But where newspapers, music, and films are struggling to find a way to make money with free content, the games industry is just doing it. Online games have gone up by 22 per cent over the last year and the market is at a point where almost every other Internet user plays games online. Revenue for online games is forecast to hit $11 billion this year, a significant wedge of the $44 billion electronic game pie.

Just a few of the millions playing around in Sulake’s massive success: Habbo Hotel. © Sulake Corporation

Together with other game industry leaders, listen to FanTrust President Catherine Warren as she probes the fun-house relationship between the real game-of-life and the casual online game at “Play for Free” in Copenhagen November 19, 2009.

“When ‘Fans’ meet ‘Free’ all kinds of crazy stuff happens,” says Warren. “We are witnessing a time when virtual economics and real-world markets are at a crossroads, where social networks are the new digital playgrounds and where underground sweatshops with child labor mirror the activities of kids with unlimited cash to play.” The global economy may be collapsing, but the online game economy is exploding, notes Warren. “For winning companies, ‘free to play’ actually translates into billions in cash. So, I want to know: Will the next notorious white collar criminal be an in-game Bernie Madoff? Or will a future Nobel Prize go to a virtual economist?”

Experts in the field of free-to-play from Canada, the US, Sweden, Germany and Denmark will reveal transformations, anomalies and trends in this exciting global market at “Play for Free,” hosted by Denmark’s Media Desk and the National Academy of Digital, Interactive Entertainment.

Check out the Play for Free link for the complete speaker line-up and sessions

Download FanTrust’s whitepaper: Socialize Me – Tap Today’s Billion Dollar Social Games Sector with FanTrust

Read more about the FanTrust session: http://www.fantrust.com/talks-events/free-the-fans/

In terms of increasing the understanding and control a user has over the information accessed by third-party applications, Facebook is introducing a new permissions model that will require applications to specify the categories of information they wish to access and obtain express consent from the user – before any data is shared. Users will also have to approve any access to their friends’ info, in turn subject to the friend’s privacy and application settings.

Visit Media in Canada for the full article

Interviewed by FanTrust President Catherine Warren at one of Canada’s premier digital media events – The Interactive Exchange, organized by Interactive Ontario – Obama Girl Amber Lee Ettinger and Ben Relles, creator of the Obama Girl videos and BarelyPolitical.com, discuss how they use social media, online video and communication with their viewers to build audience to become a part of today’s pop culture.  Learn the strategy behind creating content that people will talk about, blog about and share.

On March 18 in Toronto, Relles, Ettinger and Warren will also discuss the recently launched BarelyDigital.com, an online video network satirizing the world of technology. From lampooning overexcited YouTube commenters to staging an intervention for a World of Warcraft addict, Barely Digital covers gadgets, gaming, Obama’s BlackBerry, the elite digerati, Ask Jeeves and Web 4.0 like nobody’s business.

Visit http://www.inexchange09.com/ for more information and a full schedule of events.

This session will consider whether widespread broadband penetration will change the way brands need to communicate to large audiences to drive response, the importance of balancing awareness and relationships and the opportunities and potential pitfalls of being a true market leader in the digital realm.

Date and time: Thursday, May 22, 4pm

Location: Granville Island Arts Club Theatre, 1585 Johnston St., Revue Stage

What is the state of the current client base and where is it forecasted to be in the future? This panel will provide current data on what groups have not yet been accessed representing new markets and opportunities for the game designs of tomorrow for both large and small studios.

Date and time: Wednesday, May 21, 10:15-11:45

Location: Hyatt Regency Vancouver, 655 Burrard St., room TBA

In her lunch-hour MIDMA Speaker Series session, FanTrust Entertainment Strategies President Catherine Warren will walk through:

• Case studies of how new entertainment companies are capitalizing on digital fans (and what some entertainment companies are doing wrong)
• Business and revenue models that have garnered critical success with fans – and profits
• How producers can grow their sales opportunities (and shorten their sales cycle) by seeking out new business-to-business relationships
• Financing: the usual suspects – and what investors are looking for

The MIDMA Speaker Series with the support of the Province of Manitoba Department of Science, Technology, Energy & Mines, Industry Canada and Red River College, will take place from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM at Red River College Princess St. Campus in the Great West Life Lecture Theatre, on Friday, April 25, 2008.