Random Visitor

Only at Deerfield does a visitor to the town choose to tour this way! Literally a random pic on way to a meeting.

Turkey divan and sugar cookies

I had the chance to cover table 67 in the dining hall for lunch today and the students were kind enough to stay for a picture. Three of the four classes were represented. You may remember the young man in the middle as the recipient of the Cost Award last May and discussed then on this blog.

What's a freshman to do?

In the recent past Deerfield freshmen were assigned to defend the seal on Choate Day. The arrangement pictured may only be temporary but it made me think a little. Cheers to '83 at the end if the first week of classes!

Educational Film

Ben Patton recently hosted educators at his South Hamilton, MA film camp called FRED. Two Deerfield faculty members (flanked in this photo by Ben and his staff) were able to join him. Started in 2006 as a student summer film camp, FRED is clearly expanding.

Congrats to Ben on the impact he is having with students and faculty alike!

One interesting project that he is exploring with Pingree School is a student-produced film about the school described from their point of view. Last summer several Pingree students attended Fred and collaborated on a film about a Pingree-run tutoring/adventure program for boston inner-city teens. It was produced in less than two weeks.

You can check out that film on our youtube channel "bestoffred" below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_udrb-TFmVw

Eric Suher wins praise at home

Front page article in the Springfield Sunday Republican today on Eric Suher's revival of the Holyoke property known as Mountain Park. Another example of the talent in '83.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/mountain_park_successful_conce.html#comments

Jim Wilmott '82 visit

Jim is on vacation in Vermont from London (and only working 8-10 hrs a day apparently) and took the afternoon to bring his niece Joanna to see campus. He sends his best to '83.

New fitness equipment

Just arrived at work to see fitness equipment loading in to the new fitness center. School store also being renovated. Dining hall has expanded south bubble. Lots going on at DA. Come see it sometime!

DA Cross Country Homecoming Sept 18

Come back to DA for the first Cross Country Homecoming on Sept 18. Alumni fun run then the Brush Invitational after lunch.
Read more and Sign up at http://deerfield.edu/news/stories/1814/Cross_Country_Homecoming_Saturday_September_18_2010

- sent from my mobile device

The new CPR

Editor's Choice:

Good video about the new CPR - http://tinyurl.com/2fx8r59

He's back!

DA dining hall...August 9th. That's Mr. Michael Cary, former DA history/philosophy teacher (former head of school at Lawrenceville among other things) back at DA in the English Department to "finish up strong" his career in education. He remembers the class of 1983 as from the "less than zero" years...Sounds like he might need some visits from us to remind him of our value!

ACK hijinks

Nantucket hijinks from the fearsome foursome of Knight, Wareck, Clark and Suher in late July. Jim had the house, Nelse cooked the food, JK brought the booze and Eric...well, Eric was the entertainment!

Thanks to Van for posting more wedding photos. Congrats again!

Congrats to Van Sullivan on his nuptials on July 3, 2010 in Northampton, MA! Thanks especially to Henri Cattier '86 for attending and posting the pic for me to steal. Van is on the right. hopefully we will get an authorized shot of the couple soon.

Just One Day...and relatively "no" money!

Deerfield has officially raised enough money for the fiscal year that ends tomorrow midnight. You may ask: "Why even bring it up then?"

The class has only 53 donors this year, that's why. We've been as high as 82 not so long ago.

As the school strives to reach 50% alumni participation as a sign of alumni support far and wide, our class stands at 38%. 67 donors would be 50% particpation for our class.

If you have made a gift already, THANK YOU! You are the reason why so many other schools call me to learn "how we do it". (Hard to believe they call _me_ right?)

If you have not yet made a gift, you are free to go as low as you want at www.deerfield.edu/give! Seriously, it is absolutely NOT about the money. DA would appreciate your vote of confidence however. (or you could mail a check tomorrow only to PO Box 306, Deerfield, MA 01342 (hey!))

It was really fun to be with the Class of 1985 at their 25th reunion two weeks ago - so many great guys returned: Van Riper, Sullivan, Wilson (2x), Ullyot, Wasserberger, Hollensteiner and the list goes on for 55 names...They bonded much as we did two years back. Let's revive that spirit, have more impromptu get-togethers and share a few laughs (and photos!). And take a minute to say thanks to DA with a gift if you haven't yet at www.deerfield.edu/give

and that's the one day only salespitch on the DA 1983 Blog.

Recent '83 votes...

In order to keep some information flowing about the class you may have noticed I have recently been posting happy birthday messages. No more. I noticed two classmates unsubscribed soon after birthday postings. This is not meant to be a waste of your time, but a soft engagement with your classmates, so the only feedback I've had in months will win the day.

That said, Paul Magee has emailed from Mexico City about watching the World Cup and even the NBA Finals. He promises to send a family photo soon.

Mark LaFlamme and his wife moved to Hong Kong from NYC last week - he's still with Ziff Brothers Investments as far as I know. We quickly got him invited to the annual Friends of Deerfield-HK dinner scheduled for this Friday! Nothing like meeting all DA alums and parents in HK within a week of your arrival.

Tried out a new blog template today as well. Would love to know what you think or any news you want to share.

Happy Birthday Al!

Al Kerr has one today, Monday, June 7. Hope it was great!

Student Cleanup

After a big wind storm wednesday night the week of graduation - DA students and faculty helped rake up the remnants to get campus ready for parent arrival on Friday. And they looked good doing it! DA Flickr feed

Cost Award makes library possible

At the last school meeting on May 28th, this year's recipient of the "Charles Piper Cost '83 Award for Community Service" went to Muheb '12 who will be a junior this fall. His project this summer will focus on rebuilding a school library in his home country of Afghanistan.

From his funding proposal:
Qarabagh high school is located outside of the city (Kabul). It has 5000 students from first grade up to twelfth. Most of the students in this school have never read a novel or referred to anything else other than their textbooks and that is because of two reasons: first, most of the families can not afford to buy books for their children, and second the library of the school is non-existent. I have heard that Qarabagh used to have a library, but it was destroyed during the civil war. The only thing that remains is an empty room.

With this award I want to build a library for this school, I will spend two or three weeks of my summer vacation to work on this project. I will build book shelves, desks, chairs. Additionally, I will start a book-drive to collect books for the school, both from NGOs, but also from individuals including the families that send their children to this school.

Thanks to the Cost family for funding the annual stipend for community service. Charlie's legacy lives on.

Two more bite the dust...

Happy Birthday...
Kevin McKelvey - May 22
Brad Weir - May 23
Thanks again Facebook.

Sounds like it might be time for a survey about TURNING 45! What's true? What's not? Are you where you expected? Why? Why not? Should you have a house policy on X-Box to guide your kids?

Send ideas for questions to jgknight83@gmail.com!

Belated HBD Pete!

Turns out the iPad and Blogger don't get along seamlessly yet - hence the belated birthday wish to Peter Crow for his big day yesterday, May 18...

Send news please. I can only distract myself from the debacle that is the Red Sox season (so far?) with so many episodes of the "real housewives of new jersey"!

jk

HBD

Happy Birthday, May 12...Andrew Stewart!

That's called finishing up strong!

The photo is from the training run the day before, but congratulations to Rob McGill (far left) for his conquest of The North Face Endurance Challenge 1/2 Marathon at Bear Mountain.

"Runners can expect technical terrain and rocky footing that cuts to the chase, with some trails heading steeply uphill rather than zig-zagging at a gentler grade. Descents end in wooded hollows before the next rapid climb ending with a breathtaking view. Make no mistake: this will be a tough test of off-road endurance."

Elevation Change: 4 stars, Technical Terrain: 5 stars, Overall Difficulty: 5 stars, Scenery: 5 stars

It's "BTB" now...

Continuing congrats to Jim and Brad on their movie "Below The Beltway". Stealing from Jim's FB posts:
"Apologies for the Belated Update: Beltway premiered to extremely favorable audience reaction last Friday at Newport Beach. Sustained laughter throughout and appreciation for movie in its whole. Great showing both by BTB family and people off street. Minor tech tweaks this week and then onto the market. Complete appreci...ation to all who made it down and congrats to a fantasdtic, talented dedicated team.
then
BELOW THE BELTWAY WINS AUDIENCE AWARD @ NEWPORT BEACH FILM FEST

DA Boys Lax Update...

Top-ranked Deerfield Academy boys lacrosse team runs record to 9-0 with 12-0 win over Andover (MassLive.com)

It's Official...and sweet!

Monica Youn and Whitney Armstrong

By ROSALIE R. RADOMSKY
Published: April 15, 2010 - New York Times

Monica Youngna Youn and Whitney Brewster Armstrong were married Saturday evening at St. Thomas Church in New York. The Rev. Jonathan M. Erdman, an Episcopal priest and the church’s curate and youth minister, performed the ceremony.

Ms. Youn, 38, is keeping her name. She is a lawyer at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, where she works on campaign finance reform and election law issues. She also wrote two books of poetry, “Barter” and “Ignatz.” She graduated cum laude from Princeton, and received a Master of Philosophy in English literature from Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She also holds a law degree from Yale.

She is the daughter of Chan Ju Youn and Kun Chee Youn of Houston. The bride’s father is the president of Weeco International Corporation, an environmental engineering firm there. Her mother is the owner of the Gulfland Real Estate Company, a residential and commercial agency, also in Houston.

Mr. Armstrong, 44, is a landscape designer for Katie Winter Architecture, which focuses on renovation projects for the Archdiocese of New York. With his father and a sister, Amory Spizzirri, he is a founding partner in a consultancy in decorative and fine arts in Greenwich, Conn., and New York.

The bridegroom graduated cum laude from Yale and received a master’s in landscape architecture from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard.

He is a son of Bunty Armstrong and Tom Armstrong of New York. His mother is a director of the Women’s Prison Association, which runs a halfway house and provides counseling to recently released female inmates in New York. From 1974 to 1990, the bridegroom’s father was the director of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Until 1995, he was the founding director of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. He is now the chairman of the board of the Garden Conservancy in Cold Spring, N.Y., a nonprofit preservation organization that opens private gardens to the public.

The couple met in February 2008 at the party of a mutual friend. Mr. Armstrong noticed Ms. Youn as soon as she walked in, but he had to leave very early the following morning for Wyoming.

“I was clearly looking at her,” he remembered. “Staring, I guess. I didn’t know I was doing it. I was torn between leaving the next day and engaging in a potentially new adventure.”

After 90 minutes, Ms. Youn finally approached him. “He had a good-humored twinkle in his eyes, and was very knowledgeable without taking himself too seriously, ” she said. Their conversation, she recalled, included politics, her forte, and art, which is his.

Mr. Armstrong soon resigned himself to sleeping on the plane. Before leaving the party, he got Ms. Youn’s two e-mail addresses, but he could make out only one when he got home, and sent her a note saying “I’m asking you out” in the subject line.

The next morning he slept through the alarm, and missed his flight to Jackson Hole. When he finally arrived, he checked his e-mail and found there was no response from Ms. Youn.
“I was perplexed,” he recalled thinking. “I thought it was real.”

He e-mailed their mutual friend to see if he had the right address. She told him that the first address was a work address, and steered him to the other one; he promptly forwarded his original message.

“How magical it was,” Ms. Youn remembered thinking when she saw it.

Mr. Armstrong received her response minutes later, and they arranged to meet the day he returned to New York.

A version of this article appeared in print on April 18, 2010, on page ST13 of the New York edition.

Another one bites the dust...

Happy Birthday Chris Davey! :)

Warm weather wisdom..

CBS3 News in Springfield, MA ran a story on how the warm weather is affecting local farmers. The go to guys? Our own Nate Nourse and Ryan Voiland '96!

The story and video with Nate and Ryan is here.

Story Updated: Apr 19, 2010 at 7:08 PM EDT

Two weeks ago, temperatures reached new record highs in western Massachusetts. Local farmers have taken advantage. Asparagus, beets, and peas are getting ready earlier than usual, with apples and peaches blooming early as well.

"Right now we're probably two to three weeks ahead of the last two years.” said Nate Nourse, sales director of Nourse Farms in South Deerfield.

While many farmers markets do not start until May, such as the Springfield Farmers Market at Forest Park on May 4, many local farms across the region are ready to go. Ryan Voiland, owner of Red Fire Farm in Granby, said they’ll have much more to offer at the start of the season than years past.

"Because we've had better weather, we will be able to begin offering salad mix, spinach, and peas sooner.” said Voiland. “We will jump into the season where we have a lot of good stuff to eat that much more quickly."

However, there are still some worries if the warm trend suddenly ends.
“It's basically created a lot of anxiety about the earliness and how the cold weather that could come up and impact us negatively." said Nourse.

The National Weather Service says the growing season will not officially start here until the beginning of May, and a harmful frost or freeze cannot be ruled out just yet.

"When it's April you can't put out tomatoes, you can't put pepper plants out because it’s just expected there is going to be another frost." said Voiland

Oh, now I get it...

Am I the only one who has wondered about Jon Bernstein's obsession with the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival? I mean every week there's a Facebook post about the upcoming or just finished festival...All year long! The fest starts this Friday and I know JB is in a frenzy and then it hit me. Happy Birthday on Tuesday Jon!!! What an awesome way to celebrate! While my own filet mignon, whipped sweet potato and boston cream pie (from scratch) birthday dinner yesterday will linger with me a few more days - I think the Neville Brothers, a po-boy, a beer, and then a beignet sounds like just the thing! Send pictures! And here's a little something to get us all in the mood.

Fancy footwork by fast-stepping kids

Local stars talk 'Beltway' | POLITICO CLICK

Big Week for Jim and Brad as premier on April 23 at Newport FF looms! Good Luck!!!

Local stars talk 'Beltway' (Click for full story)

- ANNE SCHROEDER MULLINS at POLITICO CLICK

Promising start in April Donor Challenge...

You might have heard that a Deerfield trustee is giving $35K worth of "prize money" to the top three classes in Deerfield's April Donor Challenge. The Challenge is a simple count of donations by unique donors received in the month. If you are planning on making a gift to DA by June 30 (the fiscal year end), consider making it in the next two weeks (or even now). If you've already given to DA since Sept 1, 2009 - you could still help '83 compete by giving a nominal gift ($8.30 perhaps?).

The Class of '79 currently leads the contest but there are two weeks left. Mailed gifts to PO Box 306, Deerfield, MA 01342 need to be postmarked by April 30.

Consider it the blog's attempt to monetize - or a voluntary subscription to encourage your editor to continue to deliver high quality (?) content on all things Deerfield '83. I could certainly use the encouragement...:)

Well, if you're going to move...

Might as well be to Denver as a partner in a moving company!!! Congratulations Don!

From Don Hindman on April 12:

I am pleased to report that I’ve started as a partner with a third-party logistics/moving & storage business located in Denver, effective today. Johnson-United operates businesses in records management, 3PL, PODS modular storage, and commercial and residential moving and storage (United Van Lines agent in 5 states). The company is 4th generation, has no debt, and has operating locations in Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, San Diego, New Orleans, and Cheyenne, WY. Maron and the kids are going to move out here after school gets out in mid-June – come see us in Colorado! Best, DDH

Go Blue Devils!

No - not those blue devils! We all have a new school to cheer for thanks to our own Paul Schlickmann!

Central Connecticut State University President Jack Miller named Paul Schlickmann the new Director of Athletics today, April 9, 2010. Schlickmann, 44, comes to New Britain from Stony Brook University, where he was the Executive Associate Director of Athletics. He will be charged with running the Blue Devils’ 18-sport Division I athletics program. The Blue Devils are celebrating a milestone in 2010-11. They obtained NCAA Division I status 25 years ago.

“We are extremely excited and proud to name Paul Schlickmann our new Director of Athletics today,” Miller said. “He comes to Central at an exciting time. We are confident that he can lead us in the direction we are looking to go, and that is competing to win the Northeast Conference Commissioner’s Cup every season. Paul comes from a program that has grown tremendously during his time, and we are confident that his leadership and experience can bring Central back to the top of the NEC.”

“I am honored and thrilled to be the next Director of Athletics at Central Connecticut State University,” Schlickmann said. “Central has an impressive history of success and there is a palpable sense of pride about athletics throughout the campus community. I am excited to work with President Miller in achieving his vision for Blue Devil Athletics to be the premier program in the Northeast Conference.”

Full story and video at: http://www.ccsubluedevils.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17600&ATCLID=204924481

Good news is never late...

Kudos to Doug Schmidt for not only finding meaningful employment but quickly getting the invite to ring the NASDAQ closing bell (July 21, 2009)! Doug is Vice President for Strategic Business Development at MUNCmedia in NYC. "MUNCmedia is the first Information Media Network and world leader in web-based Retail Investor Targeting. We provide online corporate communications and media solutions to companies worldwide. From press releases to corporate video PR clips, MUNCmedia helps companies deliver targeted and scalable messages to the right audience in real-time. Hundreds of companies, agencies, stock exchanges and integrated newswires rely on our services to deliver news messages to the retail financial community every day."

That's him just left of center - hands apart...

Two more trees falling...

Belated birthday wishes to classmates Dave McNeil and Nelse Clark. The DA 1983 Blog's current policy is: if the blog doesn't mention your birthday ahead of time, did it ever really happen?

83 dominates winter magazine

The winter DEERFIELD magazine is in the mail and includes a great article on Chris Waddell '87 and his climb of Kilimanjaro, community service at DA, the Annual Report from the last fiscal year and total domination of Class Notes by the class of 1983. A full page of notes and seven photographs! Next deadline is APRIL 5 - so send news to classnotes@deerfield.edu!!!

Not surprising anymore?

Fresh off FB is this post from Jim Wareck...

"BELOW THE BELTWAY has been chosen as one of the closing night features @ the Newport Beach Film Fest April 29th. Congrats and thanks to a great and dedicated cast and crew."

The film was written by Jim and Brad Weir, produced by Jim.

Also note in final scene, actor Kip Pardue (Sunshine from Remember the Titans) , one of the costars, is sporting a IHL Jersey-unfortunately a Blackhawks jersey not a Bruins. Had to talk him into it as he kept saying his character is not "some prep school" dude.

Did you ever think you'd be seeing a photo of Jim (or Brad) on the red carpet???

Marching...Ziccardi style.

Thanks Dave Ziccardi for fessing up to the March 13 birthday - hope it was a good one!

The steady drumbeat...

Of more men probably turning 45...Happy Birthday Ed Goodson!

It appears that this writer will be forced to search the web for news to post...remember, if I find it, you can't control it...So send news!

Flounder Fest 45?

Nope - just a Happy Birthday to Jim Wareck (and a guess about his age)!

More Birthdays!

Apologies to Sam Zales for missing his March 7 birthday - and HBD to Jim Wareck on March 16. A lot of guys turning 45!

Send news - the birthday lists aren't as compelling as actual stories! Classnotes@deerfield.edu or send to me jknight@deerfield.edu - next DA Mag Deadline is April 5...

Happy Birthday Peter Pauley!

Congrats to Pete for another ring on the tree!

Deerfield Swimmers Break Records in the Bud Erich Invitational

March 3, 2010: The boys and girls varsity swimming and diving teams traveled to Hopkins School in New Haven, CT, this past weekend to compete in the Bud Erich Invitational.

Eliza Bragg '13, Ritchey Howe '12, Jenner McLeod '13, and Julia Pielock '10 finished first in both the 200 and 400 yard freestyle relays. Finish times broke New England and school records. In addition to these relays, Deerfield girls finished second in the 200 Yard Medley Relay (Julie Hwang '13, Hannah Broadhurst '11, Elizabeth Eastman '13, Amy Li '12)--a true team effort! Congratulations!

On the boys' side, Oliver Lee '10 set three pool records and a school record competing in the 50 free, 100 free and 100 butterfly. The team placed first overall in the meet due to the strong performance of the entire team including the young and talented divers.

Both teams travel to Hotchkiss this weekend to compete at the New England Championships. Girls swim on Saturday, boys Sunday. Trials are scheduled for 9:00am.

Ozzie! Ozzie! Ozzie!

Happy birthday to Bill Wester on Monday, March 1 from the Class of 1983!

What the NY Times can learn from online games | VentureBeat

What the NY Times can learn from online games VentureBeat

(Did you ever believe that Dave Madden would be lecturing to the NYT? Love it! Way to go Dave!!!)

What the NY Times can learn from online games

Dave Madden is executive vice president at game company WildTangent.

You’ve probably heard that the New York Times is planning to put up a pay wall next year that will shut off its content to all but paying subscribers. It’s a move the newspaper feels it has to make in order to stay in business. But it’s a move in the wrong direction. Instead the paper should abandon the notion of metering and instead look to the booming online video game business for its inspiration.

Online gaming companies learned long ago that the best way to make money is to shoot for the largest possible audience by eliminating subscription walls. You make the game completely free, get as many players hooked as possible, and then monetize those players through the sale of virtual goods and advertising revenues from brand advertisers. In Asia, game based virtual goods purchases surpassed $4 billion in 2009. In the US, where the business is more nascent, purchases are expected to hit $1.6 billion in 2010. Examples of runaway successes abound. In the month of January, there were 17 different games that all garnered audiences of over 10 million monthly active users on Facebook. The largest, Farmville, with 75 million, was launched just six months ago.

The huge difference between the NYT metered approach and the “Free to Play” gaming model is that, in gaming, users can decide how many virtual goods they want to buy and how they pay for them. No matter what the volume or the payment method, they’re never turned away. The NYT’s metered model is instead an all or nothing approach — you either pay the full subscription price, regardless of what parts of the site you want access to, or you don’t get in at all. The net result will be that the paper will lose readers it could have kept and monetized by other means.
In the short run, the NYT metering plan may mean an initial burst of subscription revenue. But, over time, its daily unique user count will dwindle as users seek out news from other sources with less friction, leading to a downward spiral in ad revenues that will more than offset the subscription gains. That means fewer resources to produce the paper and the website, rendering the online and print subscriptions less and less valuable over time.

Then again, perhaps the paper could take a lesson from online games and roll out a “Free to Read” model supported by digital currency.

A digital currency option – similar to the online games model — would allow the NYT to monetize the 95-99% of readers who are inevitably not willing or able to buy a monthly or annual online subscription. By deploying a digital currency model and creating a per visit and a per premium article price, the NYT can establish a perceived monetary value for its premium news content. Just like in online games, readers will be able to purchase that digital currency in a variety of ways, including virtual currency cards that are sold in retailers nationwide, along with online purchases via credit card. A digital currency approach would allow the Times to keep the a la carte price of a premium article or feature reasonable to the interested reader.

With the barrier to entry and risk level lower than an all-or-nothing subscription, the percent of readers using real currency would be larger. All told, a standard subscription model combined with a digital currency option would monetize approximately 15 to 20% of the total audience. So what about the remaining 80 to 85% of NYT readers who won’t buy a subscription or pay per article?

Because this currency solution would effectively establish a monetary value for NYT content, a value exchange advertising model could then flourish; just as it is doing now in the online games industry.

Readers would be presented with the option of paying for an individual visit or premium article using their digital currency, or they could choose to “earn” the same NYT content compliments of an advertising sponsor in return for viewing an ad on the way into the story. This perceived exchange of value between the NYT reader and the advertiser would create a means through which all NYT readers could be monetized.

In a digital currency world, the publisher is equally happy to have the user pay with coins or by viewing an ad from a sponsor. The revenue lines are about equal, and most importantly, the publisher is not turning anyone away. Advertisers love this model, as engagement levels are higher and consumers associate the brands with adding value to their media experience.

Dave Madden is executive vice president of games media company WildTangent, which operates a fast-growing online games service and the largest game ad network in the world. He also serves on the board of directors of the IAB and is its Games Committee co-chair. WildTangent is pioneering the move to value exchange advertising in the online games space through its unique BrandBoost™ platform for advertiser sponsored game sessions and virtual goods.

WildTangent Takes on Social Gaming via Madden

WildTangent Takes on Social Gaming

Hopefully the MediaWeek piece today on Dave Madden's employer (with a quote from our man) will link up -here's the text too - Nice work Dave!

WildTangent, which has built a sizable footprint in the casual game space, is making a push into the exploding world of social games with the introduction of BrandBoost, an ad offering via which advertisers can subsidize virtual goods.BrandBoost employs a tactic similar to what WildTangent has used for several years in casual games—where brands often provide free game play to users who are willing to watch a particular ad. In this case, the value exchange is for virtual items that are common to social games—i.e. weapons, power boosts or other virtual items designed to enhance game play. WildTangent has begun rolling out the BrandBoost ad placements on Sony Online Entertainment’s Free Realms games, as well as the sites Outspark.com, and OMGPOP.com. But the company is planning to announce an additional distribution deal with a major social gaming company in the coming weeks, according to Dave Madden, the firm's executive vp. Players, when visiting these games’ built-in virtual goods menus, have the option of paying for select items with real money and can select a "free” advertiser-sponsored item. In exchange, those users (who do not pay) must watch a video ad, such as the trailer for the upcoming adventure movie Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, a debut BrandBoost advertiser.Madden called WildTangent’s "ads in exchange for games/goods" tactic as “themost effective in-game ad model in the business,” because users understand up front that they are receiving something of value—and their gaming experience isn’t being interrupted.
And for developers, BrandBoost, this model helps them not only monetize their games, but also get people used to the idea of virtual good—and hopefully convert more players to paying customers. “This is an example of premium content being given out in small doses,” he said. “Game companies can dangle free stuff to get people to become buyers.”WildTangent’s core business remains distributing games on PCs (including 75 million sold globally last year) and on gaming Web properties. With BrandBoost, the hope is to conquer social gaming, which carries massive potential. “The scale of gaming on social sites is enormous,” Madden said.

Averill fights for family...

from Facebook:February 13 at 12:11pm

Dear friends and family,

My wife will be running the Napa Half Marathon July 18 for Team Challenge to raise funds to find a cure for Chron's Disease. She is running in honor of her father, who has suffered with this disease for the past 40 years, and her sister who was diagnosed with a form of IBD about 2 years ago. Unfortunately the apple doesn't fall far from the tree in her family. She is currently in the process of getting a possible diagnosis as well.

Chron's Disease and Ulcerative Collitis are collectively known together as Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). They are painful, medically incurable diseases that attack the digestive system. IBD causes recurring inflammation throughout the digestive system, which leads many patients to frequent hospitalization, grueling drug and diet regimens, and intense pain on a day-to-day basis.Please visit her website for more details and to make an online donation! Please forward this to as many friends as you like! This cause is very important to me and I appreciate your help and support!


Active.com Donations
www.active.com
Chron's Disease and Ulcerative Collitis are collectively known together as Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). They are painful, medically incurable diseases that attack the digestive system. IBD causes ...

Happy Birthday

To Gordon Bourne from all of us in the Class of 1983. Send news!