Whole new cultures are emerging around convergent media, an example of which is The Matrix Trilogy, the narrativeis which is contained, not just in the films, but also in comics, anime, games, and web sites all serving acommunity of participants - they're actually more than "fans." Henry Jenkins' latest book, Convergence Culture, isan in-depth review and critique of several evolving transmedia cultures, their quirks, and their impact on ourperceptions.

You know your customers and your products inside and out. You do the web design, the print design, the marketing collateral, and the t-shirts. You have a zillion ideas for how to improve this and fix that. You are the in-house design team. This panel will cover the key ingredients for success, measuring success and value, strategies for elevating design thinking, and dealing with challenges unique to in-house teams.

Moderator: Jon Wiley User Experience Designer, Google

This panel will take an in-depth look at defining and sharing Web design patterns. In particular we'll explore communicating when and how specific design patterns should be applied, what it takes to develop a usable design language, and how disparate lists of design patterns can converge into a shared online resource.The content will be based on an ongoing online conversation started at: http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?347

Just like pulling off the perfect robbery, pulling off the perfect web site needs to be planned and executed with care. Do it right and you'll go home with the jewels, do it wrong and you'll be doing time in the Pen! This informative and light hearted presentation will take you through planning, pulling off and of course, the getaway.

What does "open content" really mean? How will issues of ownership direct the way content is created and consumed? How can media companies leverage remix culture without exploiting its participants? What untapped opportunities exist for companies and people to monetize content through sharing and reuse? Join us for a discussion about technology, copyright, and the future of user-created media.

Moderator: Eric Steuer Creative Director, Creative Commons

In its first year, microformats.org ushered in the rapid adoption of key formats for publishing and sharing tags, licenses, contacts, relationships, events and reviews on the Web. See what new microformats are being developed for resumes, classified listings, music, and media, as well as how tens of millions of established microformats on web sites of individuals, companies, and organizations are driving innovations in desktop applications and advancing personal data portability.

Moderator: Tantek Çelik Chief Technologist, Technorati

The MobileActive panel will feature some of the best and brightest minds in the newly blossoming arena of mobile technology and politics. And by "actvism" we just don't mean political. This panel will explore what it takes to use mobile technology to truly "mobilize" the masses around a cause, idea, candidate or even brand. The panel will be a great opportunity to meet some of the industries major players and learn from their failures and success' in the technology that promises to be and already is the next big thing in social activism and political campaigns around the world.

Moderator: Justin Oberman Consultant / Editor, MOpocket

You've got the servers, the money, the legal junk worked out -- now how do you scale your community? How do you address ever-expanding needs without becoming bloated, expand your audience without alienating early adopters? Stay cool/indy while going mainstream? Maintain your vision or let the community guide you?

Leaders of some of the world's most compelling online magazines discuss their visions of where this medium is headed.

Moderator: Rufus Griscom CEO, Nerve Media

How can short narrative films stand out in the sea of short, funny, and mostly non-narrative video clips that dominate the big video sharing sites? Is a niche site the answer, or are short films bound to be lost in the crowd? What's the incentive to site operators, if any, to feature short film content.

Moderator: Ryan Ritchey Producer, The Flux

With direct-to-DVD movie releases and 'unrated' copies of movies, DVDs are stable presence and an ever-growing means for studios to get their movies to the public. Extra footage, commentary tracks and other bonus materials entice fans to spend their money on owning copies of their favorite movies. Where is it all headed for the big studios and the indie filmmaker?

Moderator: Jonathan Marlow VP Content: Dev & Acquisitions, GreenCine

We've got the participatory web, Web 2.0, whatever you want to call it. Millions of amateurs now routinely use the web to create and distribute their own movies, mash-ups, blogs, custom widgets, interfaces, and the like. This wave of user-created content is swelling towards video games and virtual worlds. PC games can be modded and customized, console systems are really just powerfully networked computers in the process of opening up, and virtual world platforms are emerging that allow you to create completely personalized identities and environments. More and more the means of content creation are being offloaded from traditional top-down gaming companies to independent teams and individuals for self-expression, personal projects and profit. This panel will examine the trend towards user-creation in gamespace and focus on new opportunities exemplified by virtual world platforms like Second Life and Multiverse, software developer kits for the next-gen console systems (Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and PlayStation 3), 3D map and modeling platforms like Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth, and the surrounding content creation tools, both currently available and on the horizon. If you've ever wanted into the game or virtual world space on your own terms, whether it's running around Halo looking like your real life self or getting your own vision for a virtual experience off the ground, the doors are beginning to open, you don't need a badge to get to work, and this panel is for you.

Moderator: Jerry Paffendorf , The Electric Sheep Company

Technology and markets are converging to support the blognovel/blognovela, and the net, given the right tools, could be poised to disrupt big publishing houses. What are book publishers not getting about blogs? What did your fiction blog-personas allow you to say that you couldn't say as yourself? How are "character blogs" are being used by corporations as a marketing tool. In blogging, does art trump truth?

Spam, spim, spit, comment spam, referrer spam, splogs, software exploits, viruses, worms, phishing, dictionary attacks, cross-site scripting, social engineering: does everything new we do online have its own categories of abuse we have to protect ourselves and our users against? Can anything be done to stop it, or at least to defend ourselves against it? Listen to the experts as they discuss the solutions, for better or for worse.

Synthetic, alternate worlds such as Second Life, There, and Habbo Hotel are populated by customizable, user-controlled avatars. These exciting spaces are increasingly being eyed as the next level in experiential marketing. Does a successful marketing effort target the user or the avatar? What are the best ways to capture and retain attention in a virtual world? Our panelists discuss the business, cultural, and ethical considerations of marketing to avatars.

Moderator: Tony Walsh , SecretLair.com

Flickr recently launched a geo-tagging application that positioned 1.5 million flicker photos on Yahoo Maps in 48hours.Google Earth features content that includes everything from touring a spot on the globe before visiting it to instantaneous seismic monitoring of every earthquake on the planet. How does the world adapt to new virtualrepresentations of spatial reality? What trends can we expect as geologcal converges with other data and devicesfor spatial orientation grow more sophisticated, cheaper, and pervasive?

Moderator: Dean McCall Pres/CEO, Salsa.Net

Is your team mired in the goo and muck of old-school thinking? Are your designers and developers divided on their approach and about to throw in the towel? Are you dying to move from a stale world to a more agile, innovative approach? This panel features formerly stuck experts as well as those who have helped clients get out of the muck. Success in today's web environment means merging design and development thinking to move to a 2.0 world and beyond.

Moderator: Liz Danzico Director, experience strategy, Daylife

More and more educators are turning to video games to capture the attention of their students. Does such technology really improve the learning process?

Moderator: John Purdy Pres/CEO, Red Knight Learning Systems

How do you provide a consistent user experience across various devices (web, TV, handhelds, cell phones) that reinforces the concept of convergent services? A panel of design experts discuss the goals and benefits of creating a consistent user experience, and examine the challenges that lie in presenting those services across mediums.

Moderator: Jeff Beckham Sr Business Mgr-Strategy, AT&T

Where can you find Ajax enlightenment? At the mystical point where akick-ass application connects perfectly with the Flow of the best userexperiences. Let Masters Jeremy and Derek guide you there. You seek to infuse your work, whether an app or a website feature, withthe power of Ajax. But, taking the wrong path at the beginning of yourproject will lead to frustration for visitors, rather than a graceful,intuitive experience. True Masters start with the right questions: Whenis Ajax an enhancement? When is it a hindrance? how can its energy bechannelled elegantly? This insightful session will be grounded inreal-life examples and demonstrations, revealing the impact of thechoices we make. Above all, you'll learn the strategical thinking andhigher perspective that will ensure a brilliantly user-centered website.

As we distribute packets and bits online, our new challenge is to follow those complex paths with robust conceptual and physical distribution models and methods for exchanging value. The contemporary virtual marketplace combines intangible and tangible products in ways undreamed of before the advent of digital convergence. How are we addressing the new world of niche markets, and how do we scale our activities as more and more new markets emerge?

Moderator: Marshall Kirkpatrick Dir of Content, SplashCast

Most videogames rely on two simple forms of interactivity to tell their story: shooting a stranger and navigating a building. But most great stories are about character emotions. This talk looks at examples of state-of-the-art technology, emerging forms of gameplay, and the non-player character as a literary form. We will then discuss where the NPC (non-player character) and QPC (quasi-player character) might be going in the coming years, and what this means to online communities and games.

Moderator: Mark Stephen Meadows , HeadCase