DOI Foundation

Congratulations to MovieLabs' Jim Helman and Raymond Drewry on their acceptance last week of an Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy for the creation of EIDR The Universal Media Identifier. EIDR unifies the commercial #film and #television industry around one standardized content ID, one infrastructure for creating and sharing the ID, and one nested data model for describing the relationships between abstract titles, specific video edits, and packages for distribution. EIDR was created and incubated in MovieLabs and is now managed by the EIDR organization (see https://www.eidr.org/. ).   There were of course so many people and organizations involved in the success of EIDR but we'd like to thank just a few of them here. Former MovieLabs CEO Steve Weinstein initiated the project. Four studio executives contributed greatly to the foundation of the data model: Eddie Drake, Eric Iverson, Jeff Stevens, and the late JR Yasgur. Kip Welch from MovieLabs and Jud Cary from CableLabs brought together a coalition of companies to found and fund the EIDR organization. Rovi (now TiVo) and the Corporation for National Research Initiatives provided key technologies. The DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group and the Hollywood IT Society provided essential venues that brought the industry together around EIDR best practices. Today, EIDR is in good hands with Hollie Choi, Richard W. Kroon, MBA, CSPO, PMP, and the active involvement of the EIDR Board, who have carried EIDR onward and upward.

SXSW PITCH FOUNDER PROFILES: Will Kreth of HAND The 45 finalists for SXSW Pitch 2025 represent some of the most promising startups from across the US and from around the globe. Learn more about SXSW Pitch by reading these short interviews with the founders behind these awe-inspiring new companies that were selected as finalists for this year's event. In this installment of this series, we talk with Will Kieth, who is CEO / Founder of HAND (Human & Digital). A former Austinite, Kieth now lives in Brooklyn https://lnkd.in/gR55aQNa HAND is a finalist in the "Entertainment, Media, Sports & Content" category of SXSW Pitch. This category takes the stage at 11:30 am on Sunday, March 9 https://lnkd.in/guJU_7YB SXSW: What does HAND do? KRETH: We bring simplicity and scale to talent identity with Identity Intelligence – our interoperable talent ID framework – built to enable reliable verification of quantifiably notable real (legal & natural) persons, their virtual counterparts, and fictional entities. SXSW: What is your startup's biggest strength at present? KRETH: Relationships. SXSW: What is your startup's biggest challenge at present? KRETH: Scale for network effects. SXSW: How concerned are you about the growing sophistication of deep fake technology? KRETH: Very -- yet it's not too late to bring common sense to delineating what's real vs. what's fraudulent. SXSW: Is AI over-hyped or under-hyped? KRETH: Can we just go with "Inescapably 24/7 hyped"?  SXSW: When do you think we as a society will reach the singularity?  KRETH: Are we living in a simulation right now? SXSW: What do you think is the biggest challenge that the tech industry currently faces? KRETH: Hubris. SXSW: Do you think that new tech-based solutions can reverse global warming?  KRETH: Reverse? Please. Best we can hope for is slowing. Track record has been pretty grim. SXSW: If you had an opportunity to live on the moon (or another planet), would you do it? KRETH: No. Mars is for quitters. Fight for the earth. SXSW: What non-tech person inspires you the most? KRETH: Jane Goodall. SXSW: What social media platform are you most active on? KRETH: LinkedIn, because it's less unhinged than most of the others. SXSW: What kind of people do you want to meet at SXSW 2025? KRETH: Smart ones. Grounded ones. SXSW: What is your impression of Austin as a hot-spot of entrepreneurism? KRETH: Legit. Has been that way since before I moved there in the '90s. Also plan to attend the Startup track at SXSW (March 7-10) if entrepreneurism is your passion. https://lnkd.in/gKkNse6Y Buy your badge now to experience everything that March Magic in Austin has to offer! Hurry, prices increase on Friday, January 31. sxsw.com/attend #sxsw, #sxsw2025, SXSW, Chris Valentine, Will Kreth, HAND (Human & Digital), #Brooklyn, #pitch, #pitchcompetition, #startups, #founders, #founderstories, #entrepreneurism, #innovation, #creativity, #identity, #ID, #verification, #ATX