Village Gamer

WildTangent and the Degree® brand are working together to deliver free access to premium games for a limited time within the WildTangent Games service. Designed to appeal to male hardcore gamers, the custom game channel features fast-paced, adrenaline charged games.

The Unilever campaign is the first to deliver both a French and English language version of the experience, dynamically targeting users based on their language preference. Powered by WildTangent’s BrandBoost ad platform, the campaign unlocks pay to play games for consumers who engage with a Degree Adrenaline Series video commercial. Games in the Degree channel are typically $19.99 to own or anywhere from approximately $.25 to $1.00 to rent, but Canadian players will be able to enjoy free unlimited, uninterrupted play during the campaign courtesy of Degree Men Adrenaline Series.

“The Degree Games channel is a great way for Unilever to build equity with gamers by giving them free access to the games they love,” said Linda Kessler, director of sales for WildTangent in Canada. “Our BrandBoost platform allows Degree to dynamically target video advertising to our Canadian users in their native language across a selection of contextually relevant games. That is scalable, addressable engagement at its best.”

Editor’s Note: Is it just me, or do you lady gamers out there find this campaign’s focus a little…short sighted?

Just as movies are no longer delivered to theaters on celluloid, a new web- and mobile based service aims to provide a 21st century solution for Hollywood to test nascent film and television projects, while giving fans an unprecedented opportunity to be part of the green-light process.  FilmFunds, which is based in Los Angeles, launches today at the Toronto International Film Festival® as an official sponsor, providing exhibiting filmmakers gratis research and marketing services.   A new R&D paradigm for the entertainment industry, FilmFunds affords content owners and producers access to a database of 60 million moviegoers, utilizing crowd-sourced market research to replace the costly live test-screening model used since Hollywood’s Golden Era.

“Over the last decade we’ve seen how social marketing can make a film or TV show successful,” explains Co-Founder Shelly Palmer, a respected television producer, host and technology/media expert.  “FilmFunds posits a new form of social marketing that occurs before a project is made.  It offers a barometer and helps move content through the pipeline by creating an audience for it, giving millions of entertainment fans a stronger emotional connection by letting them become part of the creative process.  FilmFunds effectively lowers the velvet rope between Hollywood and the public at large.” Read the rest of this entry »

Scribendi has created an application programming interface (API) that will change the way corporate clients are able to have their documents edited. The editing services API will allow clients and colleagues to search for services and receive quotes, place and manage orders, review the status of orders, and review completed documents from any user interface (web site or application). Using the editing services API will ensure that clients’ documents are professionally edited and proofread through their own interface, allowing them to focus on their core strengths and offerings. They can be confident that their documents can be sent from anywhere—whether on the web or a mobile device—to be edited.

“Our mission is to help people around the world communicate clearly in English,” said Terence Johnson, Vice-President of Scribendi. “Opening up our editing services API is a natural way to allow people to access our services faster, to build copy editing into publishing workflow and content management systems, to bundle and resell our services, and to build creative new applications.” Read the rest of this entry »

ViXS Systems Inc. has announced that it is the first silicon vendor to implement the CryptoFirewall™ security core by Cryptography Research, a division of Rambus, and demonstrate it with the SypherMedia International (SMI) Kernel security code. CryptoFirewall™ and SMI technology will be demonstrated on XC4210 Soc in the ViXS Suite at IBC.

“The collaboration with Cryptography Research and SMI demonstrates our leadership and commitment to develop next generation platforms with advanced security solutions for the Pay TV market,” said Sally Daub, president and CEO of ViXS. “We plan to work closely with Cryptography Research and SMI to enable manufacturers and service providers to maintain high levels of security at the platform level.” Read the rest of this entry »

Sun Life Financial has launched its free mobile application for the iPhone mobile digital device and BlackBerry® smartphone. This new application, my Sun Life (Canada), provides existing group benefits and group retirement and savings plan members across Canada the ability to submit benefit claims, check plan balances and find ways to save for the future in a single mobile app.

For Sun Life group benefits plan members, the app allows them to submit medical and dental claims from their smartphones for instant processing – an industry first! Plan members are able to submit claims anywhere, anytime – even at point of sale – with the majority of claims being deposited into their bank accounts within 24 to 48 hours. Plan members can also view the details of their submitted claims, even those submitted through the mail, and have easy access to important benefit tools including their drug and travel protection cards.

“Making life easier for our clients is important to us and we know that providing mobile technology options is just one of the ways we can make it simpler for Canadians to do business with us,” says Stuart Monteith, Senior Vice-President, Group Benefits, Sun Life Financial Canada. “We’re excited to be the first insurance provider to offer mobile e-claims with instant adjudication in Canada.”

Group retirement and savings plan members can check their plan balances and recent contributions right from their phones. Sun Life now offers mobile access to account information and three interactive financial planning tools that take everyday spending situations and show how easy it is to turn small expenses into substantial savings. These tools build on Sun Life’s commitment to promote financial literacy.

“Our plan members tell us that having access to their account information, no matter where they are, is important to them,” says Tom Reid, Senior Vice-President, Group Retirement Services, Sun Life Financial Canada. “We’ve taken that a step further and not only given them the numbers, but we’re also showing clients that by making small changes to how they save, they can be that much closer to achieving their financial goals.”

Group plan members with an iPhone or BlackBerry® smartphone can download the free app directly from each manufacturer’s application marketplace. Users of other smartphones will have access to mobile web functionality after the launch of the app.

Toronto start-up Inspirapps Inc. has launched polltogo, a web/mobile application that lets users conduct short mobile polls and receive instant feedback from various audiences, including clients, students, viewers, readers and friends, using their cell phone, smartphone or any internet-connected device.

In addition to offering the classic online polling features, polltogo focuses on real-time interaction and offers a unique, simple way of collecting instant feedback from a target audience without the need for using, installing or renting dedicated voting devices.

polltogo is a universal tool that can be used within a professional environment, such as at a conference or in customer satisfaction polls, a learning environment to stimulate the interaction between teachers and students, or during a training session. Users also may choose to poll colleagues and friends in a casual setting, asking such questions as, “Sushi or Tex-Mex for dinner tonight?” Also, its ability to work on any mobile device (voters are not required to download any application to their phone to participate) makes it the perfect tool for interaction between television producers, advertisers and viewers during a live TV show.

Creating a poll, sharing it with a target audience and viewing the results is as easy as 1-2-3 and only takes a minute:

1. Create the poll – Users can create polls in advance (or live at an event) on a smartphone, tablet or laptop using a very simple interface. Using polltogo.com or the polltogo mobile app, the user simply enters a question (e.g., “How would you rate this presentation?”), chooses a poll type (multiple choice, yes/no, rating, textual feedback), sets the duration (from 1 minute to no limit), and provides a few options (result presentation, allow comments, privacy, etc.).

Poynt Corporation and the Missing Children Society of Canada (MCSC) have gone live with their previously announced geo-targeted notification system to push Child Search Alerts to Poynt users globally. Child Search Alerts are available to Poynt users on BlackBerry smartphones, iPhone and Android devices, putting the ability to stop child abductions directly into the hands of people while they are going about their day.

Judy Peterson, mother of Lindsey Nicholls, advocates for technology that will help in the recovery of missing children. Lindsey vanished on August 2, 1993 on her way to visit friends in  Comox Valley and has not been seen or heard from since. Unfortunately, her story is not uncommon as more than 50,000 children are reported missing in Canada every year.

“The concept of reaching out to all Poynt users in a specific region and being able to ask for their help is amazing. I can’t help thinking that if this technology existed 18 years ago when my 14-year old daughter vanished, we would have had answers,” said Ms. Peterson. “The contrast between the power of this technology and my desperate search using the telephone and trekking around town with my stack of homemade posters and roll of scotch tape is overwhelming. Parents will have the comfort of knowing they are not searching alone and that there are millions of people out there who care and will now have the ability to actively help find their child.”

Have you seen Lindsey Nicholls?

A first-of-its-kind geo-targeted notification system through a mobile app, Poynt will assist in the timely location and recovery of missing or abducted children. When a child goes missing or new information on their whereabouts is received, time is of the utmost importance. By pushing geo-relevant Child Search Alerts to Poynt users already in the vicinity of a missing child, Poynt and MCSC will be able to quickly disseminate important information to aid in the recovery of missing children. The Child Search Alerts will direct Poynt users to a mobile website where they can view information about the missing child including pictures, a physical description, background details, information about other potential people who are with the child, as well as the areas where the child is thought to be located.

The Missing Children Society of Canada, a registered Canadian charity, will enter information that will create a child search alert containing timely information on a missing child which will in turn be sent to Poynt users in a specified geographic area. Poynt users will then be notified via push notification that a child has been potentially sighted within a relevant radius of where they were last sighted. Users do not have to be using Poynt at the time to receive a notification; notifications will be made based on the Poynt users last known location. On iPhone, a pop-up dialogue will appear notifying the user that a missing child might be in their area. On Android and BlackBerry smartphones a notification icon will appear at the top of the phone. The system will have an opt-out option which can be found in the menu on each device.

“Being socially responsible and giving back to our community is an important part of how we feel we can make an impact. We value our families and locating missing children is a cause near and dear to us,” said Andrew Osis, President and CEO of Poynt Corp. “The capabilities of our location technology to target an area at a critical moment where a child’s life can be saved, is the perfect fit for us. The addition of Child Search Alerts enables our users to positively impact their communities in a simple yet highly effective manner, and that really has a greater societal impact.”

“We know that this push system will bring children home,” said Amanda Pick, Executive Director of MCSC. “Being able to immediately engage people in a pin-pointed area where we are conducting an investigation or where a missing child has recently been sighted is a game-changer in the search for missing children.”

“Increasingly, our investigators are working parental abduction cases that cross international borders,” continued Pick. “The ability to connect with Poynt’s existing, engaged 10 million users around the world is a huge asset to our investigation team. Most importantly, it’s a huge asset to our searching families.”

“Whether a child has been missing for 5 minutes or 5 years, communicating time-sensitive information in a case’s breakthrough moment is going to make the difference in bringing that child back to safety.”

Founded in 1986, MCSC is the only non-profit organization in Canada that has an in-house team of former law enforcement investigators that actively search for missing children. If you have seen Lindsey Nicholls or know of her whereabouts, please call 1 (800) 661 6160 or email tips@mcsc.ca.

Cackleberries, the latest online virtual world introducing children to the future of education is now open for familes to explore. This living community, full of fun learning and adventure, is the brainchild of entrepreneur Eronne Foster, a passionate mother cared so much about the future of children’s education and the promotion of a safe online environment to learn in that she assembled a team of educationalists, British Columbia’s finest animators and game developers to develop an imaginative world rich in learning and packed with entertainment.

“Information technology provides us with opportunities to make learning material more visual, interactive, and accessible,” Eronne says. “We encourage children to learn through creativity, playful thinking, social integration and computer skills. Cackleberries is designed to allow young children between the ages of 3 and 7 to play and learn. It’s not just about reading and math, but embodies life skills, social practices and cultural integration.”

Cackleberries, named after an Australian word for “egg,” reside in a live, ever changing, exciting virtual world. Aside from the wondrous characters and structures illustrated by Vancouver artist Ken Rolston, many unique features contribute to this learning environment.

“We have strived to make the learning seamless” says Eronne, “in the reading skills component, for example, it is the word bar that helps children learn. It brings together both visual and audio cues. Multimedia learning is enhanced with this combination of visual and auditory stimuli, and the beauty is that children are fast tracked into learning outcomes without even realizing they are learning. ”

A highlight of Cackleberries experience is the safety aspect. Using Adobe AIR, developers of Cackleberries are able to build and deploy rich web applications and content directly to the desktop. They have developed a proprietary “Cackleberries Desktop Safety Icon.” The safety icon takes your child into the online world of Cackleberries with no access to the wider internet and no one on the internet has access to your children. The wondrous characters children interact with are carefully crafted computer generated avatars that deliver the fun and education.

“While many parents have recognized the advantage of online supplemented early education, there is nevertheless a fear of allowing children unrestricted access to the internet,” says Eronne. “At Cackleberries we are passionate about providing the safest online environment for your children to play, explore, and learn in. We take early childhood education and online safety very seriously, and consult with some of the top experts.”

“It’s important that parents are able to engage and help direct their children’s play and learning outcomes,” continued Eronne. “We are building a growing resource centre with current information on parenting, early childhood education and child safety. To this end the Cackleberries team has developed Club C for grownups. Club C is for anyone who has a child in their life – parents, grandparents, educators and caregivers.”

In Cackleberries world children develop their own avatars, which are engagingly interactive and kick start the child’s creativity. Children participate in a growing, living world, with houses, streets and communities that evolve around them. The creators imagined a place for children where everyone is accepted, differences are never feared and innocence still exists.

“We are always developing exciting new learning delivery methods which encompass a wide skill set,” enthuses Eronne.  “As borders open between nations, ethnic diversity has become part of the mosaic of life. Cackleberries teaches acceptance, understanding and caring; and shows our young audience how to celebrate, not fear differences.”

Popular social search plug-in Wajam has expanded with Wajam Places, which shows users location-based results from their friends directly in Google, Bing and Yahoo search engines.

Now it’s even easier to find relevant information from friends who live in the places you’re searching such as places that friends and associates have liked in any given locale, along with places they have checked-in to and photos they may have taken at that location.

Users who are new to Wajam’s service will start seeing results based on location directly in their compatible search engines, while longtime users will see Wajam Places along with regular results as the service crawls location markers that Wajam has already stored for you.

As an early adopter, I’ve been using Wajam for several months, and I find this to be an invaluable add-on for my search results, especially when I know someone mentioned something but I can’t remember whom – a simple Google Wajam search on the topic and there it is. Wajam is easy to install and very easy to use; for me it’s become an important part of my research toolkit.

Shaw Communications Inc. has announced the results of its strategic review of the wireless business opportunity, including the potential value of wireless in the traditional cable bundle, the rapid evolution of wireless technologies, the capital needed to build a competitive wireless network (including additional spectrum requirements), recent changes in the wireless competitive environment, and the impact that wireless would have on long-term shareholder value.

When the corporation first started looking at the wireless opportunity, it saw wireless as a complementary product in a world where broadband Internet access is moving increasingly to wireless devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops, netbooks, etc). A wireless offering could give Shaw a platform from which to extend current services and leverage its broadband, video, voice and content/programming businesses. Editor’s note: this could also translate into a bonus for Canadian programming like Endgame, the Gemini Award-nominated crime drama which many are hoping will be renewed for at least a second season.

However, the economics of a conventional wireless business as a new entrant are extremely challenging. New entrants lack the economies of scale and scope to compete effectively against well established incumbents with ubiquitous coverage, extensive device ecosystems, deep spectrum positions and large retail networks. Even with Shaw’s established base and considerable strengths and assets, the company could not justify a wireless network build at this time.

The corporation believes that a more prudent approach is to provide a managed Wi-Fi network that will allow customers to extend their Shaw services beyond the home. This will achieve the company’s objectives without risking well over $1 billion in capital expenditures on a traditional wireless network build.

As a wireless broadband technology Wi-Fi is evolving rapidly with significant improvements in throughput, coverage and reliability. Wi-Fi technologies are now capable of providing seamless hand-off and extensive metropolitan area coverage. Wi-Fi is in virtually all portable consumer devices and customers are actively seeking Wi-Fi hot spots to reduce data costs and improve their wireless broadband experience. The vast majority of tablets sold to date are Wi-Fi only devices. Wireless broadband is increasingly viewed as a portable and nomadic service for the consumption of media rich content and video.

Major wireless carriers worldwide are deploying Wi-Fi as means of offloading 3G/4G traffic thereby reducing network build costs, and improving capacity and coverage. Shaw believes that cable operators are uniquely positioned to take advantage of Wi-Fi.

In addition, given that Wi-Fi spectrum is free and there are no device subsidies, Shaw can build extensive Wi-Fi coverage at a substantially lower cost relative to a traditional wireless network and still provide customers with an excellent broadband wireless experience.

“We have decided to focus on strengthening our core business and leveraging our media and programming assets to support our leadership position in broadband and video,” said Brad Shaw, Chief Executive Officer of Shaw. “Our decision not to pursue a conventional wireless business is consistent with this strategic approach and our focus on shareholder value.”

Shaw held a conference call earlier today to discuss additional details regarding the announcement, with further news forthcoming.