Get ready! We are less than 70 days away from PLAY 2018, and we’re beyond excited to share some of the amazing sessions we’ve got planned.

To view our Partner blog, click here

Welcome to our fifth post of the #PLAY2018 speaker blog series. Here, we’ll introduce some of our guest speakers and scheduled sessions for this year’s event. If you’ve already registered to attend, this series will give you a better understanding of what’s in store. If you haven’t yet registered, this series will hopefully inspire you to join us in May!

What better way to start your day than with a little coffee talk? I recently sat down with Zach Shaw , director of software engineering at Brightcove, to sip some brew and chat about his upcoming sessions at PLAY. This year, Zach will be moderating three separate panels focusing on Brightcove’s Player 6, Brightcove’s backend technology and scalability, and some of Brightcove’s more advanced technical features. We also talked about a few of his current projects and debated whether pizza or doughnuts serve as the better brain food.

Before joining Brightcove, Zach spent 15 years honing his engineering expertise, working for such companies as Icosystem and Liberty Mutual. He also founded the Boston Software Craftsmanship Group to help fellow software developers excel in their field.

Watch to learn more about Zach, his engineering work, and another one of his creative passions.
 

Hear more from Zach and discover Brightcove’s latest tech innovations at these three PLAY sessions:

• Tech Talk: Player Technology
• Tech Talk: Modernization and Scalability at Brightcove
• Tech Talk: Advanced Video Tech

And if you still haven’t got your ticket, there’s still time to grab one. Just visit the PLAY 2018 website to register.

To view our Partner blog, click here

Welcome to our fourth post of the #PLAY2018 speaker blog series. Here, we’ll introduce some of our guest speakers and scheduled sessions for this year’s event. If you’ve already registered to attend, this series will give you a better understanding of what’s in store. If you haven’t yet registered, this series will hopefully inspire you to join us in May!

Let’s all give a warm welcome to media savvy boss, Jocelyn Johnson . With equal parts ambition and old-fashioned hustle, Jocelyn launched her first successful business by the age of 25—public relations firm, JJPR. Two years later, she founded her second venture, VideoInk , a digital news publication covering the online video industry and content community.

As the go-to resource for all things digital video, VideoInk reports the latest news, analysis, and industry intel to hundreds of thousands of readers everyday. As the founder of VideoInk, Jocelyn functions as publisher and editor-in-chief, overseeing operations, revenue, business strategy, and metrics. She also pens her own column and posts regularly to the site. In just nine months, Jocelyn helped grow VideoInk’s readership to over 100 thousand monthly unique visits, in addition to boosting month over month readership by 60 percent. Currently, Jocelyn is raising angel funds and early-stage financing to build the business to even greater heights.

Britta: Hi Jocelyn! Can you tell our PLAY audience a little bit about yourself?

Jocelyn: Just like many of the attendees and clients of Brightcove, I’m a storyteller at heart. From my days as a PR professional helping journalists piece together intelligent stories on the video industry, to my professional crossover to media, storytelling has been at the heart of my career. Growing up, I was also known as a chatterbox, so I guess communications was the right space for me!

Britta: VideoInk is a fun and appropriate name for your company given all the ink you need to spill to keep up with the space. What’s the background?  

Jocelyn: We decided on the name VideoInk because of how it relates to “inking” deals, covering the value chain surrounding those deals, and proving their relevance to the larger business.  

Britta: The media space has always been a very exciting and fast-moving environment. What are the hottest trends you and your team see emerging this year?

Jocelyn: At the end of 2017, I predicted we’d see a boom in 24/7 linear channels on digital streaming platforms. Now, I think that trend will fizzle out as fast as it has grown, if not faster. We’re seeing a lot of “old” become “new” again. I’m really looking forward to how Twitch further integrates with Amazon Prime Video. Also, for companies and media brands that have doubled down on video, I sense there will be an adverse reaction, so I’m watching out for more layoffs and downsizing in the video space.

Britta: You’re moderating a pretty fantastic session on data this year at PLAY. Tell us a little more about it.

Jocelyn: To get a piece of content made and distributed, there are dozens of execs making decisions — from development to distribution — so our session will take three key roles along that pathway and get their perspectives on how data informs their process. How does a development exec use data to buy shows, vs a producer in developing pitches, to a distributor on how it targets an audience for those shows.

Britta: I’m super excited for your first visit to PLAY this year! I sure hope you’ll be a repeat guest moving forward. What are you most excited about for PLAY 2018?

Jocelyn: I’m really looking forward to diversifying my knowledge and getting a deeper understanding about how Brightcove, its partners, and fellow providers ensure future innovation.

Britta:  Thank you so much, Jocelyn. Looking forward to seeing you in May!

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Catch Jocelyn and her expert panelists on, “Data Mining for Dollars, ” Tuesday, May 22nd at 3:15PM.

Not yet registered for PLAY 2018? Visit play.brightcove.com to claim your spot today.

To view our Partner blog, click here

Publishers, broadcasters, advertisers, developers, content creators, and people experimenting with new revenue streams—grab your calendars. That’s because PLAY 2018 is coming up in May, and it’s a can’t-miss event.

This year, we’ve arranged a jam-packed schedule of 40+ sessions and workshops, all designed to help turn your digital video business into a revenue-generating machine.

Here are just five of the many sessions scheduled for 2018. Take a look, save the date, and get ready to PLAY!

To view our Partner blog, click here

There’s no “I” in team, and that’s a motto we live by. That’s because the success of any organization lies in the strength of its people. And at Brightcove, we consider our partners the strongest of them all. Not only do they help Brightcove customers take their video investments to the next level; they also work with us on driving the online video industry forward with new innovations, tools, services, and integrations.

This year, several Brightcove partners have generously donated valuable time and resources to help us deliver an amazing experience for PLAY 2018 , Brightcove’s annual conference for the video-obsessed. Some have even come as far as the land down under. Here, we want to give a few special shout outs.

Our first thanks goes to Akamai , PLAY’s Platinum sponsor of the Monday night soirée, “Circus Noir ,” taking place in the Grand Ballroom of Boston’s Park Plaza Hotel . As the world’s largest cloud delivery platform, Akamai helps enterprises deliver content with consistency, quality, and security at all times, across every device.

We also want to recognize Fastly , the sponsor of Sunday night’s Welcome Reception at Kings Dining & Entertainment . With Fastly, digital media publishers can move beyond standard CDNs and optimize content delivery through a powerful cloud-based platform. Users get instant global updates to cached content, real-time visibility, and easy integration with existing content management systems.

Through the generous sponsorships of several Brightcove partners, Wipster , HapYak , 90 Seconds , Shootsta , Ramp , Evergent , Fora.tv, and VideoInk , we’ll be sending this year’s PLAY attendees out with a bang Tuesday evening at Legal Harborside , located right on Boston’s waterfront.

And finally, a huge shout out to SpotX, for providing our Brightcove crew with the coolest, comfiest t-shirts around. Lost at PLAY? Need help? Have a question? Just find someone wearing one of these, and we’ll be happy to lend a hand.

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To check out more of our incredible sponsors, check out the “Sponsors ” page on the PLAY 2018 website . And if you’re interested in a sponsorship opportunity for this year’s event, you still have a shot. There’s limited availability, so make sure to email play@brightcove.com to submit your request. See you next month!

To view our Partner blog, click here

Welcome to our sixth post of the #PLAY2018 speaker blog series. Here, we introduce some of our guest speakers and scheduled sessions for this year’s event. If you’ve already registered to attend, this series will give you a better understanding of what’s in store. If you haven’t yet registered, it’ll hopefully inspire you to join us in May!

Strong, successful women get things done. Just ask Sharifah Niles-Lane . As Vice President of Digital Marketing and Social Media Lead for Eastern Bank , she’s bridging culture and communication to engage audiences at the emotional core. With the bank’s latest marketing strategy, Sharifa says it’s all about courage, social advocacy, and content that drives action. She’s even tagged Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz to help spread the word. “David cares deeply about the same social issues as Eastern Bank,” she says. That includes equality for women, immigrants, and people of color. Its latest digital media campaign, “Join Us For Good ,” highlights that exact sentiment, showcasing how Eastern Bank strives to help people prosper.

Outside of finance, Sharifah has worked with a number of brands, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, the Olympic Games, the Boston Red Sox, and Curious George. In 2014, she spearheaded the John Hancock integrated marketing campaign #WeRunTogether, which helped promote the company’s sponsorship of the Boston Marathon. The campaign went on to earn John Hancock two top prizes at the LIMRA LOMA’s Silver Bowl Awards —one for best use of Twitter and another for best in show. Prior to that, Sharifah honed her marketing expertise at Liberty Mutual, CBS Radio, and Gather, Inc.

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Want to hear more from Sharifah? Make sure to catch her at #PLAY2018, where she’ll be speaking at “Be a Social Pro ,” taking place Tuesday, May 22nd at 2:00pm.

Still don’t have your ticket? Visit play.brightcove.com to claim yours now.

To view our Partner blog, click here