The Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) has partnered with Edmonton's Empire Avenue to create a virtual stock exchange where ' investors' can buy, sell and trade virtual shares of the country's top digital media and ICT companies.
CIX is an industry event for Canadian innovation in information and communications technology and application development. Twenty of Canada's most innovative technology-based have been selected to showcase live at the event.
Attendees at this year's event, taking place Dec 1st at MaRS Discovery District in Toronto, will be encouraged to engage in investment game play and to bid virtual currency on the CIX Top 20.
The real time virtual stock exchange will be incorporated with the conference mobile application, and there will be live screens updating the participating company's "market price" as they present their technology before a panel of judges, some for the first time.
When the 'bell' rings on the end of the day, the company with the highest stock value in Digital Media and ICT will each be recognized as the People's Choice award.
"In the past year or two, we've really started to see game mechanics change the way audiences interact and engage," said Duleepa Wijayawardhana, Founder & CEO, Empire Avenue. "Our social stock market at Empire Avenue heavily utilizes game mechanics, correlating your social networking activity across the web with your virtual share price. We are delighted to incorporate our technology into CIX, providing a new, game-driven dimension for attendees, and a dynamic platform to select the people's choice winner among the Top 20 CIX award winners."
Empire Avenue is a social networking platform that utilizes game mechanics to encourage engagement across the Web. The platform can be used as a social stock market, where the user is the "company," and product value is determined by what the company's online activity and social network connections.
" Through Empire Avenue's technology platform, CIX is truly innovating, by allowing deeper engagement between Investors, Entrepreneurs, Executives and the Top 20 most innovative tech companies across Canada, " said Chris Arsenault, Managing Partner at iNovia Capital and co-Chair of the CIX. The CIX Top 20 Virtual Stock Market adds a sense of suspense as companies watch their valuations rise and fall, we hope to position CIX as a truly interactive experience and to support Empire Avenue, another Canadian hot emerging technology company."
The Canadian Innovation Exchange is now open for registration.