual goods matter. » Craig Sherman, Gaia Online » Daniel James, 3 Rings » Amy Jo Kim, Shufflebrain » Byron Reeves, Stanford University » Nabeel Hyatt, Conduit Labs (moderator) » Click here to see the video for this session |
| 12:30pm | Lunch |
| 1:30pm | Making Virtual Economies Work: What Does it Take to Get it Right? Whether it's the virtual or physical world, successful economies don't happen by accident. What does it take to build and foster a thriving virtual economy? What lessons can we learn from folks who are on the forefront of tackling these issues? We'll explore what it takes to get a virtual economy right by tapping into the collective expertise of our audience and panelists. » Joshua Hong, K2 Networks » Brock Pierce, Affinity Media (IGE) » Raphael Koster, Areae » John Bates, Entropia Universe » Mark Wallace, 3pointD (moderator) » Click here to see the video for this session |
| 2:30pm | Virtual Items: Mainstream or Not? Virtual items are beginning to appear in many new contexts. As virtual items continue to penetrate new markets, what will it take for them to become more widely accepted? Is becoming mainstream the right goal for virtual items? Our team of speakers will share their views on the prospect for virtual items becoming mainstream. » Jia Shen, RockYou! » John Vars, Dogster » James Hong, HotOrNot » J.T. Stephens, Six Apart » Robert Scoble, PodTech (moderator) » Click here to see the video for this session |
| 3:15pm | Break |
| 3:30pm | Are Virtual Goods the Next Big Business Model? Online advertising has been a growth drive for many of the leading properties on the web today. Is advertising the best business model in all cases or are there situations where virtual goods can be a strong complement? What does it take to build a strong business model around virtual goods? These and other topics will be the centerpiece for this panel discussion. » Kevin Efrusy, Accel Partners » Tim Stevens, Doppelganger » Dan Kelly, Sparter » Susan Wu, Charles River Ventures (moderator) » Click here to see the video for this session |
| 4:30pm | Virtual Goods Meet Entertainment Virtual goods have a long established place in the world of quest-based and campaign-oriented online gaming. As important as this genre has been, the casual games and entertainment markets continue to attract a different demographic with different motivation. How will virtual goods impact the casual games and entertainment markets? Will the same tactics and techniques that worked in other instances drive success here as well? Our closing panel will share their thoughts on this topic and talk about what the future holds for virtual goods and entertainment. » Jim Greer, Kongregate » Erik Bethke, Go Pets » Sean Ryan, Meez » Charles Hudson, Virtual Goods Summit (moderator) » Click here to see the video for this session |
| 5:15pm | Closing Remarks |
