LOS ANGELES, March 4, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) today announced that Fake Steve Jobs will headline MEFCON 2008. MEFCON is breaking the mold of industry conferences and taking on the biggest issues in mobile entertainment through interactive, irreverent and thought-provoking sessions. The MEFCON agenda will feature a Debate Club, in which audience members choose the winners of a mock-academic debate on controversial mobile entertainment topics; Mobile at the Apollo, where six companies will present their mobile entertainment innovations before a panel of judges; and a sunset marina cruise. MEFCON 2008 takes place May 28-29, 2008 at the Marriott Marina Del Rey.
Fake Steve Jobs is a personage created by Daniel Lyons, a senior editor at Forbes. Author of the wildly popular blog "The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs," Lyons will apply his inimitable, Apple-centric satire to the mobile entertainment industry, posing questions such as whether or not Google will rule the world, whether or not Microsoft is doomed and what Apple will do next. The Fake Steve Jobs also will examine the ways in which profound changes in technology continue to shape our lives. The address will take place on May 28 at 2:15 p.m.
"Fake Steve Jobs is a perfect match for the sense of energy and vitality surrounding MEFCON, and we are excited to have him on board," said Ted Cohen, chairman of MEF Americas and managing partner of TAG Strategic. "With all four major record labels, every film and television studio and innumerable digital and mobile companies calling the city home, Los Angeles is the obvious location for MEFCON, the first annual event presented by MEF Americas. We believe the mobile platform has seen tremendous innovation over the last five years and will continue to enable artists and studios to bring consumers an increasingly rich experience. At MEFCON, we'll take a look into where mobile entertainment is headed and discuss what we as an industry need to accomplish to get there."
Hot on the heels of the writers' strike, the time is ripe for executives in mobility and entertainment to identify ways in which they can proactively work together to create compelling mobile entertainment offerings and grow the industry's overall revenues. MEFCON's confirmed sessions include:
PANELS
* Hollywood and the Mobile Renaissance; an executive interview
featuring a Hollywood producer/director
* Building a Better Mousetrap: User Experience
* Mobile Music: Is Anybody Listening?
* Mobile Games and Hollywood: Who Needs Who?
* Mobile TV: Making it Through to the Next Round
INTERACTIVE SESSIONS
* MEF Mobile Education Intensive
o MEF presents a series of tutorials designed to educate
delegates on the structure and operations of the mobile
entertainment industry.
o Topics include:
* Mobile Media Overview
* Mobile Video
* Mobile Technology: Networks, Handsets and
Capabilities
* Business Models
* Mobile Marketing and Advertising
* Debate Club
o Conference delegates form the teams that debate
controversial mobile entertainment topics. The audience
will determine the winners.
o Confirmed Topics:
* Open Mobile Platforms: Who Owns the Consumer?
* Ad-Supported Mobile Content: Consumer-Friendly or
Creating Churn?
* Music on Mobile Phones: Stream or Store?
o All delegates are encouraged to volunteer for Debate
Club -- until May 1 -- when registering for MEFCON.
* Mobile at the Apollo
o A veritable "Gong Show" of mobile entertainment, six
companies will be selected to demonstrate their
innovations in mobile technology. The audience will
determine the winners through text voting.
o Submissions are due April 15 and finalists will be
notified by April 30.
MEF Americas expects to announce additional keynotes in the coming weeks. MEFCON will also serve as the new home for the MEF Americas Annual General Meeting and Board Elections.
MEFCON Founder's Circle sponsors include mBlox, Motorola, Sprint, LCC and Amobee. Early Bird registration ends March 31, and sponsorships are selling out fast. To register, find session submission forms or become a sponsor, please visit www.MEFCON.net.
About Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF)
MEF exists to represent the interests of its global membership across the mobile entertainment value chain. Our goals are to build awareness, create business development opportunities and facilitate the development of commercial guidelines and best practices to promote a healthy and profitable industry.
With global headquarters in London, a Hollywood-based Americas secretariat, an Asian chapter in Hong Kong and the newly established Europe branch, MEF's network of members represents a veritable 'Who's Who' of mobile entertainment businesses and entrepreneurs. For more information and a full list of members please visit: www.m-e-f.org.