nextMEDIA once again lived up to its reputation as the premier digital media event in Canada. The two-day event, which wrapped on Sunday at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, attracted a sold-out crowd of content producers, media executives and digital entrepreneurs. Highlights of the event included:

nextMEDIA Exposed – Live from Banff, Alberta
Missed the event? Get the latest buzz on what happened by tuning into nextMEDIA Exposed: http://www.nextmediaevents.com/fdc and following our all-star team of bloggers as they report on the action as it happens. Also, don’t forget if you have attended nextMEDIA and want your coverage to be included in the nextMEDIA channel tag your posts, photos, and videos with ‘nm08’

Meet Canada’s Digital Media Giants
nextMEDIA brought together Canada’s ‘digital media giants’ for the first time ever, to examine the current digital media strategies at ‘the big five’. Dominique-Sébastien Forest (Quebecor Media), Kevin Bartus (Rogers Media), Maria Hale (TELUS), Stephan Argent (CTV) and Steve Billinger (CBC/Radio-Canada), outlined their strategies for the upcoming year. Check out their interviews here: http://www.nextmediaevents.com/fdc and live blogging of the session here: http://www.scribblelive.com/Event/Canadas_Digital_Media_Giants__NM08

TELUS’s Vision for the Digital Media Future
TELUS drove home the idea of how to build a successful Canadian new media industry with a list of 10 recommendations that included “no content regulation of the Internet”, part of a formal white paper entitled ‘A Friendly Future for New Media’. Copies of the full document can be downloaded here, and the executive summary can be downloaded here.

Heavy Launches Husky Media
Husky Media (http://www.huskymedia.com), is a premium ad video ad network created by The Heavy Corporation (http://www.heavy.com). The Husky Media video monetization platform wraps any video player (YouTube, Revver, Google, etc.), with a “Video-Skin,” a premium, high CPM ad unit, designed for brand advertisers. For advertisers, Husky Media is building unprecedented reach around video - - in all video formats. Husky also gives advertisers access to specific psychographics and includes vertical networks such as music, entertainment and action sports.

2008 Canadian New Media Awards Finalists Announced
The Finalists for the 2008 Canadian New Media Awards (http://cnma.ca/index_e/07finalists.html) were announced on Sunday, June 8th. Winners will be chosen on Tuesday, November 18th in Toronto as part of the nextMEDIA – Monetizing Digital Media Conference.

Check out Achilles Media’s next event – Just Comedy
The Comedy Event of the Year for anyone in the Business of Funny. After 26 years of making people laugh, Just For Laughs, in partnership with Achilles Media, bring you the inaugural comedy event of the year – Just Comedy. Join Judd Apatow, Jimmy Fallon, Craig Ferguson, Steve Koonin, Matt Parker & Trey Stone, Jeremy Piven, Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman, Seth Rogen, and more! Conference dates July 17-18, 2008, Just For Laughs Festival dates July 10-20, 2008. Visit http://www.justcomedy.com/ for access to the Conference, Live Shows, and Films.

Bill Buxton, Principal Scientist at Microsoft Research will deliver the opening keynote address at nextMEDIA - The Future of Digital Content. In his keynote address Bill will speak to emerging trends around physical computing and a human-centered approach to technological design and innovation.

Bill Buxton has spent more than 30 years observing how people use technology and applying those insights to the human-computer interaction field. A former musician, he first came to prominence while at the University of Toronto. From 1994 to 2002, he was Chief Scientist of Alias|Wavefront (now part of Autodesk) and from 1995, its parent company SGI Inc. He was present at the company during the entire development of MAYA, which won an Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement.

As Principal Scientist at Microsoft Research, Bill has worked extensively on Microsoft Surface, the first commercially available surface computer. He recently authored a new book, Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design (Morgan Kaufmann).

"As we move away from standard platforms, such as the PC and the graphical user interface (GUI), the software, hardware, and business aspects of the product will not be able to exist in three different silos within an organization, much less be undertaken isolated from the larger social, cultural, and economic context within which they will function." - Bill Buxton, "Surface and Tangible Computing, and the "Small" Matter of People and Design", Feb 2008

To see Bill Buxton for yourself register for nextMEDIA - The Future of Digital Content.

Get a head start on your content deal by booking your own one-on-one meeting with one of the many digital media executives attending nextMEDIA.

Register today and be one of the first to sign-up for our popular 'Interactive Exchange Sessions.' Sessions are 'by appointment only' and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Limit of two appointments per delegate.

Over $13 million dollars worth of business deals were negotiated at last year’s nextMEDIA.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to connect and do business with …

Parmesh Shahani, Head of Vision and Opportunities, Mahindra & Mahindra
Visionary responsible for venture capital, innovation and strategic brand outreach for the Mahindra Group, one of the most respected industrial conglomerates in India and among India’s top ten business groups. He also serves as the India research affiliate for the Convergence Culture Consortium at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Jim Louderback, CEO, Revision3
Leader of one of the world's most successful Internet TV platforms.

Joseph Ferreira, GM & SVP of CBS Audience Network, CBS Interactive, CBS
Senior executive who oversee programming and syndication decisions for the newly-created and recently-launched CBS Audience Network.

Biren Ghose, President and CEO, Kahani World Inc.
Team leader at Kahani Word Inc. and principal innovator of "Indian/Asian-themed" animated movies with the strong potential for computer and mobile games, licensing and merchandising.

James Cooper, Creative Director, Another Anomaly
Award-winning creative director responsible for developing the agency’s products and non-traditional partnerships.

Jeff Barr, Senior Web Services Evangelist, Amazon.com
Responsible for furthering awareness of web services and inspiring developers to create innovative applications using Amazon Web Services.

Claude Galipeau, VP Interactive, Astral Media Inc.
Executive responsible for the digital strategy of Astral's three business lines: radio, TV, and outdoor display advertising.

Jeremy Wright, CEO & President, b5media
Serial entrepreneur and head of one of North America's leading blog networks.

Stephan Argent, VP, Digital Media, CTV
Executive responsible for CTV's digital media strategy and initiatives across all digital platforms.

David U.K., Managing Director, Heavy.com (Canada)
14-year media veteran responsible for Heavy's Canadian operations, including revenue, ad sales, programming, content licensing and distribution.

Dominique-Sebastien Forest, General Manager, Digital Media and E-commerce, Quebecor Media Inc.
Senior executive responsible for Canoe's digital content and wireless distribution strategy; also in charge of building and operating a new e-commerce global environment for Quebecor Media online activities.

Kevin Bartus, VP of Digital Media, Rogers Media
Executive responsible for the digital and on-line assets of Rogers Media Inc.

Maria Hale, VP Content, Product & Services, TELUS
Executive responsible for acquiring and managing content featured across TELUS TV, broadband and mobile service platforms.

Note: The individuals listed above are current as of the posting date. All names are subject to change based on schedule updates, cancellations, or other factors beyond the control of nextMEDIA.

From cloud computing to widgets, to an overview of Emerging Digital Media Markets and Technology Trends, the program at nextMEDIA - The Future of Digital Content provides you with the know-how to stay profitable in the digital media space.

To view the complete schedule, click here.

Six of India’s top media executives will unlock the secrets of the subcontinent’s digital media industry during an afternoon session on Saturday, June 7th, part of nextMEDIA - The Future of Digital Content.

“This is an amazing opportunity for Canadian content producers to meet and do business with the players who are driving the digital media industry in India -- one of the fast-growing consumer markets in the world,” says Mark Greenspan, Director of Digital Media for Achilles Media Ltd., producer of the three-day event.

Participants in the “India Rising” session are: Neeraj Roy, Managing Director & CEO, Hungama Mobile; Gaurav Dhillon, CEO, Jaman; Biren Ghose, CEO & President, Kahani World Inc.; Parmesh Shahani, Head of Vision and Opportunities, Mahindra & Mahindra; Ajit Balakrishnan, Chairman & CEO, Rediff.com; and Gotham Chopra, Chief Creative Officer, Virgin Comics. The session will be moderated by Sara Diamond, President of the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD).