Start: 03/08/2012 7:00 pm Timezone: Canada/Eastern Start: 03/08/2012 7:00 pm Timezone: Canada/Eastern

First-person shooter videogames have been a staple of the medium ever since its earliest days. With the launch of the multiplayer Battlefield 3 last fall, though, the genre has now been extended to social networks.

The next edition of Play the Impossible will include a review of the history of First-Person Shooter — accessible to both gaming newbies and veterans — and how games from a first-person perspective are likely to evolve in the future.

And, like at every Play the Impossible, the conversation about videogames will include a chance to play — either on our screens or one of your own.

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Start: 03/11/2012 2:00 pm Timezone: Canada/Eastern Start: 03/11/2012 2:00 pm Timezone: Canada/Eastern

Bill Fox, the campaign manager, press secretary and communications director for Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, will step into the Academy of the Impossible for a discussion about what it took to triumph on Parliament Hill in the 1980s — and how things have transformed in Ottawa since that era.

Campaign School has previously played host to MPs Andrew Cash and Carolyn Bennett, along with Toronto Councillor Shelley Carroll, each of whom have shared their varied experiences on the campaign trail and subsequent experiences in office.

Fox, who was a bureau chief for the Toronto Star prior to his stint in the PMO, went on to play a role in public affairs at CN, Bombardier and BCE. Currently a consultant at law firm Stikeman Elliott and partner in children's and family entertainment company Wizard Hat Productions — in addition to an ongoing role in political campaigns — he will be our first guest to share the campaign experience from a Conservative point of view.

PLEASE NOTE: These sessions start promptly at 2 p.m. and last for around 90 minutes. (And please remember that this is the first day of Daylight Saving Time.)

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Start: 03/04/2012 2:00 pm Timezone: Canada/Eastern Start: 03/04/2012 2:00 pm Timezone: Canada/Eastern

Music videos have been a cornerstone of YouTube from the start — even if it was initially left to VHS archivists to upload their personal collections without permission — and now about 40 per cent of all views on the site are song-driven.

The next edition of YouTube School will romp through a range of music clips, from vintage MTV to webcam karaoke, from Bollywood to K-Pop, and a look at the sort of acts which have been established or revived through popularity through viral viewership. Naturally, we'll play a few requests, too.

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Join our Google+ group to participate in the making of each session:
https://plus.google.com/113810566919113105097

Metaviews presents a regular series dedicated to watching, thinking about and contributing to the largest of online video platforms.

Sessions will consist of discussion and screenings of some of the popular viral clips of the moment, some personal favourites of past and future — and discovering buried treasures along the way.

YouTube School will also provide insights into how viewership is accrued, with input from producers who have leveraged its reach, along with inspiration for anyone to do the same. Consider the flavours of social media sharing between the walls of the Academy of the Impossible.

Start: 02/26/2012 2:00 pm Timezone: Canada/Eastern Start: 02/26/2012 2:00 pm Timezone: Canada/Eastern

Shelley Carroll, the Toronto city councillor from Ward 33 whose political career has taken her from school trustee to chair of the Budget Committee to deputy mayor, will visit to talk about her experiences in the arena — including the unprecedented attention paid to activities at City Hall in the past year.

New and returning students to Campaign School can get insights on how Councillor Carroll went from a career in banking to over a decade in the public service, what role social media has played in keeping in touch with constituents and her status as a downtown-boosting representative of a non-downtown riding.

PLEASE NOTE: These sessions start promptly at 2 p.m. and last for around 90 minutes.

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Start: 02/19/2012 2:00 pm Timezone: Canada/Eastern Start: 02/19/2012 2:00 pm Timezone: Canada/Eastern

"Going viral" is the ambition of many who upload clips to YouTube. But how does an otherwise obscure video end up reaching a critical mass? And is there any secret formula to connecting with the greatest number of viewers?

New and returning students at YouTube School will view and discuss a variety of clips that have achieved some degree of popularity — or maybe just deserve to. The session will interest those looking to create something contagious, explore the process of getting attention, or who just like to watch.

Join our Google+ group to participate in the making of each session:
https://plus.google.com/113810566919113105097

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