New Media Expo Panel, IAWTV Awards and CES
It would seem that Vegas in early January is gearing up to become to New Media Creators what the Austin of March is for Indie Techies, Filmmakers and Musicians. Not unlike the triple threat of SXSW Interactive, Film, and Music (which by the way run from March 8th-17th this year), this month will see 3 separate but related events taking place around the Vegas strip - CES, the IAWTV Awards, and the New Media Expo.
First up is New Media Expo (formerly Blogworld) which will be held from Jan 6th-8th and will feature an entire track
devoted to Web TV. I'll be speaking at "Ready, Set, Shoot - A
Beginner's Guide", a panel on taking your first steps into production
for new media. In addition, core Highway 9 collaborator (and my beautiful fiance') Jo Bozarth will be moderating "Acting Up! - Advice from Award Winning and Nominated Web Series Actors." A full list of the Web TV Track (as well as the rest of the conference) can be found here.
Then, on the evening of Jan 8th, the Venetian Hotel will play host to the 2nd Annual IAWTV Awards. As with last year, the IAWTV Awards will technically be part of the CES conference. That said, the awards and the education track that goes with them (both organized and run by the
International Academy of Web Television) shine a much more specific
light on web series--the folks creating them, the shows that are out
there, and the way the medium is growing. Last year, "Cupid and Eros" was one of
the inaugural nominees in the "Best Supplemental Content" category so I
was lucky to have been able to attend as a nominee. Sadly, this year no
Highway 9 projects got nominations, but Jo and I will still be there to support our friends and fellow IAWTV members who are being honored.
And of course, the grandfather event of the month is CES, the Consumer Electronics Show. CES, which runs from the 8th until the 11th, has been held in some form or another since 1967. It's the largest trade show of it's kind in the world and one devoted to a lot of the technology that will help fuel the growth of content created specifically for new media.
Whether this trio of new media events continues to be held concurrently in future years remains to be seen. But at least for now, I'm happy to be able to get a lot of bang for the buck in only one trip.
-avi