Hyatt Regency Savannah
Savanna, GA
United States

Geekend is an annual gathering of the tribe geek in Savannah, Georgia. Geekend is what might be called an interactive conference with a few games truly impressive. It’s the kind of event that you text messages, and tweeting Facebooking and all his friends back home will be super jealous.
Join us this November as the most brilliant geeks, designers, developers, techies and media Mavericks down to Savannah for a weekend full of speakers on the cutting edge and panels, afterparties and networks.

Keynote Speakers

David Carson, Graphic Designer
Major Nelson (aka Larry Hryb), Xbox Live
Eric Snowden, Atlantic Records
Joey Hasty, Disney
Brenda Brathwaite, Savannah College of Art and Design
Kevin Cheng, Raptr
Matias Corea, Behance
Craig Johnston, Sudjam
Dr. Tom Broussard, Brandeis University
Juan Fernando Santos, Studiocom
Jen Consalvo, Shiny Heart Ventures
Frank Gruber, AOL
Sloane Kelley, BFG Communications
Bradley Taylor, Rails Machine
Dave Malouf, Savannah College of Art and Design
Murray Wilson, TPS Consulting
Tony Jordan, AWOL
Phil Peterman, Paula Deen Enterprises
Doy Cave, Richmond Hill Media
Kevin Lawver, Music Intelligence Solutions
Ariel Janzen, brightwhitespace
Cari Clark, Clark Creative
Janna Hicks DeVylder, Savannah College of Art & Design
Andrew Davies, Paragon Design Group
Philip Joyner, Paragon Design Group

Conference Agenda

Friday,  Nov 6

12 – 8 pm    Registration and Badge Pick Up
Savannah Room, Hyatt

1 – 5 pm    Savannah Open House
Multiple Locations (To Be Provided At Registration)
Savannah’s top creative spaces, studios and design shops will open their doors and welcome you to Savannah and Geekend.

7 – 8 pm    Cocktail Hour
Harborside East/West, Hyatt

8 – 9 pm    Geekend 2009 Kick Off Keynote With David Carson
Harborside East/West, Hyatt
These days, you don’t have to go far to hear how technology is bringing about the end of the print world as we know it. But long before technology changed and jumpstarted this debate, David Carson was shaking up the world with his “end of print.” Carson’s innovative design and typography turned mainstream print upside down and has given rebellious geeks around the globe inspiration ever since.
Carson will kick off Geekend 2009 with a glimpse behind the artistic curtain into world, his work and the things that drive and inspire him.

9 pm    Performance by MK2 and Hula Hoop
Harborside East/West, Hyatt
MK2
Setting off the turntable flares for Geekend 2009 is sound scientist MK2 (Brady Keehn). Keehn has scratched his mark in the Southeast sound scene and was voted Savannah’s Best Electronica Artist in 2009 by the readers of Connect Savannah.
Hula Hoop
Known for a super energetic live show that gets raves from everyone who’s experienced it, two-man group Hula Hoop brings its ecstatic brand of dance-inducing loop-centric electro groove to the opening night of Geekend.

Saturday,  Nov 7

9:30 – 10:15 am    Location Is Content
Harborside East, Hyatt
Craig Johnston, Sudjam
Traditionally, GPS and location-based services have provided content to people based on their location. In-car navigation systems and mobile applications continually refine a user interface to recommended services such as restaurants and gas stations with proximity to their users. However, location is itself content—or more importantly location can be contributed to the community as content. Craig Johnston will present a case study based on Sudjam’s development of the Nine Inch Nails location-based iPhone technology and accompanying web presence.

Sketching: The Secret Sauce of Design
Harborside West, Hyatt
Dave Malouf, SCAD
In this 45 min intensive workshop, Dave Malouf will demonstrate the primary design skill of sketching and why it is so important for anyone who is involved in idea creation regardless of background. Multiple, rapid and rough iterations done in association and reflection is a cornerstone of design practice. But there is no reason that any problem set cannot take advantage of sketching. Bring a notebook and a sharp pencil.

Technology For The Greater Good
Scarbrough Ballroom, Hyatt
Murray Wilson, TPS Consulting
Tony Jordan, A.W.O.L.
Murray Wilson and Tony Jordan are the brains behind Goon Squad, a group that turns trash into treasure. More specifically, they rescue old PCs from the landfill, get them cleaned up and refurbished so they can be sent back into the community. This session will dig into the workings of Goon Squad and inspire fellow geeks to make a difference with the tools they have at their fingertips.

10:30 – 11:15 am    See What I Mean: How to Communicate Ideas With Comics
Harborside East, Hyatt
Kevin Cheng, Raptr
We live in an age of bite sized information where gaining the attention of our potential customers, executives, sponsors, clients or even peers can be difficult. Just as vividly as they convey the feats of superheroes, comics can tell stories about your customers and products. They can provide your organization with an exciting and effective alternative to slogging through requirements documents and long reports.
This session teaches how you can use comics as a communications tool without any illustration training or background.

Building Whuffie: Reputation and the Future of the Social Web
Harborside West, Hyatt
Kevin Lawver, Music Intelligence Solutions
The web is becoming more social every day. We now expect to be able to comment, tag, rate and share everything on the web. But how do we know what the best content is? How do we know who the most valuable users are? Using Whuffie, we can answer those questions and get a peek at the future of the social web, where everyone and everything has a reputation and “whuffie” to spend. We’ll go over the basics of whuffie, how it’s being used today and what the social web looks like in a whuffie-powered world.

The Test Driven Web
Scarbrough Ballroom, Hyatt
Phil Peterman, Paula Deen Enterprises
Move beyond simple analytics to full A/B and multivariate testing of your web site. Multivariate testing was once the sole domain of big budgets but with today’s tools, these advanced techniques are available to everyone and every budget. Learn how to effectively design and implement tests and correctly interpret the results of those tests.

11:30 – 12:15 pm    Disney’s Approach to Nurturing Creativity
Harborside East, Hyatt
Joey Hasty, Disney
Ideas are hard currency in our business. In our day to day, we are expected to switch back and forth between producing and executing ideas to creating the next big idea. How do we switch the hemispheres of our brains so quickly and get down to the business of generating great ideas? Take a peek into the tricks the folks at Disney use to stay sane, have some fun and hopefully make some magic.
Geeks Among the Machines

Harborside West, Hyatt
Dr. Tom Broussard, Brandeis University
Rapid change and the convergence of human intelligence and technology are at the heart of the looming event described by Ray Kurzweil as the “Singularity.” But in addition to the convergence of man and machine, the concept of man and master is converging as well. And while the old concepts are falling by the wayside, the new ones are still trying to find their footing. Tom will provide some interesting insights into the fractal nature of trust in organizations, why obedience in the workplace is a bankrupt concept and ultimately what geeks must do to survive among machines of their own making.

Why The @#$! Aren’t You Blogging?!
Scarbrough Ballroom, Hyatt
Phil Joyner, Paragon
Doy Cave, Richmond Hill Media
You can’t throw a mouse click without hitting a blog these days. So what’s so great about them and why should I (an individual, freelancer or business) have one? In this talk, we’ll cover the what’s, why’s, how’s and tools of blogging to help you find your voice and get started.

2 – 2:45 pm    Connecting Fans With Bands
Harborside East, Hyatt
Eric Snowden, Atlantic Records
As the first major record label to generate over half of its revenue online, Atlantic Records is redefining how people experience music. See how they are mixing design, code and new technologies to help bring bands and fans closer together than has ever been possible.

I’m My Own Boss! Now What?!?
Harborside West, Hyatt
Jen Consalvo, Shiny Heart Ventures
Frank Gruber, AOL & Shiny Heart Ventures
The team behind startup Shiny Heart Ventures discusses their unique path, from just a fuzzy dream to an LLC with their first product already out the door. Jen and Frank will take you through the mistakes and successes that make the journey called entrepreneurship an adventure to remember. From interviewing developers in Romania via Skype to avoiding trouble at the office and launching their first product, this interactive conversation will be entertaining and informative for anyone wanting to strike out on their own.

3 – 3:45 pm    How Design Makes or Breaks a Venture
Harborside East, Hyatt
Matias Corea, Behance
In a world full of new companies focused on technology, how can design be your competitive advantage? Great design is not just a visual treatment; it is a long-term strategy for building a product or service people love. Design can power revolutionary products and even help you manage your team. Matias Corea will share insights on applying design to the traditional, and not so traditional, aspects of building a business.

Virtual Worlds That Work: How Large Brands Took A Chance On Innovation And Won
Harborside West, Hyatt
Juan Fernando Santos, Studiocom
Virtual worlds have changed how many brands view engagement and interactive strategy permanently. No longer just a “cool” idea, these virtual worlds drive revenue, sales and brand engagement.

Digital Trends Among Digital Natives
Scarbrough Ballroom, Hyatt
Sloane Kelley, BFG Communications
The digital world is constantly changing. So is the way the marketer-coveted group of “Digital Natives” or “Millennials” is using it. We’ll take a look at digital trends around the globe and best-in-class examples of how brands are using social media, mobile, digital content and gaming to reach this demographic.

4 – 4:45 pm    How I Learned to Dump Electricity and Love Design
Harborside East, Hyatt
Brenda Brathwaite, Savannah College of Art and Design
Two years ago, after playing a run of games that both looked and played the same, digital game designer Brenda Brathwaite shut off her computer and consoles and began to consume dozens of non-digital games from all over the world. Soon, she returned to her native paper prototyping and eventually started work upon a series of six intentionally non-digital “gallery games” each designed to explore a difficult topic. The result of this trek proved incredibly eye-opening and rewarding for her as a designer and culminated in the highest praise for a game she had ever received. In this lecture, Brenda shares what she learned from our brothers and sisters in that other medium when she cut the cord and learned to love design.

Geek Metamorphosis: Getting Comfortable with Uncomfortable
Harborside West, Hyatt
Bradley Taylor, Rails Machine
Being a geek is only half the story. Although our passion and intensity drives our work and interests, we can often be uncomfortable in environments that may come more naturally to non-geeks. This session explores how to push beyond your comfort zone by exploring new skills and hobbies.

How To Be A Great Interrogator Designer: What They Don’t Teach You In Design School
Scarbrough Ballroom, Hyatt
Andrew Davies, Paragon
Ariel Janzen, brightwhitespace
Cari Clark, Clark Creative
Janna Hicks DeVylder, Savannah College of Art and Design
The secret behind being an effective designer is knowing how to ask the right questions. This panel discussion will delve into the importance of a clearly defined problem and show how any designer or client can approach the discovery phase of a project with the right tools to inform the best solution.

5:30 – 6:30 pm    Keynote Session With Major Nelson
Harborside East/West, Hyatt

7pm – 3am    Geekend Block Party
In front of SEED Eco Lounge at 39 Montgomery St (between Broughton and Congress)

Sunday,  Nov 8

10 am – 4 pm    Geekend Unconference
Scarbrough Ballroom, Hyatt
Kevin Lawver of Music Intelligence Solutions will get the unconference rolling. This participant-driven day will give Geekenders a chance to ask questions, go into more detail on Saturday’s hot topics and take part in more intimate breakout sessions.

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