The fast-paced format of the inaugural Cross Media TO event seemed to be the perfect reflection of the quickly evolving media industries being discussed.

Around 300 folks in the TV, film, publishing and interactive industries gathered Wednesday in Toronto for an evening of networking and presentations, anchored by a panel entitled Melting the Silos: The Reality of Cross Media Integration.

That panel saw five industry players from different sectors weigh in on how media will play in a cross-media world. Sabrina Geremia, head of agency relations at Google Canada, stressed that those working in any of these industries must be fluent in all media, noting that 28% of the time people spend online is simultaneous to that of watching TV.

‘I made a conscious choice to move through jobs that filled knowledge gaps,’ she says of her own career, encouraging those who are apprehensive of the digital world to dive in, experiment and more importantly, become users.

Even a traditionally analog industry such as publishing has found a way to live in this ever-emerging space. Lisa Charters, SVP director digital for Random House Canada, noted that her teams spend 15 minutes on digital training a day.

As for the gaming industry, London, Ontario-based Digital Extremes president Michael Schmalz said that it was coming out of the recession, which saw the global industry shed almost a quarter of its workforce leading to fewer choices for consumers on the console side. ‘Why video game companies haven’t cooperated with other digital companies is something that we’re trying to get over,’ he stated.

‘Now with [digital distribution platforms] Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, we can take control over the distribution platform as developers. I think we have a tremendous opportunity to… make our content and get a larger share out of what we create.’

When asked who drives integration, Chris Van Noy, chief strategist from Akamai responded that companies will go wherever they see people are consuming their content. Jumpwire Media’s Gavin McGarry called it the ‘Facebook Effect’ in that its CEO Mark Zuckerberg is always taking growth over advertising. ‘Is that what people should be doing?’ he asks. ‘Putting content out and worry about money later?’

The event capped with two case studies, the first in transmedia from Dr. Siobhan O’Flynn, whose presentation entitled Disruptive Innovations in a Digital World, and one emerging piece of advice was the importance of fan interest. ‘When we share content, we do so because it has value,’ she stated. ‘If the project has value, they (fans) will become loyal,’ which could lead to a global audience.’

Steve Pratt from CBC Radio 3 presented the second case study surrounding CBC’s thinking about the future of radio and the future of music. Out of that came some universal lessons, which included defining by content, not by platform, the importance of owning a niche and also to stay relevant.

‘We’re in constant beta mode,’ said Pratt. ‘We’re always trying new things.’

With files from Katie Bailey, Media in Canada