Village Gamer

Visa Canada has announced that ticket packages will be on sale exclusively for Visa cardholders as of 10 a.m. ET today for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival®. Visa has been a proud sponsor of the Toronto International Film Festival since 1997.

Until July 10, Visa cardholders will have advance access to the ticket packages available, including the TIFF Choice Packs for the Visa Screening Room at the Elgin Theatre.  Only Visa cardholders have early access to special Premium Packs, like the ‘Closing Night at Roy Thomson Hall’ package which includes a premium screening of the closing night film and a cocktail reception.

“As we look forward to another spectacular year at the Toronto International Film Festival, Visa is proud to offer our cardholders exclusive advance access to these ticket packages,” said Brenda Woods, Head of Marketing, Visa Canada. “We are thrilled to give Visa cardholders the opportunity to enjoy TIFF with special benefits and access that they wouldn’t get anywhere else.”

The 36th Toronto International Film Festival will run from September 8 to September 18, 2011. Ticket packages go on sale exclusively for Visa cardholders at 10 a.m. ET today, and can be purchased online, by phone Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET at 416-599-TIFF or 1-888-599-8433, and in person at the TIFF Bell Lightbox Box Office at 350 King St. West from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET.

TVOKids host Gisèle, star of TVO’s early learning program block Gisèle’s Big Backyard, will share the magic of reading with preschool children in Oshawa when her Read with Gisèle tour visits the Legends Centre Branch Library on Saturday July 16.

The Read with Gisèle tour showcases Gisèle reading the book of the month from her Big Backyard Book Club at libraries across the province in an effort to inspire children and their families to read every day. Preschoolers can watch the Book Club on television, participate in the club online, and now enjoy it in person as Gisèle reads accessible, easy-to-read-aloud books by Canadian authors.

Gisèle will read the book Hannah’s Collections, written and illustrated by Marthe Jocelyn. It tells the story of Hannah, who loves to collect everything from buttons and feathers to dolls and leaves. But she has so many collections, she doesn’t know which one to bring to school for show and tell. Each child attending the reading will receive a book bag, a bookmark and a free copy of the book Caramba by Canadian author-illustrator Marie-Louise Gay. Kids will also have a chance meet Gisèle and have her autograph their book.

“I’m thrilled to be bringing the Big Backyard Book Club to life at libraries across Ontario. Reading aloud with children is a great way to develop their early literacy skills, so I hope the Read with Gisèle tour will inspire kids and their families to enjoy reading together every day,” says Gisèle Corinthios, host of Gisèle’s Big Backyard.

Kids can also participate in Gisèle’s Big Backyard Book Club online at tvokids.com, where they can watch videos of Gisèle reviewing books and see kids answering questions about the stories, share feedback on how the stories made them feel, and submit their own reviews of books they have read.

Read with Gisèle events are free and admission is on a first-come, first-served basis as seating is limited.

Read with Gisèle!
Saturday July 16
1:30 pm
Oshawa Public Library Legends Centre Branch
1661 Harmony Rd. North, Oshawa

The Royal Canadian Mint is pleased to announce that it is partnering with Canadian Geographic to invite Canadians to participate in the fourth annual Canadian Wildlife Photography of the Year contest. Canada’s best wildlife photograph to be selected among thousands of entries from across the country will be featured on a superbly-crafted collector coin, to be issued by the Mint in 2012.

Until September 2, 2011, Canadians can submit a maximum of ten photographs of Canadian wildlife in any of the five contest categories: Amphibians, Reptiles and Insects; Birds; Mammals; People and Pets; and Junior Photographer (ages 15 and under). In addition to featuring the grand prize winner’s entry on a collector coin, the Mint will also award prizes to the contest’s five category winners, 10 runner-ups and 15 honourable mentions.

“The Royal Canadian Mint is always proud to showcase wildlife through the work of talented Canadians on coins whose designs and craftsmanship captivate collectors, in Canada and around the world,” said Ian E. Bennett, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Canadian Geographic in a unique contest which brings together thousands of photographers from across Canada to celebrate the wealth and variety of our wildlife heritage.”

“Photography is one of the cornerstones of Canadian Geographic and we are thoroughly delighted to partner with the Royal Canadian Mint on the 4th annual Canadian Wildlife Photography of the Year contest,” said André Préfontaine, President and Publisher of Canadian Geographic. “Our partnership with the Royal Canadian Mint enriches the contest and featuring the grand prize winning photograph on a collector coin offers an unparalleled opportunity for Canadian photographers.”

The grand prize winner and five category winners will see their entries published in the December 2011 issue of Canadian Geographic. Additionally, the amazing work of the category winners will be showcased in a wildlife photography exhibit which will make its debut at Ottawa’s Canadian Museum of Nature in 2012.

**Something that should be a foregone conclusion when photographing wildlife. Do not put yourself in harm’s way to get that perfect shot. This past weekend, there were numerous highways reader boards up reminding people to not stop on the highway to view wildlife, and what did we see? People out of their cars, or standing beside their bikes on the side of the highway, taking photos of a black bear cub. Remember, people – where there is a baby bear, there is a big mama bear. You do not want to mess with mama bear. Or BC’s mama deer either, for that matter.**

Transcontinental Interactive has partnered with innovative wireless network Wind Mobile to provide short code connectivity to its customers across the country. Short codes, significantly shorter telephone numbers that address SMS and MMS messages to and from a mobile phone, are often used to receive news and alerts, as well as to donate to charitable organizations or send information to some emergency services.

Some of the services Wind Mobile customers will now be able to subscribe to include transportation short codes for the TTC in Toronto and TransLink in Vancouver, Airport information for both Toronto Pearson International Airport and Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport as well as news alerts from CBC.

Transcontinental Interactive is a leader in strategy, content and multi-channel delivery systems. It is recognized for its quality of partnerships, flexibility, and ability to anticipate consumer demands using new communications platforms, including mobile, making the partnership with Wind Mobile a perfect fit.

“At Transcontinental Interactive, we are proud of the solutions we deliver and the relationships we have developed with companies such as Wind,” said Christian Trudeau, President of Transcontinental Interactive. “It is an honour to have such innovative businesses recognize Transcontinental as a company that is trustworthy and that delivers on its promise. We are thrilled to work with Wind.”

The Wind partnership represents another way that Transcontinental Interactive is demonstrating leadership in technology and marketing solutions. By working with Wind to provide short code connectivity for consumers, Transcontinental Interactive continues to extend its commitment to providing day-to-day solutions for its clients and end consumers.

“We chose to work with Transcontinental Interactive because of their expertise, reputation and exceptional service,” says Scott Campbell, CMO of Wind Mobile. “As well, we are impressed with Transcontinental’s ability to connect to other areas of the industry that will ensure the best possible platform for our consumers.”

Vancouver-based CrowdFanatic is a relatively new web site with a strong and diverse team behind its development. This somewhat unique venture is full of trolls, but unlike other sites, trolls are (mostly) welcome here, provided they follow the protocol of being a troll with some honest debating skills. One of my first concerns was about those users who often like to take their opinions too far, falling into the nasty side of trolling, but CrowdFanatics does have its own moderation system and terms of use in place.

Unlike other debate-based sites, CrowdFanatic is far more lenient than many “traditional” debate communities and as such does not have a page (or pages) full of rules. To be honest, I really don’t feel that it needs formal debate rules. As I mentioned above, there are moderators, and a well-respected community tends to police itself quite efficiently. Like the majority of societal groups, CrowdFanatic members tend to keep the debates somewhat respectful without overly quelling the passions many people feel for their topics.

Here is a full description of what CrowdFanatic is, from the company’s blog:

“We’re bringing something new to the table in social media. Have you ever wanted to stand as a Democrat and take on a group of Republicans? Have you ever wanted to fight with a group of Yankees fans and tell off a group of Red Sox supporters over a social media battlefield? Now you have the opportunity to do that.  CrowdFanatic is that arena for you to stand tall as a group and confront your opposition. Do you want to be an opinion leader? CrowdFanatic is the perfect place to promote your group’s agenda and stand out from the crowd. All the tools that you need to be heard in the online world are at your disposal on CrowdFanatic.”

The topics (known as Confrontations) open for debate are wide and varied, from the predictable sports team rivalries to the hotness (or not) of stars and celebrities. There are political and religious debates, and of course the age-old Canada vs the USA debates. Each topic has supporters and detractors (a.k.a. rivals), as does each user. There is a rating scale for said support or non-support, and it’s easy to see who are the top debaters, you just need to look at the LeaderBoard. Every debater’s profile has a plethora of information in regards to Confrontations, Groups, posts and comments. The whole idea of the site, like any debate club competition, is to use logic, common sense, facts and a smattering of passion to support your argument, thereby winning support for your opinions.

For many, such debates are a way to educate themselves (or the masses) or to expand their own understandings of any given topic – and this is particularly true for many of the topic areas on CrowdFanatic. In fact it’s very difficult to look through the site without wanting to enter into many of the arenas open for participation and put thoughts to keyboard. If you can’t find a topic that quite fits what you want to discuss, members can open new topics (or Confrontations, as they are called on CrowdFanatic) and invite debate. Every Confrontation is a sub-category of an Arena, and of course the top Arena today is full of Google+ vs Facebook discussions.

The Hot Arenas and Hot Confrontations are constantly in flux – since I took the screenshot to the right about 45 minutes ago, the top four topics have changed, with the screenshot to the left showing the current Hot Arenas. Note that the Canucks Group is still in the top four – it is the over-all top ranked group on the site. Such a passionate group, Canucks Nation. By the time you read this, the rankings will again be different – there is never a dull moment on CrowdFanatics.

On each Arena page are listed the top discussions for the subject matter, along with the top supporter and top rival. Each Arena page also shows related topics of discussion, in case you want to branch out into other areas. Confrontations can also be found through Groups, which are another top-level category feature, and again, if you can’t find a Group that fits your area of interest, you can create a new one.

Users can even find Confrontations based on geographic location. According to the map feature on the home page (as shown in the top right image in this article), BC is an area full of Hot Confrontations. This is not surprising with many Vancouver Canucks discussions remaining consistently near the top of the popularity scale, even two weeks after the season’s final game. Oh, and yes, there are Confrontation topics in regards to the Game Seven Riot.

The CrowdFanatic team holds no topic sacred, and even took on the CBC Dragon’s Den team earlier in May, but with the network remaining mum on what transpired during the taping of Season Six, we’ll most likely have to wait until the Fall to learn more of what occurred on that Confrontational day.

CrowdFanatic is not for the timid and faint of heart – if you are not able to handle criticisms of your logic, are easily offended or can’t debate in an intelligent – albeit passionate – manner, then CrowdFanatic may not be the site for you. Personally I find the site quite intriguing, although I have not taken part in any of the debates myself, I believe the CaveChild hangs out there sometimes. That boy loves to argue.

I find CrowdFanatic to be a somewhat in-depth, cross-measuring look at the global modern society, and I also find it interesting to see what lengths people will go to in order to win – or refute – an argument. At the end of the day, I do encourage you to at least visit the site and take a look around; you never know, you may just find a topic that you’ve been itching for a good argument on, and CrowdFanatic is definitely the place to do it.

Intertainment Media Inc. has announced that its desktop app KNCTR® (pronounced “Connector”), a key program of Intertainment’s wholly owned division itiBiti Systems Inc., has seen its unique North American installations break through a major milestone of 1 million in only its first 14 weeks.

KNCTR® saw over 90,000 new unique installations throughout North America over the previous week period, a new record weekly high. The program continues to deliver extremely solid daily user engagement minutes that have remained over the 13 minute mark since the launch of the platform. The active user engagement continues to make the KNCTR® platform a key tool for brands and consumers alike. The app features video content, integration of social media and the ability to make FREE long distance phone calls to cell phones and land lines to anywhere in North America.

KNCTR® is the next generation of social communication and entertainment applications that allows users to aggregate their social media(s) and voice services into one location on their desktop. Unlike Skype, the telephone feature on KNCTR® is completely free to the consumer, allowing Free local and long distance calls to mobile phones and land lines. KNCTR® is a premium advertising model that allows for branded sponsorship, pre-roll and display advertising opportunities for brands and service providers alike.

With the projected impact that tablets will have on the personal computing space, with over 50 million units to be sold within the next two years in North America alone, KNCTR® is positioned to enhance the functionality and usability of these devices by allowing them to become a fully functioning phone unit.

“We have achieved a major milestone with KNCTR® in a very short amount of time” said Brad Parry, CMO Intertainment Media Inc., “To have over 1 million unique installations happen within only 14 weeks, is a true testament to the adoption and acceptance of the platform. KNCTR® has truly become a mainstay of consumer’s daily digital habit.”

Notably, the itiBiti desktop app has been hailed by Microsoft Corp. as “the next generation of integrated social media applications – easy, scalable and fun.”

Constellation Software Inc. has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Harris Computer Systems, a provider of financial, customer and student information management software solutions for utilities, local governments and school districts, purchased Pennsylvania-based ProSoft Technologies, Inc.

ProSoft offers a complete portfolio of products and services for Pennsylvania school districts including: student management, scheduling, human resources, payroll, fund accounting, and student activity fund management, and tax management for local municipalities. As a result of the transaction, ProSoft will be consolidated within Harris School Solutions, the Harris operating division focused on administrative solutions for K-12 school districts throughout North America.

Jerry Canada, General Manager of Harris School Solutions commented, “ProSoft is the continuation of the Harris School Solutions growth plan as it strengthens our market share in key states such as Pennsylvania. We will look to complement the ProSoft product portfolio with our own solutions and continue to grow our presence in the state.” Harris will continue to develop, service, and support the ProSoft product line from the current Bethel Park, PA office.

“Harris brings additional resources that will enhance our continuing commitment to our clients. We are pleased to join the Harris family and look forward to supporting and growing our customer base under their depth of experience within the K-12 market”, said Scott Anderson, President of ProSoft.

Meanwhile, another wholly-owned subsidiary of Constellation, Gary Jonas Computing Ltd., has completed the acquisition of Youbill Inc. (dba Member Solutions), also based in Pennsylvania. The Member Solutions acquisition expands Jonas’ presence in the Fitness market and more specifically the Marital Arts segment.

“Member Solutions is a leading provider of software and full service billing and collections services in their target market, within the United States and Canada,” said Barry Symons, CEO of Jonas. “We are excited to welcome the Member Solutions’ customers and employees into the Jonas family.”

Member Solutions’ CEO, Steve Pinado stated “The entire Member Solutions’ team is excited to be joining the Jonas family. Teaming up with a company that understands vertical market software, and which has a long track record of success, presents a unique opportunity for our customers, our employees and our business partners.”

Earlier this month, Jonas also completed its acquisition of Fitronics Ltd. Based in Bath, England, Fitronics Ltd., which operated under the name “The Retention People” is a leading provider of software to the Fitness & Leisure market, worldwide. Fitronics Ltd. uses detailed market research to drive product development into solutions, processes and training packages to improve the customer experience, creating promoters of fitness & leisure brands and increasing customer loyalty.

The UBM TechWeb Game Network, organizer of the industry-leading Game Developers Conference® events, has officially opened submissions for the 2012 Independent Games Festival, being held at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2012 in San Francisco next March 5 – 9.

The Independent Games Festival (IGF) is the longest-running and highest-profile independent video game festival, summit, and showcase, and is now accepting entries to its 14^th annual edition, with deadlines in the Main and Student Showcase categories by October 17 and October 31  respectively, and finalists to be announced in January 2012.

All games selected as finalists will be available in playable form at the IGF Pavilion on the GDC show floor from March 7 – 9, 2012, and will compete for nearly $60,000 in prizes, a significant increase from last year. This includes the high-profile $5,000 Nuovo Award, honoring abstract, short-form, and unconventional video game development.

In addition, awards for Excellence in Visual Art, Audio, and Design, Technical Excellence, Best Mobile Game, the Best Student Game, and the Audience Award each now receive a $3,000 prize, and the signature Seumas McNally Grand Prize for the independent game of the year has been increased by 50% to a record $30,000.

Winners will be announced on stage at the high-profile Independent Games Festival Awards on Wednesday, March 7, 2012, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The Independent Games Festival Awards are held immediately before the wider Game Developers Choice Awards.

Both multi-thousand person attendee award shows are part of the 2012 Game Developers Conference, taking place March 5^th – March 9^th, 2012. GDC 2012 also includes the 2012 Independent Games Summit, which is entering its sixth year and offers two days (March 5 – 7) of inspiration, practical lectures, and rants from the top minds in the independent games world.

The Independent Game Festival continues to sit at a place of global importance as the largest, most prestigious and all-encompassing showcase of independent game talent across the wide spectrum of artistically- and commercially-aimed development. Notable former IGF winners include landmark indie titles such as Minecraft, Limbo, World of Goo, Braid, Castle Crashers, Everyday Shooter, Darwinia, Audiosurf and many more.

“All of us here at the IGF are excited for a new year of the innovation and artistry we consistently see from the independent games that enter the festival,” said Brandon Boyer, chairman of the IGF. “Our transition to a more expert-focused jury system last year was a tremendous success, and we expect it will again lead to another stellar set of finalists and winners that have made this festival the most respected in the industry. Best of luck to all the entrants!”

Submissions to the competition are now open to all independent game developers; important dates for IGF 2012 are as follows:

• June 29, 2011 – Submissions are Open
• October 17, 2011 – Submission Deadline, Main Competition
• October 31, 2011 – Submission Deadline, Student Competition
• January 5, 2012 – Finalists Announced, Main Competition
• January 12, 2012 – Finalists Announced, Student Competition
• March 5 – March 9, 2012 – Game Developers Conference 2012
• March 5 – March 6, 2012 – Indie Games Summit @ GDC 2012
• March 7 – March 9, 2012 – IGF Pavilion @ GDC 2012
• March 7, 2012 – IGF Awards Ceremony (Winners Announced!)

Frima Studios and Bolt Creative want you to know that the Pygmies of Pocket God on Facebook will be celebrating the 4th of July festivities with a global in-game event. From now until July 7, players can participate in a new dance craze sweeping the island and win a new idol in the process, and can also send a special holiday-themed item to their friends.

Move over Macarena, the Indepen-Dance is the premier dance all the cool kids are doing nowadays. During the night, Pygmies may display the urge to cut a rug—or rather, sand—and it’s up to you to make sure that your hip, little Pygmies keep with the times and participate. Until July 7th, if 100,000 Pygmies shake their booties on the floor, all players will receive a limited edition Liberty Bell idol for their island. What are you waiting for, get on the dance floor already!

Players can also send their “friends” a special gift in the form of a rocket. For just one bone, would-be deities can bestow a rocket to their loved ones, giving the recipient a chance to view a monumental fireworks show. Each fireworks show also recharges five devotion points so you can keep the party going. And no, you can’t light the rocket underneath your friend’s butt.

Hip Digital Media, Inc., a California-based company with offices in Vancouver and Toronto, along with Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc., has successfully launched a large scale digital music promotion for Old Dutch® Potato Chips and Dutch Crunch® Kettle Cooked Potato Chips.

Nearly eight million PIN codes good for one free digital music download each have been slated for the star-studded campaign that was designed to drive sales for the popular brands within grocery and convenience stores across Canada. The chip bags feature custom designed packaging that invite consumers to visit the Old Dutch web site where every customer has the chance to enter online for the grand prize VIP Concert Experience giveaway. Customers also have a chance to win a free digital music download at Old Dutch’s custom branded store.

In order to craft a promotion of this scale LPi Group, Old Dutch’s agency of record, called on Hip Digital to deliver not only the fulfillment for the promotion, but also the technology for the digital music platform. “Hip came back to us with the Sony Music library,” stated Erin Gunther, Account Director at LPi Group. “Since we are primarily targeting males between the ages of thirteen and 25, the opportunity to showcase the Sony Music artists that appeal to this group was a big plus.”

Chris Hardy manages Brand Partnerships for Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc., who concurred, Sony Music has a vast catalogue of local and international artists that cross all genres and we were able to suggest artists that best fit their target consumer.”

The companies look forward to also providing two VIP Concert Experience grand prizes worth $5K (CAD) each, in which the lucky winners will be able to choose from a selection of concerts performed by major Sony Music artists. The grand prizes include round trip airfare, accommodations and limousine transportation to and from the concerts. Stated Hardy, “Hip Digital is one of our key partners for digital music distribution, and we worked well together in delivering this digital music experience to their client.”