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The annual LOGIN Conference, a
meeting of the leading minds in the online gaming industry, is fast approaching,
and hi5 will be strongly represented by offering three incredible speakers from
our team. The convention will take place
on at the Meydenbauer Center
in Bellevue, Washington. Anyone in the
Seattle area and planning to attend to conference would be remiss to pass up an opportunity to see these three superb speakers.
First to speak will be Monty Kerr, hi5's vice president of commerce and 
advertising. Bright and early at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 17, Monty will
be discussing how best to maximize fraud in online gaming. No, you read that right,
Monty's argument will stress that attempts to completely prevent fraud often
hinder other actions that developers should be encouraging, namely virality and
engagement. Monty hopes to leave attendees with a realistic view of what level
of fraud is acceptable in online spaces and how it can best be managed.
The next member of the hi5 team to take the stage will be Rajat
Kongovi, vice president of business operations, who will speak at 10:15 a.m. on
Wednesday, May 18. As a wizard of data analytics, Rajat will explain what data
hi5 collects and how those data points can be used to offer developers a better
understanding of how their games are being used. Once they know how those games
are used, developers can make smarter decisions about predicting future use and
how to best monetize users.
President & CTO
Alex St. John, the last of the hi5's team to take the stage, and will do his
best to prevent publishers and developers from committing "advercide." During
his time in the 
gaming industry, Alex has seen a bevy of advertising and commerce-based business models, many ending in ruin. Alex will attempt to talk online gaming
companies off the proverbial ledge by hosting the "advercide hotline," sharing
his personal experience of successfully blending the most successful commerce models
that the industry has to offer.
If you'll be at the LOGIN conference or in the Seattle area between May 16-18, and would like an opportunity to talk personally with one of hi5's speakers, email pr@hi5.com
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On Monday in Austin, hi5's President & CTO Alex St. John gave a solo presentation on the future of online gaming at SXSW Interactive. The presentation slides are now available online here:
Additionally, Alex participated in an on-camera interview with FastCompany for their "30-Second MBA" series, which is an ongoing video curriculum with expert advice for entrepreneurs. To check out the Alex's interview as well as the full series, visit 30secondmba.com.
Additionally, Alex participated in an on-camera interview with FastCompany for their "30-Second MBA" series, which is an ongoing video curriculum with expert advice for entrepreneurs. To check out the Alex's interview as well as the full series, visit 30secondmba.com.
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Last week, we presented a live demo of the SocioPay monetization platform and the SocioPath next generation social gaming platform in a dedicated session at GDC 2011 in San Francisco. Our presentation video is now available for viewing:
Additionally, the standalone presentation slides from the session are also available for viewing on the hi5 YouTube channel. And, be sure to check out the photos from our dedicated session on the hi5 Flickr channel.
For more information on SocioPay and SocioPath platforms, visit http://developer.hi5.com.
Additionally, the standalone presentation slides from the session are also available for viewing on the hi5 YouTube channel. And, be sure to check out the photos from our dedicated session on the hi5 Flickr channel.
For more information on SocioPay and SocioPath platforms, visit http://developer.hi5.com.
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Yesterday we showcased a demo of our new SocioPay monetization platform and SocioPath next generation social gaming platform to a packed house at the 2011 Game Developer's Conference (GDC) in downtown San Francisco. Developers learned how the SocioPay platform technology maximizes advertising and commerce revenues from social games by leveraging dynamic monetization. SocioPay determines the optimal monetization solution for every commerce opportunity, including identifying players who are less likely to purchase and offering advertising as an alternative to traditional payment options (our ad/commerce hybridization model). We demonstrated how the SocioPay monetization platform is applied to Mososh's Chronicles of Herenvale, where players can obtain weapons and energy through our Purchase Intent and Redemption Intent APIs.Additionally, audiences learned how we removed the registration walls from social games - essentially bringing down the biggest barrier to entry for end users; allowing anonymous play and a simplified user authentication process via SocioPath. We showcased how SocioPath is applied to Bush Whacker, an entertaining quest game from DJArts Games. Players can jump right into the game and start playing without registration required.
The key takeaways for audiences are:- SocioPay provides 2x-3x more revenue per active player on any network
- SocioPay is free for games off the hi5 platform when developers publish their game on hi5
Earlier this week, we also hosted an event at GDC to celebrate the launch of our new dynamic monetization platform, called the "SocioPay Social Experiment." To demonstrate how ad/commerce hybridization works in everyday life, we offered real-world goods to GDC attendees (sandwiches, breakfast burritos and waffles courtesy of local food trucks Waffle Mania and Le Truc) in exchange for various forms of payment. Customers could choose from one of the following forms of payment:Stay tuned to see the results of our social experiment. Also, we will be publishing our video recording of the GDC presentation, and will share the video on our blog as soon as it is available. In the meantime, please visit our hi5 Developer Portal for more information on SocioPay and SocioPath: http://developer.hi5.com
- Cash = $$
- Advertising = watch a video ad
- Virality = give us 3 of your friends' business cards
- Engagement = be content to promote hi5
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New Platform Features Ad/Commerce Hybridization Model - Initial Results Indicate a 200%-300% Increase in MonetizationSAN FRANCISCO - February 23, 2011 - hi5, one of the world's leading platforms for social games, today announced the launch of the SocioPay monetization platform designed to maximize revenue for social games. SocioPay dynamically determines the optimal monetization solution for every commerce opportunity, including identifying players who are less likely to purchase and offering advertising as an alternative to traditional payment options. The launch of the new SocioPay platform marks the first public release of a robust ad/commerce hybridization model for the social games industry. hi5 will demonstrate how early adopters of SocioPay will optimize social game revenues in a dedicated session at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco on March 1 at 11:15 a.m. in Moscone Center's North Hall, Room 122.
"While results are still early, we expect SocioPay to increase revenue in social games by 200%-300% over traditional commerce and lead-generation offers found on other social networks," said Monty Kerr, hi5 Vice President of Commerce and Advertising. "The key innovation is that SocioPay extends beyond the hi5 platform; allowing developers to see dramatically increased revenue wherever their social games are distributed - even on other social networks."
hi5 invites developers who launch their games on hi5 to leverage SocioPay for maximizing revenues everywhere they publish their social games. "We've received a lot of requests from developers to help them mitigate the commerce losses they are experiencing with currency and payment solutions on other social networks, and this is certainly an area where we can provide significant support," said Alex St. John, hi5 President and Chief Technology Officer.
"Over the last year, we've been working closely with hi5 on the distribution of our social game titles, Port Casino Poker and Port Casino Blackjack. By implementing SocioPay, we'll be able to gain actionable insights and achieve measurable improvements in monetization and revenue per user. hi5 is a strategic partner for us as we look to expand our business this year and we are planning to launch more titles leveraging their new SocioPay platform," said Richard Garriott, Co-founder and Creative Director at Portalarium.
The newly launched SocioPay technology will complement the latest release of SocioPath, the next generation social gaming platform designed to liberate social games from their dependence on social networks through viral audience acquisition, which is also launching at GDC this year. The new version of SocioPath will enable over 100 social games currently distributed on the hi5 platform to be accessible directly from the site without requiring a user account or registration."By utilizing the SocioPath platform for our title, Bush Whacker, we've been able to take down the barriers to entry and acquire more new users directly into our game. hi5 is driving a new model for virally acquiring audience into social games that is effective and will be instrumental in helping us achieve our growth goals for 2011," said David Whittaker, Co-founder of DJArts Games.
For more information about the SocioPay monetization platform and the SocioPath next generation social gaming platform, please visit http://developer.hi5.com.
About hi5
Founded in 2003, hi5 is among the top 20 largest web sites worldwide and one of the leading platforms focused on social entertainment and gaming. hi5 delivers a fun, interactive entertainment experience to millions of visitors worldwide by combining a robust social platform with premium content, including localized social games, virtual goods, avatars and more. The hi5 Game Developer Program enables talented social game developers to drive audience acquisition and monetization of their games on the hi5 platform through free promotion, access to viral channels, a robust commerce platform and favorable revenue shares. To learn more about the program, visit http://developer.hi5.com.
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Earlier this month, Microsoft unveiled the Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate (RC) during a launch event in downtown San Francisco, just a few blocks from hi5's headquarters. At the event, Ryan Gavin, Senior Director of Internet Explorer, introduced new features in the IE9 RC. Additionally, he spoke about working closely with developer partners to deliver a browser that enables rich user experiences. Check out a short video here to see what developers are saying:
hi5 was one of the few partners showcased at the exclusive press event, alongside publishers and consumer-focused platforms including Gilt Groupe, Huffington Post, and LIVESTRONG.COM. In a blog post, Gavin shared some early results achieved by sites featuring IE9 Site Pinning:
- LIVESTRONG.COM found that IE9 users spent 53% more time on the site and are 40% more likely to return.
- Huffington Post found that users in Pinned Site mode spent 49% more time on the site.
- hi5 found that users who pinned the site became much more active responding to 3x more social requests (new friend requests, game invites, messages and more).
We've highlighted hi5's unique IE9 features in previous blog posts, including Site Pinning, Jumplists and Notifications as well as a unique integration with leading social game Millionaire City. Now you can see hi5 IE9 features on Microsoft's Beauty of the Web site where unique integrations of IE9 are highlighted: http://www.beautyoftheweb.com/#/experience/hi5
To see more of the Microsoft IE9 RC event, check out photos in our Flickr gallery and see the photos shared in the Windows Internet Explorer Image Gallery.
hi5 was one of the few partners showcased at the exclusive press event, alongside publishers and consumer-focused platforms including Gilt Groupe, Huffington Post, and LIVESTRONG.COM. In a blog post, Gavin shared some early results achieved by sites featuring IE9 Site Pinning:
- LIVESTRONG.COM found that IE9 users spent 53% more time on the site and are 40% more likely to return.
- Huffington Post found that users in Pinned Site mode spent 49% more time on the site.
- hi5 found that users who pinned the site became much more active responding to 3x more social requests (new friend requests, game invites, messages and more).
We've highlighted hi5's unique IE9 features in previous blog posts, including Site Pinning, Jumplists and Notifications as well as a unique integration with leading social game Millionaire City. Now you can see hi5 IE9 features on Microsoft's Beauty of the Web site where unique integrations of IE9 are highlighted: http://www.beautyoftheweb.com/#/experience/hi5To see more of the Microsoft IE9 RC event, check out photos in our Flickr gallery and see the photos shared in the Windows Internet Explorer Image Gallery.
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At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, we showcased a live demo of the hi5 site and Millionaire City social gaming experience in Windows® Internet Explorer® 9 from the Microsoft booth. Check out a brief video demo recorded from the Microsoft booth:
You can also see a video demo of the Millionaire City IE9 integration here. A recent post from the Microsoft team on their official IE9 blog provides a deeper look at the hi5 and Millionaire City IE9 experience: "...the hi5 branded Pinned Site experience is the launch portal for staying connected socially. A notification flashes when an important event happens (e.g. new friend request, invitation to join a game, or new gift from someone). The Jump List dynamically updates so users can see what they're missing and dive right in.....the scenario extends beyond the social networking and into the games themselves. Now a user can pin their favorite game to their taskbar. The popular Millionaire City is all about becoming the richest real estate tycoon on the web, but you lose cash fast if you don't return to the game frequently to maintain your investments. The pinned site experience notifies you when you need to collect rent, if your tenants are moving away, or if you have a new business partnership. It pulls you back into the action and helps you maximize your gaming time." Read more...
The Microsoft booth at CES was packed with a variety of interactive products, including Windows Phone 7 mobile devices and a variety of Windows 7-powered tablets featuring touchscreens, slide-out keyboards, dual-screen machines, stylus-friendly tablets and more. Visitors could test out websites such as Flickr, which showcased seamless integration into the devices. 
This year has been dubbed the "year of the tablet PC," so it was no surprise that new tablets could be seen at many of the booths, including Motorola's Xoom tablet, which was named the best new gadget at CES by Cnet. At the Intel booth, new notebooks were on display, including a very sleek new computer from Dell called the Dell Inspiration Duo and Sound Station, which converts between a netbook to a tablet.
While 3D continued to be a hot trend at CES (see our photos from the Panasonic, LG, and Sharp booths), connected experiences was the primary theme at the convention this year. Smart TVs showcased Google TV, Vudu, LG Apps, Meebo and other web platforms designed to bring the online experience into the living room and through the television set. Access your favorite online videos and movies via YouTube and Netflix, play online games, connect to your social graph via sites like Facebook and Twitter, and discover new apps as you surf the web with your remote control.
Among the new gadgets and devices, some big names in entertainment also stopped by the show to add their marketing muscle to new product launches. Olivia Wilde endorsed Blackberry in an interview at their booth, Lady Gaga unveiled new GL20 Camera Sunglasses for Polaroid, and 50 Cent launched his new headphones line called "Sleek by 50 Cent" and also engaged in some interviews on behalf of a performance 3D eye-wear company he invested in called Gunnar Optiks.
Although the show was largely focused on showcasing the performance of devices across a wide variety of applications, gaming appeared in many booths for demonstrations of cross platform capabilities and 3D technology. Graphic-intensive video games were primarily displayed to showcase the high resolution quality of certain devices, so it will be interesting to see if the introduction of connected web experiences from TVs will bring social gaming to CES next year.
Click here to see more of our photos from the 2011 International CES and stay tuned for updates about new features and results driven by hi5 support of IE9.
You can also see a video demo of the Millionaire City IE9 integration here. A recent post from the Microsoft team on their official IE9 blog provides a deeper look at the hi5 and Millionaire City IE9 experience: "...the hi5 branded Pinned Site experience is the launch portal for staying connected socially. A notification flashes when an important event happens (e.g. new friend request, invitation to join a game, or new gift from someone). The Jump List dynamically updates so users can see what they're missing and dive right in.....the scenario extends beyond the social networking and into the games themselves. Now a user can pin their favorite game to their taskbar. The popular Millionaire City is all about becoming the richest real estate tycoon on the web, but you lose cash fast if you don't return to the game frequently to maintain your investments. The pinned site experience notifies you when you need to collect rent, if your tenants are moving away, or if you have a new business partnership. It pulls you back into the action and helps you maximize your gaming time." Read more...
The Microsoft booth at CES was packed with a variety of interactive products, including Windows Phone 7 mobile devices and a variety of Windows 7-powered tablets featuring touchscreens, slide-out keyboards, dual-screen machines, stylus-friendly tablets and more. Visitors could test out websites such as Flickr, which showcased seamless integration into the devices. This year has been dubbed the "year of the tablet PC," so it was no surprise that new tablets could be seen at many of the booths, including Motorola's Xoom tablet, which was named the best new gadget at CES by Cnet. At the Intel booth, new notebooks were on display, including a very sleek new computer from Dell called the Dell Inspiration Duo and Sound Station, which converts between a netbook to a tablet.While 3D continued to be a hot trend at CES (see our photos from the Panasonic, LG, and Sharp booths), connected experiences was the primary theme at the convention this year. Smart TVs showcased Google TV, Vudu, LG Apps, Meebo and other web platforms designed to bring the online experience into the living room and through the television set. Access your favorite online videos and movies via YouTube and Netflix, play online games, connect to your social graph via sites like Facebook and Twitter, and discover new apps as you surf the web with your remote control.Among the new gadgets and devices, some big names in entertainment also stopped by the show to add their marketing muscle to new product launches. Olivia Wilde endorsed Blackberry in an interview at their booth, Lady Gaga unveiled new GL20 Camera Sunglasses for Polaroid, and 50 Cent launched his new headphones line called "Sleek by 50 Cent" and also engaged in some interviews on behalf of a performance 3D eye-wear company he invested in called Gunnar Optiks.Although the show was largely focused on showcasing the performance of devices across a wide variety of applications, gaming appeared in many booths for demonstrations of cross platform capabilities and 3D technology. Graphic-intensive video games were primarily displayed to showcase the high resolution quality of certain devices, so it will be interesting to see if the introduction of connected web experiences from TVs will bring social gaming to CES next year.Click here to see more of our photos from the 2011 International CES and stay tuned for updates about new features and results driven by hi5 support of IE9.
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If you're headed to the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week in Las Vegas, we invite you to visit the Microsoft booth and check out the hi5 experience in Windows® Internet Explorer® 9.
Currently in beta, Internet Explorer 9 enables audiences to interact and engage with the entertainment content they enjoy on hi5 in new, immersive ways. Here's a sneak preview of some of the hi5 IE9 features that you'll see and hear about at the show:
Starting Friday, January 7, you can check out the hi5 experience in IE9 from the Microsoft Booth located in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), No. 7144. In addition to the hi5 experience, a variety of interactive scenarios showcasing products that highlight Microsoft platforms and technologies with be available at the booth.
To learn more about upcoming Microsoft events at this year's CES visit http://www.microsoft.com/ces.
Currently in beta, Internet Explorer 9 enables audiences to interact and engage with the entertainment content they enjoy on hi5 in new, immersive ways. Here's a sneak preview of some of the hi5 IE9 features that you'll see and hear about at the show:
- Pinned Site: Audiences can quickly and easily access hi5 content directly from the Windows Taskbar.
- Jumplists and Notifications: From the hi5 Jumplist, audiences can check their inbox messages, accept a friend request, view game invitations, access gifts sent from friends and more.
- Social Gaming Capabilities: From the Windows Taskbar, audiences will have the ability to perform specific in-game actions within games published on hi5.
Starting Friday, January 7, you can check out the hi5 experience in IE9 from the Microsoft Booth located in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), No. 7144. In addition to the hi5 experience, a variety of interactive scenarios showcasing products that highlight Microsoft platforms and technologies with be available at the booth.
To learn more about upcoming Microsoft events at this year's CES visit http://www.microsoft.com/ces.
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Recently, hi5 President & CTO Alex St. John joined panelists at the Social Gaming Summit and Virtual Goods Summit in London. Attended by both European and US-based developers and publisers, the summit provided insights into some of the emerging areas of social gaming as well as some of the fundamental concepts that are key to understanding social games and how they work. During the panel, moderated by Atul Bagga of ThinkEquity, Alex discussed the challenges and opportunities for games to achieve success outside of the Facebook platform with Brian Balfour of Viximo, Paul Bowen of Offerpal and Jude Gomila of HeyZap. Alec Meer, Deputy Editor of GamesIndustry.biz, captured Alex's perspective on the dependency of certain types of games on social networks to maintain success: "The interesting phenomenon is the games that can't make on it their own without social network infrastructure... Zynga can't steal its audience from Facebook to save its life." The takeaway that Alex expressed is that online games, such as Club Penguin, have achieved enormous success without being tied to any social network because they are fundamentally viral, and that the open Internet still remains the larger business opportunity for online and social games. To read the full story, visit GamesIndustry.biz.
Earlier in November, the annual IGDA Leadership Forum took place in San Francisco and this year's focus was on advancing the state of the art in game production and management. hi5's Alex St. John provided a presentation on the "socialization" of games. One of the key aspects that Alex covered in the presentation was on the ability for games published on social networks to tap into viral channels and acquire new users with less friction. Barriers to entry my include: registration walls, downloads, and payments. Games published on social networks typically don't face these barriers, and are able to access new viral channels such as messaging and notification systems (check out a video clip from the presentation here). To review the full presentation slides, visit the hi5 profile on SlideShare.
Tonight, TechFlash.com and the Puget Sound Business Journal will host The Flashies: 2010 TechFlash Newsmaker Awards, the Oscars of the local tech community. The Flashies awards ceremony is designed to celebrate technology news over the course of the year with categories including Newsmaker of the Year, Startup Deal of the Year, and Tech Debacle of the Year. hi5 was nominated for The Flashies "Stunt of the Year" award based on a launch event held at Casual Connect Seattle in which hi5's Alex St. John defeated Facebook in an epic sumo wrestling smackdown. View video clips from all the nominees, including hi5's sumo event, on TechFlash.com.
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Last week, hi5 proudly sponsored GDC Online 2010 in Austin and launched a new next generation social gaming platform at the conference, called SocioPath. In a dedicated session, Alex and hi5 Executive Producer Dave Selle provided a demonstration and presented the SocioPath platform capabilities to an audience of social media game developers and publishers. To mark the launch of the new platform, hi5 also unleashed infamous sociopathic characters, including Hannibal Lecter and the Joker, into the conference and expo floor and hosted an after party. Check out our photos from the event here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/51681976@N02/sets/72157625109339042/
This week, hi5 will take the stage again at two more conferences. First, hi5 President & CTO Alex St. John will speak at the Virtual Goods Summit in San Francisco today about current challenges for developers within the social gaming market and how new solutions such as SocioPath are emerging. To join the conference and listen in on Alex's presentation, please register for the event and feel free to use our 20% discount code: HI20. hi5 is also proudly sponsoring the Virtual Goods Summit and we invite you to stop by our booth #19 at the Moscone Center.
Additionally, hi5 CEO Bill Gossman will speak at AdweekMedia's Social Media Strategies conference in New York tomorrow, October 13. Bill will join panelists Michael Burke of appsavvy and Ian Schafer of Deep Focus in a discussion moderated by Brian Morrissey of Adweek about the opportunities for brands in the gaming market. The panel promises to answer provocative questions about the evolving social gaming market and best practices for advertising in this environment.
If you're interested in meeting with hi5 representatives at either of these events, please contact us: http://hi5networks.com/contact/index.html
This week, hi5 will take the stage again at two more conferences. First, hi5 President & CTO Alex St. John will speak at the Virtual Goods Summit in San Francisco today about current challenges for developers within the social gaming market and how new solutions such as SocioPath are emerging. To join the conference and listen in on Alex's presentation, please register for the event and feel free to use our 20% discount code: HI20. hi5 is also proudly sponsoring the Virtual Goods Summit and we invite you to stop by our booth #19 at the Moscone Center.
Additionally, hi5 CEO Bill Gossman will speak at AdweekMedia's Social Media Strategies conference in New York tomorrow, October 13. Bill will join panelists Michael Burke of appsavvy and Ian Schafer of Deep Focus in a discussion moderated by Brian Morrissey of Adweek about the opportunities for brands in the gaming market. The panel promises to answer provocative questions about the evolving social gaming market and best practices for advertising in this environment.
If you're interested in meeting with hi5 representatives at either of these events, please contact us: http://hi5networks.com/contact/index.html
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