It is a busy launch month for the team at the VWDC. Ken Hudson and Mark Kirkpatrick participated in Orion@5 at MaRS in Toronto, March 31st. The afternoon event celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Orion network, that broadband giant of which Loyalist College is a member, and it allowed the team to showcase their work in Second Life. Among the distinguished visitors was John Wilkinson, Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation. Thanks to Andre and Tamara at Orion for inviting us to demonstrate our virtual worlds at the event.
After a day in Toronto, what about six days in New York City, for the Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo. Once again, this conference lived up to its billing to bring together the top minds and leaders in the virtual world field. Keynotes by Sibley Verbeck, CEO Electric Sheep, and Reuben Steiger Millions of Us, topped off two full days of sessions about marketing, new virtual worlds, and legal issues surrounding bringing your brand into virtual worlds. Another great conference, and key for catching up with our strategic partners like Christopher Keesey, Ohio University, Bill May from State, and Fleep Toque from U Cincinnati who captured a pic of Ken using his blackberry on the couch. So, if it was a two day conference, why were you there for six? Give us a break, it’s New York!
Back from NYC and into the frying pan, VWDC stages two full demos of our Canadian Border Simulation, including a big event with the CBSA in Ottawa. Ken is back in Toronto April 15 for a meeting with Beal Institute for Strategic Creativity at OCAD. The week of the 20th we are in DC for the Federal Consortium on Virtual Worlds conference. Ken Hudson will speak on our border sim. Then Ken is in Banff speaking at the CNIE conference, and then in Toronto doing a keynote for Leading Learning.
