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Baratunde Thurston named first 2012 SXSW Interactive keynote speaker
Photo by Mindy Tucker
Baratunde Thurston, a hilarious, frequent panelist and presenter at past South by Southwest Interactive events, has been named the opening keynote for the 2012 festival, the fest said on Thursday.
Thurston, who hosted the 2009 SXSW Interactive Web Awards, is Director of Digital for The Onion and co-founded the blog Jack and Jill Politics.
The keynote is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, March 10, 2012.
Thurston, a comedian, political pundit and frequent speaker at tech conferences, is also scheduled to have his first book, “How To Be Black,” published in February by Harper Collins. In a blog post on Thursday, Thurston called SXSW Interactive his “Home conference” and said the topic of his talk has yet to be decided.
“Might I just sit on stage, project my laptop screen to the audience and force them to watch me place contacts into my Google+ circles? Definitely,” he wrote.
You can check out his monologue from the 2009 Web Awards below (warning - adult language ahead):
Edited at 5:30 p.m. to add more details and link to blog post.
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