Arik Abel
Director of Content Strategy, Emerging Media Research Council & Strategic Advisor, Zooppa.com

Arik is a marketer of disruptive innovation in entertainment, media, advertising and technology; instructor at the intersection of creativity and technology; and Director of Content Strategy for The Emerging Media Research Council, a membership-based organization providing custom emerging media research and consulting to Marketing, Communications, PR and Public Affairs executives. As the former head of US Marketing for Zooppa, a creative crowd-sourcing platform, Arik crafted successful user-generated advertising campaigns supported by a global social network of 80,000 video producers, graphic designers and advertising enthusiasts. Over 100 brands including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, GoDaddy, P&G, and General Mills, and leading digital agencies like Razorfish and Unruly Media, have used the Zooppa platform to generate high-quality advertising content and word-of-mouth through an open competition model. Find him online at arikabel.com

Kurt Merriweather
Director of Business Development, Discovery Channel

Kurt Merriweather has worked in the intersection of business, marketing and technology for over 15 years. Kurt is currently Director of Digital Media Business Development at Discovery Communications (home of the Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet) and has held a variety of business operations, product marketing and product management positions at AOL (including AOL MusicNow), Silicon Graphics, Digital Island and Cable & Wireless.

Jeff Parsons
Director of Video Operations, Associated Press

Jeff focuses on video product development, distribution and monetization for domestic U.S. and Latin America markets. He tracks market trends and user consumption of video to match development with consumer and customer needs. Jeff has developed strategies to expand current video products as well as launch new products in emerging growth markets.

Prior to the Associated Press, Jeff was the Senior Director of Strategic Content and News for Internet Broadcasting which develops and maintains web sites for almost 100 media properties. Jeff managed teams that developed video and text content as well as micro-sites in key vertical areas. He was also responsible for all news and information published to the websites of the company’s customer groups. Jeff has an extensive background in local content development including web sites in four local media markets. He has also managed local TV news divisions in Atlanta, Norfolk, Va., Columbus, Ohio and Charleston, W.Va.