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SXSW 2012
April 26, 2012
Review: Nike+ FuelBand
The Nike+ FuelBand is a sleek, rubber-and-metal wristband that presents bits of fitness information on an attractive, durable color-dot display.
Nike made a hard push at South by Southwest Interactive in March for the $150 device, reworking an entire downtown music venue to resemble the FuelBand’s digital look. And it’s indeed eye-catching. What appears to be a simple black-rubber band lights up to display calories burned, steps taken, the time and “Nike+ Fuel,” a unit of activity that will mean absolutely nothing to anyone who doesn’t own shoes or FuelBands that use the sweat currency.
During SXSW, the FuelBand had the perk of getting you in to concerts for free, but it’s unclear right now what building up a large store of Fuel points will mean. Will you get discounts on Nike products? Free energy drinks? Lunch with Lance Armstrong? Nike has hinted that the perks will have value in some way, but the details are still fuzzy.
What the band currently does is connect wirelessly via BlueTooth with Apple iOS devices to update fitness data to a very nicely designed, colorful app. A built-in USB connector on the FuelBand can also connect directly to a computer to upload information to nikeplus.com, which keeps track of activity and can compare it with, say, Facebook friends who also generate Fuel points.
Some days I end up with about 2,200 units of “Fuel.” Other days, it’s 2,700. If I swing my arm in a circle for five minutes, I can probably rack up about 150-200 points without getting out of my chair. If I ride a stationary bike for an hour, it will barely register anything, even if I’m covered in sweat and gasping for air. (Nike’s suggestion for that: wear the band around your ankle or tie it to a shoelace.)
During the fest, the company helped people who bought the FuelBand on site set up their devices, sync’ing them with their phones and sizing them correctly. That was great, but even with professional help, my FuelBand couldn’t figure out what year it was through the iPhone. For several days, I was working out in the year 2067. If I keep my FuelBand that long, I imagine the fitness information I logged far into the future will present a conflict. Connecting the FuelBand to a computer with the USB connector later solved the problem.
The FuelBand is gorgeous in design, the rare gadget that you’d wear without feeling self conscious. It has a long battery life (it can go several days without a recharge) and its size can be adjusted with included tools. But it doesn’t do what some cheaper fitness trackers do: It doesn’t give specific enough information on your activities, can’t track your sleep patterns and doesn’t have any kind of timed challenges or stopwatch features. After using the device for a month and a half, I found that days when I did a hard gym workout didn’t amount to that many more Fuel point totals than on days when I sat around my desk.
For $150, it seems overpriced for its maddeningly vague functionality. But if you value style over athletic data, it may be worth the price. It seems like $99, the price of the similar FitBit Ultra or Jawbone Up (which was plagued with technical problems earlier this year), would be the right price point for all its trade-offs.
But then, it’s a Nike product, so you can image the $50 premium won’t surprise people who are used to buying other gear from the company.
Matthew Kneller, communications manager for Nike at the FuelBand Station where people were able to buy Nike+ FuelBand devices and get them set up during SXSW Interactive in March. Photo by Omar L. Gallaga / AMERICAN-STATESMAN.
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April 2, 2012
SXSW gives clues to the future of mobile payments
A customer signs his name on an iPad using mobile payment app Square for a credit/debit card purchase at a Dallas coffee shop. Photo by Lara Solt / DALLAS MORNING NEWS.
In today’s Digital Savant column in the Austin American-Statesman, we discuss the push that companies like PayPal, American Express and Google made at South by Southwest Interactive in an effort to woo early adopters to new mobile payment options.
If you don’t know what NFC, digital wallet or ISIS are, check out the article, where we try to break down some of these services, what they do and who may use them.
Two others you may want to read up about that didn’t make it into the column: Bitcoin, a sort of alternative currency that is gaining traction in some circles (especially overseas) and Austin’s own Tabbedout, which also had a presence at SXSW Interactive and has lots of fans.
Let us know what you think about mobile payments in the comments. Are you already using some of these services? Do you plan to in the future?
Permalink | | Categories: Applications, Austin, Internet, Phones, SXSW 2012
March 26, 2012
Are we headed for a tech bust? More thoughts post-SXSW
Highlight, from Math Camp, Inc., was one of the apps that got attention at South by Southwest Interactive 2012. Photo by Jack Plunkett, Associated Press
The Digital Savant column in Monday’s American-Statesman asks whether we’re headed for a bursting of the tech bubble, at least in the areas of social media and app development.
There are still a lot of thoughts I have about South by Southwest Interactive 2012 as I decompress from the massive event, but one of the nagging feelings I had throughout it was that the money being spent and the hype being pushed was bigger than I’ve seen it since the late 90s. Of course, that might make you feel a little queasy if you know what happened during the dot-com bust and how long it took for things to rebuild.
Do you think we’re in for a rude awakening soon? Or is this a ride that will continue for a long time to come? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Applications, Austin, Internet, SXSW 2012
March 20, 2012
SXSW postgame: 'South-West South-North' spells the doom of Austin-Hollywoodland
Huge crowds at the Austin Conveniton Center make their way around SXSW 2012 Interactive on Sunday, March 11. Photo by Rodolfo Gonzalez.
Well! It appears that South by Southwest Interactive has been over for nearly a week and people are still eager to talk about what it meant, who won and lost and what the festival means for the future in the manner of someone who was hit suddenly by a moving vehicle and sputters on the sidewalk, “What was THAT?!”
In Sunday’s newspaper, I did my best to tie together what I saw at the festival in a wrap-up piece written less than 24 hours after the fest was complete. We’ve also seen some interesting infographics (like that one from Tracx) tallying up some of the numbers that emerged from the festival and lots of blog posts featuring take-aways about how things shook out. And Austin’s Global Language Monitor examined which buzzwords at the fest were least understood.
But perhaps my favorite piece of post-festival analysis came from an anonymous voice mail I received after my Sunday article ran from a woman who sounds like she is simply not having it. Please enjoy and let me know what you think about her message.
(Download it in MP3 or listen below.)
Edited to add, 1:10 p.m.: I forgot to include this letter to the editor from Sunday’s American-Statesman (posted by Addie Broyles) that contains a similar sentiment to that voice mail. Given there was no mention of coupons or Oprah, I doubt it’s the same individual.
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March 14, 2012
Stratfor CEO delivers defiant presentation at SXSW Interactive
Stratfor CEO George Friedman at SXSW Interactive 2012. Photo by Rodolfo Gonzalez / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
On Tuesday, Stratfor CEO George Friedman took on the hackers that have attacked his company and critics of Stratfor with a South by Southwest Interactive solo presentation. In the talk, Friedman said he nearly backed out, but “In the end, I am not going to let others define who I am or what I speak about,” he said.
You can read American-Statesman reporter Kirk Ladendorf’s full report on the talk here.
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March 13, 2012
Pinterest, Wolfram and 'Lollipop' score at SXSW Interactive Awards
As South by Southwest Interactive 2012 drew to a close, weary techies applauded the winners of the 15th Annual Interactive Awards. The ceremony honored popular technologies including Pinterest and Storify, as well as the unsettling experimental website “Take This Lollipop,” which weaves surfers’ own Facebook information into a creepy cautionary tale about online privacy.
Comedy duo Gabe Liedman and Jenny Slate hosted the awards ceremony at the Hilton Austin downtown, honoring 20 winners in categories such as “Social Media,” “Technical Achievement” and “Breakout Digital Trend.” As opposed to last year’s familiar names, including Conan O’Brien, Groupon.com and the Onion, this years awards honored many emerging and unfamiliar names including Canadian film for the Internet “Bla Bla” in the Art category; “Expedition Titanic” in the Classic category and “Americans Elect” for the People’s Choice award, which last year went to Groupon.
While the names of the technologies might not be as familiar as last year’s, the agencies behind them are, said Andrew McNeill, the SXSW Interactive Awards Coordinator. He also noted that a couple of mobile categories were dropped this year, because those technologies were bleeding into many of the other areas.
Interest-sharing social site Pinterest, possibly the hottest thing going online, took home the award for Breakout Digital Trend. Storify, which helps users construct narratives by pulling relevant information from social media sources, appropriately won in the Social Media category. “Take This Lollipop” was honored twice, in the Experimental and Best of Show categories.
The Speaker of the Event award went to Stephen Wolfram, whose Wolfram Alpha “answer engine” (the technology is embedded in Apple’s Siri personal assistant technology) took home two SXSW Interactive awards in 2010: Best of Show and Technical Achievement.
Designer, writer, and publisher Jeffrey Zeldman became the first ever inductee into the SXSW Interactive Hall of Fame. He walked onto the stage to a standing ovation from the crowd following a short video of his peers lauding his character and influence.
Liedman and Slate opened the show with the first part of a routine they performed Monday night at Esther’s Follies. While most in the crowd were anticipating who would take home the awards (which the duo rifled through at a breakneck pace) I was on pins and needles wondering if the hosts would dare to perform the wildly profane second half of that routine. They didn’t.
Here’s the complete list of winners:
Activism: Made in a Free World - Slavery Footprint
Amusement: LEGO Life of George
Art: Bla Bla
Business: SCREW*D
Classic: Expedition Titanic
Community: Big Stories, Small Towns
Educational Resource: Projeqt
Experimental: Take This Lollipop
Film/TV: Goa Hippy Tribe
Motion Graphics: Lights
Music: Obsessed With Sound
Personal: ChairTrips
Social Media: Storify
Student: Coal: A Love Story
Technical Achievement: Eye-Fi iPad App
Special Honors
People’s Choice: Americans Elect
Digital Campaign of the Year: TESCO Home plus
Breakout Digital Trend: Pinterest
Best of Show: Take This Lollipop
Speaker of the Event: Stephen Wolfram
Jeffrey Zeldman photo by Tony Quartarolo
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And the SXSW Accelerator winners are ...
News-related technologies
Winner: Funf Project
Ad Glue
BuzzData
Crowded Comics
LocalWiki
NowSpots
Umbel
Ushahidi
Social media and social networking technologies
Winner: Thirst Labs
Banjo
Hoot.Me
IB5k
SceneTap
Votifi
Vox.io
Whodini
Innovative web technologies
Winner: Viztu Technologies
AgLocal
BrandYourself.com
OneID
Prism Skylabs
Scrible
Trapit
ZeroDesktop
Entertainment technologies
Winner: Wemo Media
GooseChase
Grandstand
MoPix
Switchcam
Tugg
WeVideo
Wonderverse
Mobile technologies
Winner: Condition ONE
5Degrees
Arqball
Forecast
just.me
Meexo
Modo Labs
Toopher
Health technologies
Winner: Pipettes
Beyond Lucid Technologies
BodiMojo
CellScope
Jiff
Medify
Simplee
VitalClip
Music-related technologies
Winner: To be announced Wednesday
45sound
Audio Vroom
ConcertCrowd
Onesheet
Ovelin
Rexly
Swarm.fm
VenLabs
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Interactive registration jumps again, to 24,569
The South by Southwest Interactive Festival, which for 2012 attracted big money and big names like Jay-Z, Leonardo DiCaprio and Al Gore, had another big year of growth, though its rate of attendance growth slowed a bit from the 30-40 percent range of recent years.
Tuesday evening, the festival said its official paid attendance count for 2012 was 24,569, up from 19,364 in 2011, a change of nearly 27 percent.
From 2010 to 2011, the fest grew from 14,251 to 19,364.
That number includes people who paid to attend Interactive as well as Gold and Platinum badgeholders who also had access to the festival.
The continued growth in attendance in the fest has been a concern given the shortage of hotel rooms downtown able to accommodate attendees and the requirements of putting on a downtown show with more than 1,000 panels and hundreds of parties and meet-ups.
Before the festival, director Hugh Forrest said that SXSW was expecting Interactive to grow, but not at the rate of previous years.
Update, 9:30 p.m. Tuesday: Forrest said on Tuesday that the registration number caught him by surprise and signaled more people showing up at the festival without pre-registering. “We ended up having a lot of walk-up,” Forrest said.
For 2012, the festival raised the walk-up registration rate by $200 to $950, but that didn’t seem to have much effect on curbing growth of the fest or discouraging late registration.
This year, the Interactive festival, which began Friday and concludes today, had to deal with rain and cold weather on Friday and Saturday, which forced many attendees indoors, leading to more crowded conditions and perhaps longer-than-usual badge lines when the fest began.
Forrest said the Friday and Saturday rain was primarily to blame for long badge lines and crowded indoor spaces. Badge creation, he said, was faster than last year, but there were simply many more people at Interactive than ever before trying to get their badges on Friday.
“It’s a really unfortunate way to start an event,” Forrest said. Things improved after the weather got better on Sunday, he said. “I think we have still scaled well,” Forrest said of the fest’s growth. “If that rain had stayed through Tuesday, I might not be saying the same.” End of update.
We’ll be doing more discussion of the festival with Forrest in another blog post and a wrap-up story for Sunday’s American-Statesman.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Austin, SXSW, SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Wall-E or Terminator: Predicting the Rise of AI
Time/Date: 9:30 a.m., Tuesday (hashtag: #aifuture)
Panelists: Chris Robson, Parametric Marketing; Daniel Wilson, author; William Hertling, Hewlett-Packard
The gist: Hertling believes we’ll see robots that are “alive” by the time his children graduate from college.
Will armies of mechanical men be a menace to the citizens of tomorrow? Wilson feels technology presents equal opportunites for good and evil.
“Technology amplifies the moral stakes, allowing evil men to do greater evil and good men to do greater good,” Wilson said. Regardless of how we predict the future relationship between humans and machines will go, there’s no stopping progress. People who build technology look for ways it could be misused, but it’s out of the question to cover every possible scenario.
Wilson suggested we may never see a human-against-robots fight because we’re likely to become more robotic ourselves. “The solution is not to run away to a bunker; the solution is to keep building technology… to continue to empower ourselves with this technology. We should all become robots.”
But should people feel the need to prepare a robo-apocalypse bunker, Robson recommended “stocking up on Scotch.”
Perhaps just as important to programming robots to not mistreat humans will be teaching humans to treat their metal counterparts with respect. This can be accomplished by giving robots human- or animal-like features, which has been proven in studies to affect the way people treat the machines they interact with.
For more discussion on robots and AI, the panelists will be hosting a meet up at Maiko Sushi, 311 W. Sixth Street, at 7 p.m. tonight.
Quotes: “We see faces in tortillas. The machine has to do very little work to make us feel like we’re interacting with a living creature and probably even less to make us feel turned on.” —Wilson on the possibility of “sexier” relations between man and machine
“I talk to my dog and my dog doesn’t pass the Turing test.” —Robson
Takeaways: Speculation about the future of robotic-human interaction varies, but a showdown between man and machine is likely more science fiction than science fact.
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SXSW Panel: Misuse the Internet and Make People Love You
Time/Date: 3:30 p.m., Tuesday (hashtag: #brony2012)
Panelists: Christopher Price, Tumblr; Cole Stryker, author; Jon Hendren, Something Awful; Katie Notopoulos, BuzzFeed; Nick Douglas, Slacktory
The gist: Websites like Something Awful and 4chan mainstreamed the idea that “we could use the Internet to mess with each other,” Stryker said. He calls it “collaborative trolling” — getting hundreds of people together to harass someone. “Sometimes it looks hilarious, sometimes it’s horrific and sometimes it’s both.”
Famous incidents include a complex rigging of a Time Magazine poll to getting Oprah to call out a 4chan inside joke on television, referring to the site as a “known pedophile network.”
While Internet hijinks might just seem like senseless fun, Stryker said, “It exposes a widespread gullibility and a lack of fact checking and a lack of understanding about the nature of the Internet.”
“The brilliance of it is noticing an opportunity” to misuse a resource, Douglas said. “Here’s a thing that no normal person would do, but it becomes brilliant.”
The panel covered a variety of misuses of the Internet, from doctoring images of shirtless men taking pictures of themselves in the mirror to harassing brands online.
“If you ever see someone Tweeting at an airline, you feel so bad. You feel so sorry for whoever have to respond to these angry Tweets,” Notopoulos said.
Internet “misusers” look for ways to use sites in ways they weren’t designed to be used, but some communities are accepting. Price, who goes by the name “Topherchris” online, works for Tumblr and feels the popular blogging site accepts and even encourages this.
Quotes: “What’s so charming about stuff like this is that it comes from such an obscure place. It’s just sort of a happy accident.” —Stryker on misusing the Internet
“It’s incredibly, wildly lame. IT feels like when your mom shows up at school and tries to be cool with you.” —Hendren on April Fools’ Day on the Internet
“We have a business model — April Fools.” —Douglas on Tumblr
“I would argue that there are a lot of things that Warhol did that probably don’t belong in a museum.” —Stryker on the line between “art funny” and “funny funny”
“Pinterest is what I’m most interested in learning to troll at this point.” —Notopoulos
Takeaways: The Internet creates a unique opportunity for participatory humor. It’s often absurd, but it occasionally borders on art.
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SXSW panel: Digital Debauchery with Anthony Bourdain
Ricardo B. Brazziell AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. Tuesday (hashtag: #Bourdain)
Panelists: Anthony Bourdain, host of Zero Point Zero Production Inc.’s “No Reservations”; Anthony De Rosa, social media editor at Reuters; Helen Cho, social media manager of Zero Point Zero Production Inc.; Tom Vitale, director/producer of Zero Point Zero Production Inc.; Zach Zamboni, director of photography of Zero Point Zero Production Inc.
The gist:
Anthony Bourdain and his Zero Point Zero Production staff create two of the most creative and ambitious food travel shows that have ever existed (“No Reservations” and “The Layover”), and they are using that same approach with social media.
It all started in December 2010, relatively late in social media years, when the team “hijacked the Facebook and twitter pages as a defensive measure,” Bourdain told a packed ballroom in the Austin Convention Center on Tuesday. Why? “We didn’t want them to suck.” Helen Cho, social media manager for Zero Point Zero, admits that they really didn’t have much experience when they started and they are still figuring it out as they go.
Everyone, from production assistants to the director of photography, uses Twitter and Facebook to give behind-the-scenes updates, but they have a strict policy against tweeting or Facebooking where they are going to be shooting. But everyone on the crew knows that once an episode airs, the place that is being featured will never be the same. ”We destroy what we love,” Bourdain said.
Quotes:
“If you run a TV network, you still focus on how many people watch the show at 10 pm on Monday,” he said. “But I don’t personally give a (expletive) how many people sit down at 10 p.m. on Monday and watch. I care about how many people watch it at the end of two years.”
“We are food pornographers ourselves,” Bourdain said. “It’s probably unhealthy and the chef side of me thinks it’s strange. I want to say ‘Relax, stop thinking about it and just enjoy the food,’ but on the othe hand, we very much benefit from that mentality. We try to film food beautifully from every angle imaginable. We’re always thinking, ‘How can we shoot barbecue in a way that has never been depicted before?’ “
“We’re like a band, and sometimes the bass player has an idea for a song. You’re always at risk of making the same show every time.”
On Austin food: “I don’t want to kiss your (expletive), but it’s not hard to find good food and a good time in Austin. Franklin Barbecue was un (expletive) believable.”
Takeaways:
What kind of content gets the most views? “Pain, humiliation, head injuries, that always works,” Bourdain says, but you can’t discount food porn. A photo of Bourdain with Christopher Walken might get 20,000 likes on Facebook, but a photo of a fish taco got 13,000. ”Food porn as commercial” or “food porn as this is what we’re eating right now” is a constant tension in covering food, Bourdain said.
Cho said they hope to start playing around with Google + and other new technologies to connect with viewers. They recently did an “ask me anything” video on Reddit, and one experiment they really enjoyed was opening a live stream on Facebook while shooting an episode in Boston so people could send in questions between takes. Tumblr is another great tool for what we’re doing, Cho said. “We post stuff that doesn’t necessarily relate to ‘No Reservations,” but it’s weird stuff fits into that brand.
Another hurdle they are always facing is how to tell the same story over and over again. “Essentially, the story is always the same. There’s a character — me — who goes somewhere, eats something and learns something. We try to make each episode a self-contained universe, a stand-alone film and give each episode a distinct feel” with the music, script and camera work.
“I like hot, messy, dysfunctional countries that can barely keep their (expletive) together,” Bourdain said, but through a fan campaign on Facebook, they found out about a massive following in Finland, so they shot an episode there.
Social media isn’t just for them to push their content. Instead of using travel guides to find under-the-radar places, they can just ask on social media to get recommendations.
“I don’t think that anyone in the history of television has had as much creative control over their show as we do,” Bourdain said. This extends to their social media presence, but occasionally, like in the case of the widely shared Krampus video, the network says they can’t air something on the show, but executives allow them to post it online. “They are to be congratulated,” Bourdain said.
The Internet has also allowed them to expand their network of “fixers,” or well-connected locals who help them out at each location but who aren’t affiliated with a certain business or PR company. “We reach out to bloggers a lot. We pay a lot of attention to bloggers and actively recruit them as fixers,” Bourdain said.
One of the highlights of doing the show was going to Colombia, where Bourdain got to see how far the country has come in terms of reducing violence. “I left Medellin and thought it was actually possible to change the world.”
So what’s in the future for them? Bourdain said that anyone who works in TV knows the peril that it is facing. Everyone is watching innovators like Louis CK, who successfully released his comedy video online without a distribution company and charged viewers $5 to download it. “The whole world is changing, the whole dynamic is changing,” he said. It’s like a dinosaur whose “body is dead and the brain is eventually going to get the message.”
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SXSW keynote: Jennifer Pahlka - Coding the Next Chapter of American History
Time/Date: 2 p.m. Tuesday (hashtag: #JPahlka)
Panelists: Jennifer Pahlka, executive director of Code for America.
The gist: Jennifer Pahlka, who spoke to the American-Statesman recently about her organization Code for America, gave an inspiring presentation to a packed Ballroom D at the Convention Center as the South by Southwest Interactive began to wind down on its final day.
Pahlka, who has a background in tech conference organization, talked about the need to get more involved with government and to help create change, but not necessarily through traditional means or by driving voting efforts. Instead, she hopes to create an army (or “Brigade”) of programmers or just citizens who want to help to create apps and other tools using city data. At the festival, Code for America is launching a program to get more people involved than its current roster of Fellows. A launch party for Code for America Brigade takes place 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Austin City Hall.
Pahlka spoke about how the organization got started, some of its challenges (teaching techies to tie a tie, for instance) and why it could work: as a nation, we spend $140 billion a year on government technology, many times more than what Apple pays out to developers of apps per year (about $2 billion). And much of the technology in government is simply clunky and ineffective.
So why aren’t techies flocking to government technology instead of making iPhone apps if that’s where the money is? Because techies typically “Would rather have their teeth pulled,” she said. She stressed the importance of getting involved and getting organized; Code for America has already created useful tools that its sharing; nobody has to start from scratch. By the end of the talk, the audience gave her a thunderous round of applause (though, curiously, not a standing ovation as has been the case in other presentations.)
Quotes (all from Pahlka): “Most of you woud rather have your teeth pulled than work with government.”
“Technology is making it possible for us to fundamentally reframe the functions of government.”
“The reason people haven’t upgraded this (government) technology is because there probably isn’t a better alternative.”
“How are we supposed to have faith in our local government if our leaders can’t fix these problems in two years?” — on the slow pace and high costs in government.
“It’s your job to show up and to rise the occasion and show what can be done.”
“Government is what we do together.”
Takeaways: Getting involved, showing up and putting your talents into civil service can create profound change at the local level. Creating a lean startup that works with or within a big bureaucracy can be daunting, but also extremely rewarding and profitable. Pahlka believes the key is doing it with help from others and sharing knowledge and tools across the country.
Photo via Code for America and SXSW Inc.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, SXSW, SXSW 2012
SXSW panel: Spotify and The Future of Music Consumption
Time/Date: 11 a.m., Tuesday (hashtag: #FutureMus)
Panelists: Ken Parks, chief content officer, David Draiman lead singer, Disturbed, Bill Werde, editorial director, Billboard.
The gist: The panel unfolded as part discussion/critique of the state of the music industry and part love letter to Spotify. Launched in the U.S. less than a year ago and saddled to the largest social network in the world, Facebook, Spotify has established itself as the clear winner in the battle of the streaming music services. WIth it’s subscription service Spotify is capturing a new group of users who were not buying music but now are willing to spend $10 a month for access to its massive catalog. It is changing the way that people listen to music, encouraging listeners to get deeper into albums. The Facebook sharing aspect is huge. People who share music on Facebook are more engaged listeners, logging more hours, creating more playlists.
Quotes: “Spotify began as a way to ween people off of piracy.” Parks
“Overall we have seen a lower frequency of truly great records (in the last decade). The artists are so driven to produce and meet deadlines. The assembly line mentality, the urge to get as much music out a quickly as possible, to monetize it has led to a decline in quality.” —Draiman
“You are going to see the death of the album in the next ten years. I hope that doesn’t happen. I personally would miss it terribly.” —Draiman
“It’s a very good thing to get the average Joe or Jane , who wasn’t paying anything for music, to pay $120 a year.” —Parks
“What were trying to do is vindicate the value of music. We think it’s a scandal that the music industry has shrunk to the level it has.” —Parks
Takeaways: The push back against Spotify from artists and labels is starting to dissipate. The idea or comparing the rate of pay from downloads to the rate for streams (rights holders generally receive about 50 times more money for a download) is growing antiquated. As one label rep in the audience remarked, the goal becomes not to get one listener to play a track 50 times but 50 listeners to play it once. Artists receive revenue even from songs streamed on Spotify’s free service. 65-70% of revenues from Spotify subscriptions go back to rights holders. If the label is the rights holder, presumably they take a sizable cut. Like many other modern tools, access to play on Spotify could cause artists to seriously question the traditional value of label management.
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Scene report: Monday was SXSW Interactive's craziest night
Jay-Z performs at an American Express-sponsored show at ACL Live Monday night. Photo by Jack Plunkett / Associated Press
The rock-star geeks and companies spending money in large quantities to target them with products, services and that magic element of buzz partied hard together Monday night for one of the wildest nights ever (in terms of scale) at South by Southwest Interactive.
After a rollicking presentation by Al Gore and Sean Parker in one of the main expo halls at 5 p.m., the night belonged to American Express and Jay-Z. A large crowd gathered outside ACL Live in hopes of scoring a last-minute ticket, or at least to watch the live stream, of a 7:30 p.m. concert (review by Peter Mongillo) where HOVA played his greatest hits for an adoring crowd of fans who hung on his every word and gesture.
AMEX, which at the festival launched a Twitter-based discount service called Sync — it applies discounts to a personal American Express account if customers Tweet a hashtag and buy products from certain companies — said they were putting on the biggest show at the biggest geek gathering with the biggest star they could find. Indeed.
The Jay-Z show was perhaps a defining moment in the history of the fest, a performance by one of the world’s biggest music stars in the service of a relatively nebulous product aimed directly at early adopters and Twitter addicts. The amount of money that must have been spend to put on the show is an indicator of how much companies are willing to spend to get tech geeks to give their products a chance.
At the gdgt party at Austin Music Hall. Photo by Omar L. Gallaga / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
The night looked a lot different at a party put on by gdgt, a gadget blog, at the Austin Music Hall. By the time I arrived a half hour before the 10 p.m. end, the crowd wasn’t too big, but a trade show format allowed companies like T-Mobile, Dish, Roku TiVo, Texas Instruments and others to show off their set-top boxes, projectors and other products directly to attendees. If partygoers weren’t blown away by yet more ways to watch video on devices you hook up to the TV at least they were able to enjoy free alcohol.
Perhaps the most bizarre, energetic and surprising show last night was a small VIP party put on by Nike across the street from its gigantic city-block-sized pavilion at 4th and Colorado, which includes wall-sized screens facing 4th Street. The inside of the Spaghetti Warehouse building was transformed into an oval-shaped concert hall with lights flashing along the entire expanse of the wall in the design of Nike’s new FuelBand wristband, which was released last month and is part of its big push to make Nike+ a standard for fitness electronics gear.
Matthew Kneller, communications manager for Nike at the FuelBand Station where people can buy Nike digital wristbands. Photo by Omar L. Gallaga / AMERICAN-STATESMAN.
During the day, this building is being used to sell the FuelBands to attendees for $150, including a private demo from a Nike employee who’ll set up the device on the spot and sync it to a phone. The FuelBand measures movement and awards Nike “Fuel,” or points. A Nike representative said it’s part of several new products that will all tie together. (We’ll be writing more about the FuelBand and Nike’s presence at the festival in a separate post soon.)
A member of Major Lazer sporting the unofficial motto of the festival. Photo by Omar L. Gallaga / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
At night, Nike kicked off a week of festival shows with a double bill of Sleigh Bells and Major Lazor, both high energy, sweat-inducing acts who made the packed room dance for hours, spill drinks all over each other and, in one for the books, made audience members take off their shirts and writhe as one gigantic, sweaty, stinky mass at 2:30 a.m. If it sounds nightmarish, let me assure you that it was actually one of the most awesome things I’ve ever seen and I am a very old man who can’t stand youthful exuberance.
Through most of Interactive, at least since the weather cleared up on Sunday, the streets have been packed with badgeholders, the food trucks (especially the sponsored ones giving out free food) appear to be doing brisk business and it was one of those crazy, electric nights in Austin where even the skyscrapers seem to be showing off their best colors to impress all the curious out-of-towners.
Photo by Omar L Gallaga / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
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SXSw panel - Turntable fm: The Future of Music is Social
Time/Date: 12:30 p.m., Monday
Panelists: Seth Goldstein, chairman, Turntable.fm; Billy Chasen CEO/Founder Turntable.fm; Jesse Kirschbaum Founder Soundctrl
The gist: The panel broke some news —Turntable.fm has just reached licensing agreements with all four major record labels — and cleared up a lingering question — “are those avatars bears or mice?” — they’re bears. It also explored the history and lightning- fast rise of the music service, which allows music lovers to enter elevated chat rooms and take turns at the DJ table.
The service, which allows listeners to “awesome” or “lame” songs, has a most-played list that is far from mainstream. The most popular song is a Bassnectar remix of Ellie Goulding’s “Lights.” The hip appeal has attracted established artists to the site. Wale and Lady Antebellum, for example, have hosted turntable events. Now that the site has reached agreements with the labels, those sorts of events will probably become more common.
Quotes: “Ten-year-olds are listening to dub step. They want to be DJs in Ibiza. They don’t want to be rock stars. We think the next Skrillex could come from turntable.fm” — Goldstein
“My parents used to have listening parties where they sat around and listened to records. When we all go to a concert it’s a shared experience Somewhere that broke down and turned into ‘I’m just going put on headphones to listen to music on my iPod,’” —Chasen
Takeaways: The interview explored the challenges turntable.fm faced navigating the industry, and offered advice for other startups trying to get footing in the market. Five years ago the music industry was very hostile to startups; now industry execs would like to be viewed as a friend to innovation. But, said Goldstein, engineers shouldn’t assume they have any leverage with labels “The labels have tons of lawyers and they’re really good,” he warned. “They force you to hire lawyers who are really good.”
The really interesting part of the discussion came when the founders, Chasen, in particular, opened up about their passion for social music and some of their visions for the company’s growth. The DJ rooms in turntable.fm, which are capped at 200 users per session, function as mini-parties, collaborative experiences where users in the room can chat with each other as well as register their opinions on the DJs selections. “Every time I’m on turntable I I find two or three new artists that I fall in love with,” Chasen said. Now that the company has reached agreements with labels they are one step closer to a broader vision of international growth. Both of the site founders beamed as they described a vision of rooms on turntable.fm where users in Austin or New York connect with users from Japan discovering music they might never have heard otherwise.
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SXSW panel - Music Discovery: Man vs. Machine
Time/Date: 9:30 am, Monday (hashtag: #sxswmusicdisc)
Panelists:Anil Dewan (KCRW), Heather Browne(Fuel/Friends Music Blog), Philipp Eibach (wahwah.fm), Richard Slatter (We Are Hunted), Scott Perry (Sperry Media)
The gist: What is the future for the DJ in an era where there is a massive catalog of music available to anyone at any time? Is there an advantage to having a human voice to provide music recommendations over data feeds or an algorithm-based music service that delivers playlists based on user-selected artists or song qualities. From the social media director of L.A.’s famed eclectic public music station KCRW to to the director of We Are Hunted a site that aggregates blog chatter and social media hype to produce online ratings, the panelists offered a variety of perspectives on music discovery.
Quotes: “When DJs really mattered was when you couldn’t find music anywhere. The only way you could find out about artists like the Smiths was to listen to the BBC’ss John Peel sessions. Now there are so many ways to find music.” Richard Slatter
“Music doesn’t naturally hit on all the logical parts of our brain. ” —Heather Browne
“Machines don’t cry.” —Heather Browne
Takeaways: The bottom line is we all use different methods to discover and experience music. In some instances you may want to zone out and stream background music for a few hours, and an algorithm-based service like Pandora might provide exactly what you need. In other situations the expert voice of a DJ on the air or in a podcast might expose you to new artists to explore. KCRW has been a leader in exploring different ways to let listeners experience the station’s music. Beyond terrestrial and online streams, the station also offers an Eclectic 24 online station which might sound like an automatic playlist but is actually a 24 hour stream hand programmed by the 20-odd DJs who staff the station. An ambitious venture that has programmers at the station scrambling in the background, Dewan referred to it as a reflection of the DJ’s “passion for the music.” The station also offers a Music Mine iPad app that allows users to dig through a catalog of thousands of songs played on the station and discover music at their own pace.
The word serendipity came up several times throughout the panel. Machines can program a playlist based on your favorite artist but aren’t likely to throw in an off-the-wall curveball that you never would listen to, but might love. They also can’t craft a playlist based on the local weather or some sort of event of local or national significance. They can’t do that yet, anyway.
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SXSW Panel: Advise THIS! Matchmaking Startups & High Profile Advisors
Time/Date: 11 p.m., Tuesday (hashtag: #Advisors)
Panelists: Gary Vaynerchuk, VaynerMedia; JR Johnson, Trippy; Tim Ferriss, Four Hour Work Week; Tony Conrad, About.Me and True Ventures; Chase Jarvis, Chase Jarvis Inc.
The gist: An all-star panel of entrepreneurs and innovators discussed the role of advisors in a startup — picking the right people, how to approach them and what to expect.
The best strategy for approaching advisors varies from person to person.
“Many who are lucky enough to even be asked to be advisors are (expletive) about… being approached,” Vaynerchuk said. “I’ll take an approach any way you want to bring it. I’m flattered. I think that people take themselves too serious. I would recommend being as squeaky as a (expletive) wheel as you can possibly be. You’ve got to try.”
“I’m a little different that Gary. Nobody pounce on me, please,” Conrad said. Sometimes finding the right moment to have a conversation is best.
“The pitch has to be tight,” Ferriss said. Coming to the conversation with stats ready to go is crucial since you’ll likely only get one chance to make the pitch. But even better than tracking down an advisor is letting them find you. “A very effective way to get to advisors who aren’t already known as advisors is to have your product come to be known to them before you reach out to them,” he said.
An idea is not enough. Your pitch should show what you’ve accomplished. Your pitch also doesn’t have to be a hard sell, Ferriss said. “Here’s me card. We’ve grown 40 percent a month. Check it out and if you’re interested, give me a call.”
“A secret way to get advisors is to have a really (expletive) great product,” Vaynerchuk said. “The big problem now is everyone thinks they’re an entrepreneur… so all of a sudden, everyone saw a movie and they want to wear sandals and a hoodie. I’ve seen some really bad, (expletive) suck entrepreneur peeps in the game.”
While “rockstar advisors” can bring attention to your product, you shouldn’t necessarily look for the biggest name. Rather, focus on the right fit because with a celebrity advisor you’re never sure where your startup is going to be on their list.
Social media allows for massive reach, getting your name out in front of people and potentially advisors. “Don’t undervalue the Tweet,” Conrad said. About.me hit one million users in 232 days thanks to social media.
Once you have an advisor’s attention, don’t get too specific into what they will do as you may keep them from helping you to the fullest of their ability, Ferriss said. “The simpler you can make it, the less that you outline in terms of expectations for [advisors], I think it’s a lot easier to get those deals done.”
Quotes: “None of this matters if your business, your product or you suck.” —Vaynerchuk
“The more you get that echo chamber talking… the more it really broadcasts itself out to the edge… Three people were responsible for 80 percent of [About.me’s] early audience.” —Conrad
“The vast majority of startups don’t have advisors.” —Ferriss
“If you want it, you’ve got to try everything. I mean, don’t get into scaring people.. but you won’t scare me. If you were standing outside of my apartment in New York City with a cup of coffee saying you wanted to approach me, I would say, ‘This guy is a (expletive) badass.’” —Vaynerchuk
“The best companies… are surgically precise. They have very specific asks and they know exactly where people fit in that puzzle.” —Ferriss
Takeaways: Advisors have different preferences as to how they like to be approached, but always be prepared to deliver a detailed, results-oriented pitch.
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SXSW Conversation: Q & A with Pinterest co-founder Ben Silbermann
1:30 p.m. Tuesday: 11 a.m., Tuesday (#pinterest)
Panelists:Ben Silbermann, co-founder of Pinterest and Christopher Dixon, CEO at Hunch.
The gist: Silbermann was always a collector of things. As a child he collected stamps and insects. After much thought and research, the former Google employee left the Internet giant to start Pinterest, a social networking site that allows users to “pin” their favorite photos to digital boards.
While the site has been around since late 2009, Silbermann discussed how building it took a lot of time, designers and faith. He said building the online pinning boards was something he believed could help people figure out what they want in life.
He was candid in his Q & A, often saying how excited he was that people were using his site.
Quotes: “I feel like the Internet is still so abstract. I hope that these pins can be these visual beautiful objects, and tell the context in what you enjoy those in.” - Silbermann
“I want Pinterest to be a human service. Web sites sometimes distracts you from real life, you go there to escape, but I want people to use Pinterest to help people figure out what it is they want.” - Silbermann
“Is Pinterest just about the cupcakes?” - Dixon
“Pinterest has sort of this timelessness and I think boards never get old. To me boards are a very human way of looking at the world.” - Silbermann
“These were behaviors that already existed, like ripping out photos in magazines, it just hadn’t been done yet.” - Dixon
“It’s a really weird and humbling feeling that all these people are using this thing you helped make.” - Silbermann
Takeaways:Pinterest is still growing, and Silbermann said he is always looking for way to make it better, but is not focused on the monetization of the site.
Silbermann hopes to have the profile page revamped this week and in the future, he hopes to open up Pinterest to designers for an application programming interface.
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SXSW Panel: Can Social Music Save the Music Industry?
Time/Date: 12:30 p.m., Tuesday (hashtag: #savemusic )
Panelists: Seth Hubbard, Polyvinyl Record Co.; J Sider, BandPage; Jason Herskowitz, Official.FM, Michelle You, Songkick.com; Mike McGuire, Gartner
The gist: Social media is one of several tools at a musician’s disposal. It’s not the only solution for the bruised industry, but it’s necessary for performers to connect with fans. “Several years ago, if you would have said MySpace would be displaced… no one would have believed you,” Herskowitz said. “You need to be using tools that allow you to be wherever your fans are.”
The good news for artists is it’s now easier than ever to share their content. “Music is super accessible,” You said. “It means an artist can grow an audience and tour a lot earlier in their career.” Services like Spotify also grant access to a listener’s taste, which can be helpful in reaching the right fans.
Hubbard said it’s all about staying flexible. “The way we release a record now might be completely different six months from now. We’ve just got to be ready for that,” he said.
Musicians don’t need to learn to be coders or computer experts, but there are things that they should know, Sider said. “If you have 500 fans, it doesn’t mean [a Facebook post] gets sent to 500 people. The number it sends out to is based on how interactive people are with your posts.” Getting fans to comment quickly on YouTube or Facebook by engaging with them — for example, offering to be online to take questions for the first 30 minutes after something is posted — will drive it up in the algorithms, exposing it to more people.
“The more tools come out, the more overwhelming it gets to be to do it all by yourself.” Herskowitz said. Bands need a team to help, such as friends who are into social media or design.
One of the next big things we’ll see from social listening is advertising, Herskowitz said. “Facebook is collection your listening data not out of the goodness of their heart.”
The panel put their heads together on a few things every musician needs to succeed in the social world: embeddable players, email, Google Analytics, targeted online advertising and a music registering service like TuneCore.
Quotes: “Being able to reach direct to fans has become our lifeblood. It’s a remarkable thing to think about the amount of work that went into selling records five or ten years ago.” —Hubbard
“The circles in the Venn diagram between my friends and the music influencers are growing farther apart every day… The people whose taste I really value? I’m not their friends. You need to look beyond your existing social network.” —Herskowitz on getting your music in front of tastemakers
Takeaways: Social is not a silver bullet, but there are tools out there today that are linking fans to music in new ways and creating new opportunities to sell records and merchandise.
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SXSW Panel: Surviving Lulz: Behind the Scenes of LulzSec
Time/Date: 12:30 p.m., Tuesday (hashtag: #behindlulz)
Panelists: Matthew Prince, CloudFlare
The gist: On Thursday, June 2, 2011, LulzSecurity.com registered for CloudFlare — a website security service. That day, LulzSec published 3.5 million usernames and passwords allegedly stolen from Sony Pictures’ website. The hacking group claimed responsibility for a series of attacks over the next several weeks, including knocking the CIA’s website offline. Meanwhile, other hackers and government groups launched counterattacks on LulzSec. CloudFlare watched the various battles unfold online.
The day after LulSec published the Sony data, CloudFlare began to receive calls from other clients demanding that the young security company drop LulzSec as a client, but no policy was in place. On June 3, CloudFlare discovered that four laptops were missing from its office. “All of a sudden I’m in Jason Bourne mode,” Prince said, changing passwords and conducting audits to discover what was on the missing machines, which turned out to be none. “I’m not trusted with any code any more in our organization,” Prince said.
Feeling like CloudFlare itself was now under attack, Prince was in his office ready to phone the FBI when he noticed an empty can of Spam on the floor. he had delivered a speech a year earlier at a conference at which one price was a can of Spam. “I felt like this was either the most clever international espionage ever or random homeless people who’d broken in,” Prince said. “We found out 2 months later it was homeless people who had broken in, stolen the laptops and left the Spam.”
Takeaways: Prince said the experience protecting LulzSec gave CloudFlare “Pen testing that you couldn’t buy. We hardened our network and our network got smarter because of this.”
The whole experience caused Prince and his coworkers to reflect on what CloudFlare stands for as a company. “We’re trying to build a better Internet,” he said. “We stand for the internet as a place to publish information and decided that it’s not our role to censor that information.” Prince called that a “slippery slope.”
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SXSW panel: Is Aggregation Theft?
Time/Date: 11 a.m. Tuesday (hashtag: #curate)
Panelists: Bill Falk, editor in chief of The Week; Felix Salmon, finance blogger for Reuters; Julia Turner, deputy editor for Slate; Simon Dumenco, editor at large at Ad Age
The gist: People are very busy. Aggregation is useful because someone is  reading everything for you and telling you which pieces are starting conversations today, but the problem is that we live in a web traffic-based economy and we want to value ideas and content creators.
If you aren’t the one writing that great originating piece, the best you can do is give someone a tour of the ideas that that piece inspired. You have to try to create something unique while still crediting the original sources.
The legal precedent for aggregation, at least in the early days, was a case with The Nation and the publisher of Gerald Ford’s autobiography, Falk explained. The Nation published a section of Ford’s book about why he pardoned Nixon. The publisher said that The Nation had given away the most valuable portion of the book, and if you give this away, the book no longer has value to be purchased. The publisher actually won that case. “At that time, the standard was if your aggregation made it unnecessary to purchase the original work, you had created theft.”
Quotes:
Dumenco: “Drudge has been doing it right forever. When advertising age gets linked to by drudge, it’s a positive thing (because it drives a lot of traffic), but it’s also terrifying because you have all these deranged commenters.”
Dumenco: “Aggregate as you want to be aggregated yourself.”
“If you’re young and inexperienced, the easiest and quickest way to write an article is to base it off someone else’s,” Salmon said. “You want to show your bosses that you are writing great articles,” so you might not link or source properly.
Takeaways:
Blogging has become professionalized. In the beginnging, you were very generous about linking to others, sharing others’ work, etc, but now you’re trying to do a job and a big part of that job is to drive traffic.
Salmon talked about his site, Counterparties, which gives headlines and links to original sources without trying to rewrite the content and keep the viewers on their site. “We’re acknowledging the expertise of a competitor,” Salmon says. “It benefits readers to send them to the best content…Our job is to send you to great content, not to our website. ”Â
Aggregators have challenged original content creators to step up their game. You learn from them about how to repackage stories, how to write better headlines, etc.
You can’t count on aggregators to send traffic to your site, Turner says. Social media or traditional aggregators are only part of the equation. Search and building an original audience are just as important.  The Daily Mail was cited as a site that does it wrong because they, like many UK newspapers, hate to acknowledge that someone else got it first. With its rewrites, the Huffington Post also is less than authentic in giving credit where credit is due.Â
Twitter and Facebook have diminished the use of traditional aggregation sites, and in many ways, they are the gold standard of aggregation, but people are also sending out links to aggregators and not the original source without knowing it.
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SXSW Panel: How the Wallet Was Won: The End of Paper Receipts
Time/Date: 11 a.m., Tuesday (hashtag: #wallet2)
Panelists: Colleen Taylor, TechCrunch; David Barrett, Expensify; Jae Kim, Chi’Lantro BBQ; Scott Brady, Slice.
The gist: The panelists discussed the transition to a paperless economy and the remaining eventual discontinuation of paper receipts. Privacy concerns and the expectation of paper receipts are a couple of remaining issues slowing universal adoption.
Quotes: “Apple is giving consumers electronic receipts; they can identify the consumer at checkout. Apple was a leader in this — now people are expecting an electronic receipt and don’t want that piece of paper.” — Brady; “Two-and-a-half years ago, the (Square credit card reading) device was not available. Seeing people use it and sign with their finger was a cool thing, but we couldn’t get it.” — Kim; “Consumers had problems in the beginning with, ‘Hey — I don’t trust this. Where is my paper receipt?’ I think it makes people comfortable when they receive a paper receipt.” — Kim; “The reality is that folks like Facebook and Google have pushed the (privacy) envelope so severley that what we do is much less intrusive than what the larger companies do with data.” — Brady; “We thought when we asked for bank account numbers and passwords, people would freak out. But no one cared.” — Barrett; “Our truck is open late ate night. A lot of (our customers) are drunk. They wake up the next day and check their statements and they’re like, ‘Who the heck is Chi’Lantro BBQ?’” — Kim; “Charging (customers) alleviated their concerns around privacy.” — Barrett; “People think, ‘if I can analyze my data, somebody else can really analyze my data.’” — Barrett; “People talk about Foursquare and check-in apps, but a credit card is the ultimate check in.” — Barrett; “I think credit cards are absolutley amazing. If somebody said, “I’ve invented this piece of plastic, it can be used everywhere all over the world and can even scrape the ice off your windshield,’ we would be amazed. Now we’re like ‘credit cards, pfft. Whatever.’ I don’t think anyone is ever going to beat it.”
Takeaways: Customers are becoming used to electronic payments and receipts for brick and mortar transactions because of convenience and the comfort that has come with electronic online transactions. But customers might be concerned about privacy issues when they don’t know what information about them is being extracted. Charging for the service and/or making it opt-in with disclosure can alleviate those concerns. The availability of paperless credit-card readers is a boon to very small businesses.
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SXSW Fireside Chat with Bob Metcalfe
10:30 a.m. Monday: 9:30 a.m. Tuesday p.m. ( #Metcalfe)
Panelists: Bob Metcalfe, co-inventor of the Ethernet sat down with Kirk Ladendorf, an Austin American-Statesman business reporter.
The gist:Metcalfe discussed mainly what he is doing at the University of Texas at Austin as their Director of Innovation at the Cockrell School of Engineering. It’s a one week start-up course and mentors undergraduate entrepreneurs in an incubator, where their ideas are explored and applied to a business model.
Ladendorf asked Metcalfe about Austin’s next big thing, whether or not the city could compete with San Francisco or Boston (other cities known for tech startups), and where he thinks the “rock star” tech companies here (Dell, Apple and Trilogy) could grow.
Quotes: “We’re in the middle of a bubble in which all of our web sites are being developed by college drop outs.” - Metcalfe
“My goal is to help Austin be a better Silicon Valley, and I am saying this at SXSW where people would argue with that so you know I mean it.” - Metcalfe
“There is a bunch of energy start ups because energy is “out” now, which is wrong because we haven’t solved it yet.” - Metcalfe
“To these people that are afraid by become Silicon Valley and less weird, I say ‘Austin you don’t want to enter a weird contest with San Francisco’.” - Metcalfe
Takeaways: Metcalfe is dead set on helping Austin grow to be the next Silicon Valley, although he said repeatedly he wouldn’t invest any money in new companies. His idea is that by helping students early on in their academic careers, better businesses could be built in Austin.
Austin mayor Lee Leffingwell gave a short introduction to the chat, giving a brief history of SXSW and (jokingly) asking attendees to spend money.
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Video from SXSW Golden Age of TV panel
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March 12, 2012
SXSW Panel: The Future of Innovation and Consumer Electronics
Time/Date: 5 p.m., Monday (hashtag: #SXFutureInno)
Panelists: Richard Watson, Essential; Gary Shapiro, Consumer Electronics Association; Kevin O’Malley, TechTalk/Studio
The gist: Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, a trade association that represents more than 2,000 consumer companies and produces CES, and Richard Watson, a designer and co-founder of consulting firm Essential, gave an overview in what’s next in consumer electronics.
We’re beginning to see a switch from big blockbuster devices like giant televisions to a focus on content and interconnectivity — what goes on behind the screen. But that’s not to say the TV is going away. Shapiro said 4K resolution televisions, which deliver quadruple the resolution of existing HD TVs, create an image of “such high quality you don’t need 3D glasses to get a three-dimensional experience.”
In what could either be seen as exciting or eerily “Farenheit 451”-like, Shapiro also sees the TV being more heavily integrated into our homes. “I think the vision of the future is you have six surfaces — four walls, floor and ceiling — and there’s no reason they can’t be displays.”
Shapiro also expects an even greater rise in portability. “Your content is going to go with you wherever you are. The model of thinking about viewing your content in just one place is already starting to change.”
And what would the future be without robots?
“It started with industrial robots which do some of the more receptive tasks and take some of the human misery out of factory work,” Shapiro said. Robotics are already being used for certain defense jobs and hazardous materials, but we will soon see them in companion care, health care and education. “We’ve seen a natural uptake in acceptance in consumer acceptance of robots in people’s lives.”
Other electronics to expect in the world of tomorrow: sensing devices, electronics that learn from you, heads-up-display glasses, self-driving automobiles, driver safety monitoring systems, in-car Wi-Fi, 3D printing and higher audio standards.
Quotes: “Robots are cool.” —O’Malley
“Other than convenience, I don’t think we’ve seen anything superior to the PC from handhelds and mobile devices. I think there’s still a huge reason to have a PC.” —Shaprio on the “death of the PC”
Takeaways: Content is king in the world of consumer electronics. Over the next couple years, the focus will be on getting all of one’s content accessible on every screen, phone, monitor or other device imaginable. Automotive technology will continue to ramp up as the computer and car merge, and we will begin seeing health care apps allowing for personal or remote medical monitoring.
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SXSW Dual Conversation: The End of Business As Usual
Time/Date: 3:30 p.m., Monday (hashtag: #EndOfUsual)
Panelists: Billy Corgan, The Smashing Pumpkins; Brian Solis, Altimeter Group
The gist: “Digital Darwinism is what happens when our behavior changes faster than a business’ ability to adapt to it,” Altimeter Group’s Brian Solis said. “It’s not done. It’s only going to become faster. Some of the brands we have had since kids or since our parents were kids are either going away or at risk of going away, and it’s because of you and me and how we see the world.”
Solis invited Smashing Pumpkins front man Billy Corgan to the stage to discuss how the music industry has failed to keep up with consumers.
“The key moment in this narrative is Napster,” Corgan said. “Two guys start this thing and the record business tells them to go to hell. That is the watershed moment. They didn’t realize that these two kids represented everything that was coming. [The music industry] made it about business, and they lost the trust of the audience.”
Corgan said the industry and the relationship between artist and fan is such that there’s little room for artistic integrity.
“I’m not stupid. I know what the common Smashing Pumpkin fan wants from me, and I could do that… but it kills the artistic vision,” he said. “You’re now either a robot or some jerk in a basement.”
The dramatic drop in the perceived value of music necessitates artists thinking differently in order to get by.
“Most of us no longer believe that music is worth $10. Great bands are putting albums out for $7.99, and they can’t’ sell them. So they spend a year [producing the album] and then [they] sell 20,000 copies. Why bother?” he said. “You can no longer think of the thing that you make as your main source of income. I can no longer think of songs… as my main source of income. I have to be bigger than that, but I have to be centered in that.”
But doing more than just making music is a hard pill for many fans to swallow. Corgan said the current environment of music blogger and listener “snark” has led to double standards. For example, while the American public would have no problem with a “pop star” like Lady Gaga selling products baring her namesake, they would not be so welcoming to “alternative” artists like Corgan doing the same. “If I have to sell cologne to make my music vital, then that’s what I have to do… Not that anyone would buy it.”
With a lack of an MTV or a go-to channel for music videos anymore, artists must now turn to YouTube. But even if artists get views, it doesn’t necessarily translate into sales like it once did, Corgan said. “OK Go has like, what, 40 million views? Have they sold 40 million records?”
The way the music business works today doesn’t lend itself to the creation of life-changing, classic records, Corgan said.
“Ask a 20 year old what the five great albums of their generation are, and they’ll say, ‘Well.. ugh,’” he said. “Look at what’s considered alternative rock today and tell me that’s a progression from 10 or 15 years ago today. Tell me if anyone believes it. You don’t see anyone going, ‘(expletive) you, Corgan,’ because it’s right.”
Social media amplifies a previously nonexistent (or at least unheard) antagonism from listeners toward performers, Corgan said. “I don’t talk much at my concerts anymore because I don’t want 10,000 people Tweeting, ‘He’s an (expletive).’ I don’t want a two-hour concert be reduced to one stupid thing I said.”
Though Corgan didn’t have a one-size-fits-all answer for the music industry’s woes, he said that fans must be willing to support the music that matters to them. “We have to be responsible for the culture we’re creating. The audience has to be willing to engage in that business model and stop being the victim as if the commercial exchange is a bad thing… because if you’re not supporting the commercial exchange you’re supporting all those artists who are annoying.”
Quotes: “We’ve created these two worlds in music, and they’re miles apart, and you’re not going to have those crossover moments anymore. People are going to rocket up and go back down the elevator just as fast.” —Corgan
“There was an apex point in like 1998 or whenever when it started to die. When Puffy could do that million dollar video. What is replacing it? That was a great model. He made a really cool video and he got rewarded. Why isn’t there an online version of MTV? Everyone says, ‘Well, the market is too fractured.’ That’s (expletive). They’ll watch a cat play a piano if it’s interesting.” —Corgan
“The only thing that endures is quality. The greatest artists endure because of quality.” —Corgan
“I was a part of the generation that did change the world, and it was just taken over by a bunch of posers. That’s normal. That’s always how it’s been after a revolution, but it’s just been locked in this time.” —Corgan
“I don’t care if you (expletive) listen. If I cared I would never have made any of that music.” —Corgan
“You’re voting for the enemy. You’re worse than the guy who buys the mainstream record.” —Corgan on fans who won’t support artists on social media
“Where is this great band? Why aren’t there five, seven megalithic rock bands putting mine to shame. They don’t exist because they can’t exist.” —Corgan
Takeaways: Artists must continue to evolve to keep up with changing technology because following the music industry model is no longer sustainable.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Conversation: Al Gore and Sean Parker
6: 37 p.m. Monday: 5 p.m., Monday
Rodolfo Gonzalez AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Panelists: Former Vice-President Al Gore interviews Napster, Plaxo and Facebook co-founder Sean Parker.
The gist:SXSW festival director Hugh Forrest opened the presentation with an introduction referring to the growth and success of the fest since its humble early days. He said, in reference to Interactive’s place next to Film and Music, “The geeks no longer take a back seat to these traditional content industries…Geeks are the new rock stars of the pop culture landscape.”
Gore began the conversation with strong words that set the stage for the hour-long discussion, “Our democracy has been hacked. It no longer works to best serve the people of this country.”
The former vice-president called upon the hackers, designers, inventors, to create a digital town square where people can talk about the government and hold politicians responsible. Gore called it “Occupy Democracy,” at which point the nearly-filled room (which seats more than 2,000) erupted in applause.
Gore got fired up several times in the presentation, his energy level much higher than the subdued, following Parker. He got the crowd going by blasting the Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission decision, which lifted restrictions in political campaign contributions from unions and corporations and expressed his believe that the power of social media could have helped avert the lead-up to war in Iraq.
Quotes: “When this country was founded reason and fact and logic played a bigger role.”- Gore
“Who actively participated in the SOPA/PIPA protest online? Good, but it is still a threat. It’s really important to protect this medium and protect it’s fantastic potential.” - Gore
“When this country was founded reason and fact and logic played a bigger role.” - Gore
“Internet creates a public space for conversation and like printing press it has low entry barriers, so there is a lot of information made available to a lot of people.” - Gore
“Arm chair activists simply clicking or liking something on Facebook is not nearly as big as showing up to a protest, or to opening up your wallet and donating to a cause.” Parker
“We’ve been exceptionally apathetic for one of the most grossing industries in the world. Our political apathy is somewhat pathetic and it was SOPA/PIPA that awakened this sleeping giant.” - Parker
“The Internet is incredibly good at taking money from old, slow moving industries.” - Parker
“The way you overcome apathy is by allowing people to become part of the process.” - Parker
Takeaways: Though presentation-wise the two seemed like an odd couple (Gore wore relaxed jeans and a comfy-looking pullover; Parker was in a full suit, tie and glasses), Parker was clearly supportive of Gore (at one point expressing that he thinks Gore won that 2000 presidential election) and Gore seemed admiring of Parker’s work with Causes.
Gore and Parker agreed that the Internet is the newest and perhaps the most powerful form of information and news mediums. While they encouraged the audience to come up with some sort of digital place to hold politicians and their parties accountable, no real solution was offered to, as Gore said, or rather yelled it, “bring back democracy. Occupy Democracy!”
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW core conversation: Blogging: Why So Many Women Are Doing It
Time/Date: 5 p.m. Monday (hashtag: #sxladyblogs)
Panelists: Alessandra Colaci, founder of Republic Of Wow; Indiana Adams, founder of Adored Austin.
The gist: Blogging is nothing new, however the number of bloggers continues to grow. Mom bloggers, fashion bloggers, food bloggers, and life style bloggers have seemingly taken over Blogger, Wordpress, and Tumblr, and most of these types of blog authors are women. Young, female bloggers have become a force to be reckoned with: the most popular ones have their lives made into movies, they write and sell books that top best seller lists, and they guest design for major brands. The lesser known bloggers still influence their readers in big ways, and companies have sat up and have taken notice.
Quotes:
“I write about clothes, but I don’t write about my dirty laundry,” Adams said.
Takeaways:
Women traditionally have been storytellers, and blogs are just another way for them to tell stories. (We’re good at social media for this reason, too.) It’s in a public space, so sometimes this makes them think twice about exactly what they blog, but in general, telling stories in an open space should be the same as in a closed space. Be heartfelt and honest.
Men often present themselves as experts, but women are much more open about the evolution of their journeys.
“Women have a hard time asking for money, and there’s a stigma about making money off your blog,” Adams said. We’re still navigating this world of professional blogging, where bloggers have agents who coordinate their relationships with brands.
Women are also good at doing many things at once. New bloggers feel like they have to blog about one thing, but women aren’t one dimensional and their blogs shouldn’t be either. You can write posts that are merely cathartic or you can write posts that are meant to spark a conversation. Blogs evolve and change, just like their authors.
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SXSW panel: Sharing: A Window into the Human Psyche
Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. Monday (hashtag: #sharing)
Panelists: Kate Sirkin, executive vice president of global research of Starcom MediaVest Group; Kurt Abrahamson, CEO of ShareThis.
The gist: With one-fifth of the world’s population on Facebook, we’re all sharing more with one another than was ever humanly possible.
When you “like” something that a brand, even a nontraditional one like a farmers market or an author, has put out, you are giving a relatively bland endorsement of that brand. But if you share that brand or something that brand has posted, the endorsement is much stronger and more valuable. The ultimate is when someone shares and makes a comment about what he or she is sharing.
The problem is that Facebook and other sites can feel like an echo chamber, with the same people sharing the same things back and forth. As we all start sharing more and more, what people chose to share will become even more valuable because they are aware of the collective noise they are contributing to.
Quotes:
“Shared content leads to a more engaged audience. They are much more likely to spend time on a page or site because it’s coming from someone they know,” said Kurt Abrahamson, who created the share-tracking company ShareThis.Â
“We thought there was this one set of influencers, but we found that influencers are everywhere,” Kate Sirkin said. “Everyone can be an influencer in the areas that are important to them. There passionate people across the web.”
Comment from an audience member: “Facebook is the new cigarette break.”
Takeaways:
We share things that we know are safe, especially when the personal and professional have blended. We all struggle with what we think will be good to share or not, and brands are having an even harder time knowing when and what to share.
You are sharing information hoping that others will share it in their sphere, but you’re also seeking feedback on what you are sharing, which will improve your creative expressions.
We also have to acknowledge that many people don’t watch, reach or consume what they share before they share it. Often times, they will do so based purely on a headline or the other comments or shares that the content has received.
Rather than focus on the users who have a large audience, it’s more important to share with lots of sharers, who will share with their smaller networks. The small groups set trends even more than the well-known users.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Changing the Channel: The New Golden Age of TV
Time/Date: 3:30 p.m., Monday (hashtag: #Hulu)
Panelists: Andy Forssell, Hulu LLC; Morgan Spurlock, Warrior-Poets; Richard Linklater, Austin Film Society; Timothy “Speed” Levitch, Actor.
The gist: This panel was pretty much a love letter to Hulu. Spurlock, Linklater and Levitch talked about their Hulu projects and basked in the freedom they say they were allowed in the production of their original content (Spurlock’s “A Day in the Life” appears on Hulu and the Linklater/Levitch series, “Up to Speed,” is set to debut this summer.
Quotes: “I was working a restaurant job a few months ago. Yeah, there’s some kind of psychedelic trip going on here.” — Levitch; “Our goal is to figure out what’s not being made that should be made.” — Forssell; “We’re living in the dream they had 10 years ago. The technology is here. It brings out the frontiersman of you when you’re standing on the frontier.” — Levitch; “You guys have taken the Dewey Decimal System to heart at Hulu.” — Spurlock; “I haven’t participated (in Twitter) as much as I want to. I’m still getting emotionally prepared.” — Levitch; “I was sleeping in a hammock in my office, but I still had a hammock and I still had an office.” — Spurlock; “Oh yeah, the world is changing. Cool.” — Linklater; “We don’t think of this as a Web series. This is a TV show to us,” Linklater.
Takeaways: Hulu, the curated repackager of movies and television content, has branched out into original content. Panelists said that gives content creators the opportunity to create projects that traditional media have been afraid to take on. They also claim that these projects can be approached in the same manner as traditional projects — no modification in production or content is necessary to fit the online delivery model. As Spurlock said, “Storytelling is still storytelling. It still comes down to great characters and emotion.”
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SXSW Presentation by Dean Kamen: Invention & Inspiration: Building a Better World
1 pm. Monday: 11 a.m., Monday (#ieeekamen)
Presenter: Dean Kamen, serial inventor, and entrepreneur at FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).
The gist:Kamen addressed several hundred other inventors, designers, engineers, and those interested in what he had to say about his new inventions. Kamen is known for inventing several high-profile electronics such as the Segway and the IBOT, a wheelchair that can climb several stories.
He discussed how, through his inventions, he could help solve the problem that plagues billions of people world wide — purifying dirty drinking water without electricity. He wanted to keep the formula simple specifically for countries that don’t have electricity or a main source of water because those countries also tend to suffer from being overpopulated.
I won’t even attempt to how it works it, but I can summarize it: It’s basically just a box with two hose. One side goes into anything wet (it does its magic with some sort of self-sustaining water heater) and clean, purified water comes out the other hose. The problem he faced wasn’t the solution, it was the delivery of this invention.
Eventually, Kamen collaborated with Coca-Cola; he helped develop a soft drink dispenser that would give more choices in one, and in turn, Coca-Cola gave Kamen access to more than 200 bottling companies worldwide. Through the 15 water distillers he has distributed, more than 50,000 liters of pure water have been created.
Kamen’s quotes: “If we continue to look at 21st century world, with a 19th century model with what works, then we will fail.”
“It isn’t technologies that are holding us back. It’s courage and commitment. We can no longer say we don’t know how to make water or electricity. We now need to find a way to make it work.”
“It doesn’t matter which of these problems we chose to work on, because the rate at which we will be consumed and sophisticated could be quicker. It’s like a race between technical achievement and catastrophe, and catastrophe could win.”
You look at our culture, and know that teachers aren’t the problem. We have a culture problem, not an education problem.”
Takeaways: Kamen is without a doubt a great and inspirational speaker. He kept the audience of several hundred people intrigued, and they responded with a standing ovation.
His final words were those of encouraging children to research technology and science because most likely, they will need to find solutions to problems we’ve not yet solved.
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SXSW Keynote: Ray Kurzweil - Expanding Our Intelligence Without Limit
Ray Kurzweil. Photo by Michael Lutch, courtesy SXSW Inc.
Time/Date: 2 p.m. Monday (hashtag: #IQExpand)
Panelists: Ray Kurzweil, futurist and author, CEO of Kurzweil Technologies; Lev Grossman, author and writer for Time Magazine..
The gist: The future: a little scary, but mostly full of really mind-boggling innovation that can, improbably, be plotted by people like Kurzweil, an author most closely associated with speech technology and the artificial intelligence concept of “The Singularity.” Kurzweil used Moore’s Law, which predicts a steady growth of innovation in semiconductors (with computing power doubling every two years), to discuss how other technologies can also be anticipated with research and careful attention to science and trends. The rise of the Internet, for instance, was no mystery; it was inevitable if you looked at the data leading to it. Some of the more mind-blowing predictions: that blood-cell-sized devices will be mainstream in 20 years. That we will eventually come to accept robots/artificial intelligence with human qualities as long as they are sufficiently complex and can subtly interact with us. That biotechnology will be both a boon but also a major threat at bioterrorists potentially gain the ability to spread a super virus. Virtual and augmented reality will be the future of displays and 3-D printing will change the way we consume or create products. Our brains, perhaps most importantly, will continue to scale out exponentially; in fact we already have “brain extenders” that are making them grow like iPhones and Wikipedia. Kurzweil was mostly positive about these future innovations, though he warns that there are some significant dangers.
Quotes (all from Kurzweil): “Blood-cell-sized devices will be a mainstream technology in 20 years.” “I think it’s an important threshold that people are talking to their computers.” — on Apple’s SIRI technology. “If they are indistinguishable from humans — If they can convince us that they have the complexity of thought and the subtlety of reaction that humans do, we will come to accept them as human. — on the future of artificial intelligence.” “Promise versus peril has been an issue with technology since we’ve had tools.” “I think we should reorganize education to teach kids by doing, to do projects.”
Takeaways: Kurzweil believes some concepts of technology that seem like science fiction (The Singularity, for instance) are not only possible but inevitable. He thinks that in order to make these changes go the way we want them to, education needs to be revamped to be more project-oriented and that we must ask ourselves serious ethical questions about how these technologies are employed. Even if we set ethical rules for the use of technology, we also have to have safeguards against those who don’t follow the rules.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Is Technology Making Our Lives Richer or Poorer?
Time/Date: 12:30 p.m., Monday (hashtag: #richorpoor)
Panelists: Jaron Lanier, Scientist, Author, Musician and Artist; Nicholas Thompson, The New Yorker.
The gist: Lanier pretty much came down on the side of technology enriching our lives in certain ways but eventually making most of us literally poorer. Happy Monday!
Quotes: “The rule of thumb is when something goes digital we shrink it ten times.” “We went wrong in hilarious ways.” The Internet today is this huge carbon-spewing nightmare.” “The very term prohibition means ‘do this.’” “Lawyers and accountants — those guys get the job done.” “If you say advertising is the only business platform for sustaining social media, you’re inviting everything to turn into (B.S.).” “People should be autonomous and in charge of what they want to make of themselves. I want people to be able to reinvent themselves and become Mark Twain or Bob Dylan if they want to.” “I think Facebook could evolve into something that helps people make a living.” “In some parts of the world we Silicon Valley uber-nerds have kind of taken over. We’re ahead of the law and ahead of the financial curve.” “In this century the cars will start driving themselves which is good because people are really horrible drivers.” — Lanier
Takeaways: Lanier talked about the problem of improved business and efficiency shrinking the economy. Aristotle, he said, predicted the day when machines could operate themselves and the slaves could be freed. The problem, he said, is that it doesn’t happen that way: When you free slaves they become unemployed and no surplus can offset lack of income. He used Walmart as a modern example, saying the company had optimized people away, depleting their own customer base.
The increasing amount of information being shared on social networking sites means that, increasingly, if people want to be connected, they have to join those sites to do so. But that means giving away enormous amounts of personal data to someone else without compensation. He proposed that people retain true ownership of their contributions and content in a new social information economy, and that those people need to be compensated for their contributions and the usage. “Making people richer will be better for the big companies than not doing it,” he said. “If going digital means shrinking the economy, it will kill capitalism.”
A component of that involves the industry adopting a system of universal, not walled-garden, commerce in which, for example, Amazon, Apple, Netflix accounts could interoperate.
He also addressed secret data collection, suggesting that light-based brain-scanning technology could lead to surreptitious data mining directly from human brains in, for example, grocery store aisles. He suggested that the way to deal with that is not to try and ban it, but to force the information collectors to pay people for it.
“If you measure that person’s brain, you will pay,” he said, adding that neither politicians nor neuro-ethicists should make those determinations. Rather, lawyers and accountants will hash that out. “Those guys get the job done.”
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Q&A: The Business of Kevin Smith
Time/Date: 12:30 p.m. Monday (hashtag: #XXLKev)
Panelists: Kevin Smith, filmmaker, podcaster; Bob Moczydlowsky vice president, product marketing, Topspin.
The gist: After being introduced by SXSW Film director Janet Pierson, Kevin Smith appeared on stage in a large, overfilled Austin Convention Center room wearing a “SIR!”-branded hockey jersey. He sat behind a large set of tables alone and spoke solo in what at first appeared to be a set-up for a Q&A.
That’s OK because Smith is a talker, a chatterbox with an empire of podcasts who has in recent years been doing so many public appearances and who started his own Internet radio service, SModcast Internet Radio (SIR).
Seemingly without taking a breath, Smith began by talking about the influence on his father on his career (when his father died, it inspired Smith to live life more fully and to pursue more of his dreams), moved on to discussing his shift from movie making to comics and his eventual decision to stop making movies altogether. (His next film, a hockey film called “Hit Somebody,” is to be his last as a director.) The real next step for Kevin Smith has been podcasting.
His first podcast, “SModcast,” which began as a series of goofy conversations with his producer Scott Mosier, led to a whole series of different shows that have become the main focus of Smith’s career of late. About 40 minutes into the presentation, Moczydlowsky finally appeared, earning laughs when he called himself the worst moderator in the history of the festival after Smith told him backstage he wanted to come out first and say something. Smith spoke about the ways he’s reached out to his audience directly through the podcasts and through Twitter and that has led to merchandising and advertising opportunities as well as a TV show on AMC, “Comic Book Men.”
He’s succeeded, he says, by ignoring most of the rules of traditional business like spending money to make money.
It wasn’t surprising when the session ran long beyond its allotted time. Smith could have easily kept going for a few more hours.
Quotes: “He’s one of my favorite people in the the world. I am in awe of how he has handled his business.” — Janet Pierson, introducing the session.
“All of the business in my career has been personal.” — Smith.
“The muse said to me ‘You’re done.’ ” — Smith on an epiphany he had after his film “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” which led to his decision to stop making films.
“The Smith family has always been about setting the bar on the floor and stepping over it.” — Smith.
“You gotta throw out the rules.” — Smith on building his business by ignoring traditional marketing/business advice.
Takeaways: Serve the artist inside. Follow your muse (or your Jason Mewes if you have one) rather than simply doing your art for the money or to please others. From Moczydlowsky: if you’re trying to build an online fan base like Smith’s, give away free content, connect with fans, create products fan wants and let fans share it.
Permalink | | Categories: Internet, SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Time Bandits: The Next Revolution in Social
Time/Date: 11:00 a.m., Monday (hashtag: #timebandits)
Panelists: Rene Pinnell, Forecast; Kathryn Tucker, RedRover; Ben Bloch, Whim; Vanessa Schneider, Eventbrite; Aaron Strout, WCG
The gist: Location apps like Foursquare let users post where they are or where they’ve been, but the next big thing in location-based social media may be sharing where you’re going next.
Rene Pinnell, self-described “designer and chief hustler” of Forecast and its predecessor Hurricane Party, saw that checking in to his favorite taco place on Foursquare rarely resulted in people joining him for breakfast. “Check-ins are really bad about connecting you with friends in the nearby world.” With that in mind, he worked to make Forecast like a “Foursquare for the future.” Users create a forecast telling friends where they’re going to be later.
Kathryn Tucker, CEO and founder of RedRover, said the purpose of her app is to focus on families’ social media needs. “I may be a techie and nerd but I’m also a mom,” she said. “It’s a Saturday, and i have two bored children. What are we going to do.”
Tucker got her start in film — she produced “The Station Agent” — but made the switch to social media after falling love with Foursqaure. “It has the potential to reach a lot more people than independent film ever could,” she said. “I was using Foursquare very early on, and I was so moved by a social software that actually felt delightful and playful. It wasn’t quite what I wanted, but I was so happy about it that I completely changed my life.”
A new version of RedRover, completely retooled from top to bottom, will be coming out in May.
Ben Bloch is the co-founder of the now defunct Whim, which was an app about spontaneous casual events. Though Whim is done, Bloch has a new app that he intended to have live by SXSW, but “thanks to Apple” it’s not up yet.
“It’s a space where there are a lot of apps but no one has really nailed it,” he said. It starts with a simple expression like “I would like to get a drink.” The user types it, shares it and finds friends nearby who want to meet up. In Whim, the focus was too heavy on where you would meet, but Bloch said that will change with his new app. “Who you go with is more important than where you go.”
Aaron Strout, head of location-based marketing at WCG, asked if future-based location social media is a solution in search of a problem. He said while some people are skeptical “sometimes people don’t know exactly what they want.” With less than half of the U.S. population owning smartphones, Strout said location apps are still in their adolescence. He compared the multitude of options now to the wide field of search engine options from the early days of the Internet that were eventually narrowed down to a handful.
As for how these apps will become profitable, Pinnell drew a parallel to the travel industry, citing that Expedia only makes 9 percent of its profits from plane tickets. The rest comes from cars and hotels.
“The Holy Grail in marketing has always been to understand the consumer’s intent, but understanding intent is only like half of the game. The other part is catching people at a moment when they’re likely to take action,” he said. When people share future intent, for example, saying “I want to go out for Italian food tomorrow,” apps can serve more relevant ads, e.g., try this Italian restaurant, go here for drinks before or here to see a movie after.
“What I’d like to build is a new medium for brands to talk to consumers,” Tucker said. “The user wants that conversation because they need products and service… and right now it’s such a broken contract with manipulative ads in your face that you train yourself to avoid. That relationship needs to be rebuilt and in a really profound way. If you look at the way brands [interact with consumers] there’s the possibility for much more meaningful information going both ways.”
Quotes: “Brands tend to suck at having conversations with the customers. Usually, it’s, ‘How can I push an ad at you?’ Most of us don’t want to be advertised to.” —Strout
“This has the potential to change the way people interact in the real world. The past ten years have been about digitalizing your past… The fun thing about the future is it hasn’t happened yet. The apps we’re talking about today can really change the way we live our lives and how we interact with our friends, and that’s exciting.” —Pinnell
“It’s a value exchange. Is the privacy and effort I’m putting out there and trading worth what I’m getting back in return?” —Strout
“It’s powerful, but it’s also creepy. It doesn’t have to be manipulative.” —Tucker on the way many brands currently communicate with consumers via social media
“It’s difficult to get people to share anything, honestly. With future apps, we’re moving away from explicit intent to facilitating serendipity with passiveness… ‘One of my friends is around and available, how can we meet up?’” —Bloch
Takeaways: Future-based location apps could help friends plan an outing or parents find activities for their kids, but it’s unlikely there will be a Facebook- or Twitter-sized platform in the space. It’s more about solving specific users’ problems. A hurdle going forward will be lowering the bar for sharing content by asking simpler questions and making apps easier to use. To make this sharing more attractive to privacy-minded smartphone users, brands will have to find more inventive incentives to make it worth it for the consumer.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Presentation: How Mexico's Drug Traffickers Use Social Media
Time/Date: 11a.m., Monday March 12 (hashtag: #DTOS)
Panelists:Shauna Dillavou, Researcher Plessas Experts Network Inc
The gist: Drug cartels, private citizens, activists and law enforcement agencies are all using social media to fight a virtual war online.
Quotes: Videos are by far the most effective form of communication between the narcos and the public. Nothing says don’t do that like watching a guy getting his head taken off. - Dillavou
Cartels turning to twitter is just the beginning, Their use of technology is going to get more sophisticated. -Dillavou
Takeaways:
The Cartels -Drug cartels operate like multi-national corporations. In Mexico right now, there are approximately seven large cartels operating. They are into everything from human and drug trafficking to pirated DVDs.
-Approximately 50,000 people in Mexico have died since 2006 in cartel-related violence and killings. Five thousand have disappeared.
-Cartels use social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, but also private systems to coordinate movements. They also watch social media sites to see what law enforcement, private citizens and activists are doing.
-Cartels have left bodies of bloggers, and others they claimed were private citizens who posted on message boards speaking out against cartels, in very public places as a message of retaliation.
-Narco culture is glorified through the use of social media to distribute music, photos and videos.
-Some of the most popular videos are those of interrogations and live executions of police officers and reported informants one YouTube, which the cartels use as a very potent form of intimidation.
-Cartels are becoming more sophisticated in their use of online technology and may be branching into cyber crime because it is less risky. They have even been known to kidnap computer programmers and telecommunications technicians to work for them. Law enforcement has even found evidence of private mobile communications networks with repeaters, towers and receivers that stretched from Central America to Texas. It was untappable because it was off the commercial grid.
Private citizens and activists -Private citizens have developed communication networks, blogs and message boards to track shootouts and cartel activity to keep themselves safe on the way to work.
Law enforcement -Agencies use social media to track cartel movements and have even been known to use the Facebook pages of a kingpin’s girlfriend to bust the kingpin.
Some stats:
7-12 cartels are operating in Mexico.
$8 billion-39 billion a year is made on the cartel trade.
50,000 dead since 2006. Another 5,000 have disappeared.
Mexico is one of the worst places in the world to be a journalist. Approximately 70 dead since 2006.
35 million Internet users, 30 percent of the population.
60 percent online are under the age of 25
25 percent are in Mexico City area.
57 percent connect through a mobile device.
25 million use social media.
Blog del Narco is the largest narco blog, where cartels and citizens can post messages, one of the few places they can communicate directly. It gets more than 3 million hits a week.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Featured Session: The Future of the New York Times
Time/Date: 11 a.m. Monday ( #sxsw #FutureNYT )
Panelists: Evan Smith, Texas Tribune, Jill Abramson, New York Times
The gist: As newspapers across the country transition into digital news leaders, news outlets across the country look to the New York Times, it’s digital and metered online pay model and it’s future.
New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson said her vision for the future of The Times in the digital age is an aggressive expansion internationally. She said an odd benefit of going to a metered model, where non-subscribers pay for content is that circulation rose, especially for their Sunday paper.
Their most popular articles continue to be their in-depth, long and challenging pieces despite the idea that the Internet is not the place for them. However, for a recent project on autistic young adults, readers were able to experience interactive media via video while they read the story instead of following a separate link to watch video. This gave readers an innovative digital storytelling experience, Abramson said.
The Times has embraced social media more under her tenure. She said that while it adds value to the reader relationship, it’s also helped the news gathering process, especially during the presidential campaigns.
Quotes:
“I don’t think we’re going to get there anytime soon.” —Abramso, on newspapers going away.
“I would never mandate that every story have every bell and whistle.” —Abramson
“I’m so proud to be first woman executive editor, and happy to talk about it. the most meaningful thing has happened to me here. I’m very glad about that. Who I am informs my work and (being a woman) is who I am.” —Abramson
Takeaways: The New York Times is evolving under Abramson, and while the way news is delivered has changed through social and digital media, she assures that the journalism and quality of news reporting is something Times audiences continue to be enthusiast about and continue to seek.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Can bloggers put hope back in 2012 election?
Time/Date: 9:30 a.m., Monday March 12 (hashtag: #SXBloggers)
Esther Robards-Forbes
Panelists: Biko Baker, Exec. Dir. League Of Young Voters, Chloe Hilliard, Editorial Director TheLoop21.com, Erica Williams, Sr. Strategist Citizen Engagement Lab, Quentin James, Natl. Dir. Sierra Student Coalition, Rashad Robinson, Exec. Dir. Color Of Change
The gist: Bloggers helped shape the election narrative in 2008 and contributed to President Obama’s election, but since then, the administration has made some critical mistakes in dealing with this group. How will these same bloggers shape the 2012 election?
Quotes: there wasn’t enough capacity in the movement to sustain that level of energy we saw during the campaign. -Williams
I think there was a disconnect in keeping the community engaged after the election. The community didn’t feel like a part of the process…You don’t call bloggers to the table after you’ve decided what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it. -James
When mainstream media is trying to figure out that story they turn to that old guard (Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan) rather than these bloggers who have their own influence and their own followers. -Hilliard
We have to ask ourselves what we put on the agenda?-Robinson
Hope is not just about being in a position to say stop this stuff, hope is about…being able to demand things to support our community. -Robinson
When you don’t have power you cannot demand anything. -James
We’ve been in a position of expecting things rather than demanding things. - Robinson.
There is such a microscope on how black people view Obama. There is always a dynamic between a president’s core base between elections. - Williams
Bloggers need to focus on their message. You don’t have to focus on gossip and celebrity. -Hilliard
We’re not too tough on Obama. He ran for president of the U.S. We’re going to criticize him. It’s our responsibility to hold him accountable. That’s our responsibility in a democracy. -Robinson
Takeaways:
-Young political bloggers helped get Obama elected, but the administration lost the connection with the bloggers and the bloggers lost the connection with the administration,
-There was a lot of energy during the 2008 campaign that did not translate post-inauguration.
-A lot of people have lost faith in government and that is affecting how much hope they have about the 2012 election and the future in general.
-The Whitehouse will need to embrace the youth movement, bloggers and the black grassroots in the 2012 election to succeed.
-There is no agenda consensus in the black community or the youth movement about what the agenda and the platform should be during the election or the next administration.
-Ron Paul has effectively harnessed alternative messaging platforms and rebellious messages. While his message is resonating with portions of hip-hop culture, there is no consensus whether he is hip-hop or not.
-Political divides are erupting more along economic lines and generational rather than ethnic lines.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
'Homeless Hotspots' stir controversy at SXSW Interactive
Screen grab from the Homeless Hotspots website.
When we mentioned last week in a link roundup that homeless individuals would be walking around offering 4G wireless hotspot access at South by Southwest Interactive, we had a feeling it would get some attention and attract some criticism.
That has come to pass, especially on some major tech blogs like Wired and Read Write Web, which have taken the New York City-based ad agency to task for, to put it bluntly, turning homeless human beings into WiFi devices, essentially in a program called Homeless Hotspots.
As Wired puts it in a link-heavy piece about the controversy, “…the homeless turned not just into walking, talking hotspots, but walking, talking billboards for a program that doesn’t care anything at all about them or their future, so long as it can score a point or two about digital disruption of old media paradigms. So long as it can prove that the real problem with homelessness is that it doesn’t provide a service.”
Alberto Martinez AMERICAN-STATESMAN
This may be harsh given that the New York firm is working with Austin’s respected Front Steps, which runs the city shelter Austin Resource Center for the Homeless. Front Steps itself contacted the American-Statesman last week before the festival began and said of the program, “Each Front Steps client earns a daily stipend plus the proceeds from connected user donations.”
BBH itself has in the past worked on campaigns focused around the homeless including a well-received effort to give homeless people in New York cell phones and Twitter accounts to help them tell their own stories through social media.
This morning, Tim Nolan, creative director at BBH who is attending SXSW for the program, told the American-Statesman that he was following the flurry of blog posts and Tweets, which exploded on Monday night. After a night of three hours of sleep, he said that the firm did expect a response, but perhaps not at that level.
Alberto Martinez AMERICAN-STATESMAN
“We definitely knew that this could be a provocative issue. We also expected some response that may be perceived as negative,” Nolan said. “I think the key to where a lot of the negative sort of chatter is coming from is from what Twitter does best: bite-sized bits of information that rapidly get disseminated.”
Nolan said that some of the criticism about the program is unfounded. “It’s not a brand play or a position play. That couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s no product to be had here. Everything is designed to benefit the participants and everyone here at Front Steps. “The intent from us was nothing but good in the spirit of trying to help a large cross section of America that needs help. We’re not saying this is a solution to the problems that we have in the United States and awareness of homeless people.”
The “Connect for a cause” effort may seem jarring to some Interactive festgoers more used to seeing people dressed as superheroes or giant blaring mobile advertisements for apps on the streets. Is the effort going to raise awareness of homeless, trivialize the issue or simply make SXSWi attendees wonder if the effort is legitimate or not? Would do you think? Let us know in the comments.
Below is the full press release originally sent out by BBH about the homeless hotspots:
This year at SXSWi, creative agency BBH New York is inviting conference attendees to “connect for a cause” via Homeless Hotspots.
This effort to help SXSWi attendees gain internet access from the streets of Austin reinvents the street newspaper model, where homeless people create/buy newspapers and sell them for a profit. Prior to the Internet and mobile news access, this street news model helped successfully create employment, teach job skills and give a voice to our nation’s homeless population.
The agency is partnering with a local shelter and provider of homeless services, to enable partners to sell access to 4G hotspots they’re carrying in the form of a MiFi device. In addition to providing mobile internet access to conference attendees, these Hotspots will also be a forum to interact on a more personal level and generate income for the homeless.
Visit the site and learn about Austin’s homeless: homelesshotspots.org
“SXSW is an especially unique event forum, because people are constantly going from place to place, rather than sitting in one venue,” said Saneel Radia, Head of Innovation at BBH NY. “From our personal experience on the ground there, we understood that wireless connectivity can be a challenge when you are out and about during the conference. Combined with the power of what we learned with Underheard in New York, we knew this was the right opportunity to modernize the Street Newspaper model that’s under tremendous pressure in the iPad age.”
How it works: SXSWi conference attendees who are moving from one event to another - and lamenting their inability to access messages or download a file due to ptachy WiFi coverage - can look out for a Homeless Hotspot. They then simply text in the number on the Homeless Hotspot T-shirt, receive a password, and join the network. They will be directed to a Homeless Hotspots website highlighting the person they’re helping and their personal story, where they will be asked to contribute a suggested $2.00 for every 15 minutes of internet access. Throughout the conference, Hotspot locations will also be shared via social channels and BBH promotional activities.
Background: In 2011, BBH created “Underheard in New York,” which sought to give homelessness a much-needed voice. The program provided four NYC homeless residents access to Twitter via disposable mobile phones. The group went on to engage a broad audience, giving tens of thousands of people a view into the realities of homelessness today. The experience changed their lives, helping participants secure jobs, reconnect with family, and helping others have a better understanding of the homeless population. See the story here.
Ultimately, BBH NY seeks to create meaningful connections at SXSWi, helping Austin’s homeless earn a profit, giving conference attendees a better experience, and igniting a new conversation. BBH NY will donate $5,000 to Front Steps and supply all necessary technology and promotional materials.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: How Not to Die: Using Tech in a Dictatorship
11 .am. Monday 9:30 a.m., Monday (#sxdictator)
Panelists: Brian Conley, co-founder of Small World News, Deanna Zandt, author & media technologist, Mark Belinsky co-founder & president of Digital Democracy, and Sabrina Hersi Issa, digital director at Be Bold Media.
Isadora Vail
The gist:Each panelist discussed how western technology used across the world differs from country to country, and the lack of thought-out privacy issues could cause some people to be kidnapped, arrested, and even murdered.
The panelists had experiences in Somalia, China, Afghanistan and Kazakhstan, and the different applications human rights activists used to protest their governments. Each speaker had a unique experience. Hersi Issa had an amazing story of how her company used people in Somalia to connect oppressed family members (from taking workers on donkeys to the ground in Somalia, to showing video to people in other countries).
Belinsky expressed concern over the next new application, whatever it may be) and how it is used in Middle Eastern countries. He said a lot of citizen journalists there have good intentions, but if they use government-moderated internet service through these apps, it puts their lives in danger.
Quotes: “I’ve never been as pro-America as I was responding to the proposal that the UN oversee the Internet .” - Belinksy
“A generation of children were killed in the Horn of Africa crisis.” - Hersi Issa
“As foreigners, we don’t have to worry about dying but people we build tools for do.” - Belinski
“Technology is only as good as people using it.” - Conley
“When you are sending an unsecure email, it’s just like sending a post card.” - Belinsky
“I am dreaming of an app where people can tell their stories that are contextual to their lives.” - Hersi Issa
“Spent my life trying to figure out how people in conflict areas can compete with international news. Even today we are seeing so many stories coming out of Siria that aren’t really telling us anything. We need local people telling us their real stories.” - Conley
Takeaways: The fact repeatedly brought up, was that as the United States continues making an overflow of applications at lightning-speed, there’s not much time to consider those who may be using them where the internet isn’t free and unmoderated.
Belinsky said what should happen is that together, we need to build smarter media tools before they are marketed, so we won’t have to worry about who’s governing it.
(While the Kony 2012 campaign was mentioned, the panelists were reluctant to talk about it.)
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
March 11, 2012
SXSW scene: Vet or virgin?
Thousands of folks head to Austin for South by Southwest each year, turning heads downtown — and across the city.
Some are repeat attendees but, for many, 2012 is the first time they’ve been able to attend the fest.
We grabbed a few people wearing those bulky, oh-so-valuable badges this afternoon and snapped their photos.
Is it easy, based only on what they’re wearing, to figure out who’s a vet and who’s a SXSW virgin? You tell us.
Answers at the end of this post.
Good luck!
#1: Zawadi Nyong’o and Isis Nyong’o
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Digital Health: Borrow from Developing Countries?
SXSW Panel: Digital Health: Borrow from Developing Countries?
Time/Date: 5 p.m., Sunday (hashtag #intlhealth)
Panelists: Andre Blackman, founder/managing editor of Pulse+Signal; Jaspal Sandhu, Health Portfolio Lead Gobee Group; Jose Gomez-Marquez, Medical Device Research at Little Devices Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The gist: Mobile and interactive innovations are transforming how basic health and healthcare can be accessed in developing countries, and the U.S. could borrow from some of the innovations occurring, according to a group of panelists during day two of SXSW Interactive.
The panel, “Digital Health: Borrow from Developing Countries?” aimed to discuss whether novel health applications in developing countries could spark health innovation in the U.S.
“The global technology landscape is teaching us to look at simpler solutions for greater success,” said Andre Blackman, founder and managing editor of Pulse+Signal.
Blackman used Next Drop, a project in India that provides households with accurate information on when local water will be available, as an example of a simple innovation with great impact.
The information on water availability comes from water utility employees, who call Next Drop’s voice recognition system when they’re delivering water. The system then sends text messages to residents in the town with approximations for when the water will be running in their homes.
“It has nothing to do with a mobile app. It’s straightforward, easy and low-tech but its amounted to a big change for those in the communities,” Blackman said.
Blackman, who moved from Washington, D.C., to Raleigh North Carolina, said the U.S. could consider a similar information-sharing approach with food delivery services in rural or traditionally poorer parts of the country.
Jose Gomez-Marquez, of Medical Device Research at Little Devices Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, spoke about a program he and his collaborators developed to help ensure patients in developing countries took medication for tuberculosis on time.
The team harnessed simple diagnostics with incentives, so that patients in Nicaragua would be more likely to take their medicine. The achieved result was a paper-based diagnostic that can determine whether tuberculosis medication is in a patient’s urine. When the paper comes into contact with the patient’s urine and detects the medication, a code is revealed on the paper. Patients can then use the code to get free cell phone minutes on their cell phones.
Gomez-Marquez said it’s easier to deploy a new innovation in developing countries because the standard of care “is zero” and generating even very simple devices can raise the level of care tremendously.
“A nurse in a developing world probably has five informal inventions that she created to treat patients,” he said. “So how can we systemically detect and nurture moments of invention in the field from informal workers and healthcare workers and capture them?”
Often, he said, the devices get thrown away or overlooked because they don’t look pretty or are rigged together. But if you chose to look closer at the devices, he said, often there is a “kernel of invention.”
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Curing a Rage Headache: Internet Drama & Activism
6 p.m., Sunday: 12:30 p.m., Sunday (hashtag: #flamewars)
Panelists: Irin Carmon, staff writer salon.com, Deanne Cuellar deputy chief of staff for San Antonio council member, Jay Smooth radio host/videoblogger Ill Doctrine, Joel Johnson managing editor Animal New York/Mother, and Sady Doyle Writer Tiger Beatdown.
The gist: We’ve all dealt with internet drama with our friends and foes, but this panel took it a step further with stories of people who had experienced a very public dramatic snarl.
Cuellar struggled to deal with the lashing out of a group of people who were upset she criticized the banding (or in her opinion lack thereof) South Texas Occupy. Another panelist found herself in a Twit fight with documentarian Michael Moore who, sided with accused rapist Julian Assange.
Smooth, a hip hop DJ, spoke out against a mainstream New York station that was airing a song that was outright racist toward tsunami victims. When another DJ refused to play the song workers at the station responded with more racist comments. An apology was issued after Smooth posted a blog about it.
And Johnson made the unfortunate mistake of “stalking” a “sexy black woman.” His blog wasn’t meant to be sexist, but many women took offense to the post, considering the language.
Quotes: “I became the target so I took to my only weapon — my blog and twitter.” - Cuellar.
“I like controversy as a tool to get people to click on the headline.” - Johnson
“We wanted a public apology from (Moore) and for him to donate money to a rape crisis center. He finally did back down from his narrative.” - Doyle
“In a circumstance like mine, you have to feed the troll. I had to be the voice for the hip hop community.” - Smooth
“I think of trolls like feral cats. I feed feral cats and they keep coming back. But at some point, I want to catch, fix, and then release them.” - Cuellar
Takeaways: While the panel was intriguing, not much was said for more common internet dramas like the ultimate rejecting Facebook unfriend or block. The panelists did a great job of describing their experiences, but those are unique and thankfully, uncommon for the average person not in the public eye.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Funny Or Die: Future of Comedy & Everything Else
Time/Date: 3:30 p.m., Sunday (hashtag: #FOD)
Panelists: Funny or Die’s Andrew Steele, Dick Glover, Mike Farah, Patrick Starzan, Seth Morris and Billy Eichner
The gist: Billy Eichner of Fuse’s “Billy on the Street” served as moderator at a packed panel with some of the team behind comedy website Funny or Die.
Funny or Die was started by in 2007 by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Dick Glover. The first video the company made was “The Landlord.”
Since that first video, the Funny or Die brand has expanded beyond the web to television, film and a magazine. Today, Funny or Die has 73 employees and the website receives 16 million unique visitors a month and more than 40 million page views.
At first, Funny or Die’s ability to get celebrities on board was thanks to the star power of Ferrell and McKay, president of production Mike Farah said. But now it’s more about getting to work with a group of creative people to go from concept to execution at a rate unheard of in film and TV. “[Celebrities] are used to going through levels in Hollywood, and it’s just so wrenching and soul crushing. But they come to us and say, ‘I have an idea,’ and… we help them make it. We let creativity live on its own.”
“It’s also risk free,” Glover said. There’s not much to lose if it bombs. Since the videos are “only online,” at best they become viral sensations and at worst they don’t get many views. “That idea to be able to do what you want with complete freedom and essentially no risk, that is appealing.”
“Hollywood is too slow moving,” Farah said. “Funny or Die is an accelerated process.”
That quick pace is necessary to create enough comedy content to keep the site fresh. “You have to have at least one new video a day at least, even on the weekend,” Seth Morris said.
But that accelerated process doesn’t mean anything flies at Funny or Die. “The Internet responds well to cats and boobs,” creative director Andrew Steele said. “But one thing we try to avoid is low-brow humor. All of us coming from “Saturday NIght Live” know that you stay newsworthy and noteworthy if you’re topical.”
The Occasional, an iPad-exclusive multimedia comedy magazine created by Funny or Die, went live last week and features exclusive content, including a new “Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis.”
“The name allows us to be a little lax in our publishing schedule, which is helpful.” Farah said.
On the TV front, Funny or Die has three shows to date. The HBO series “Funny or Die Presents,” which is in negotiations for a third season; the Comedy Central series “Jon Benjamin has a Van;” and Fuse’s “Billy on the Street,” a “subjective game show” with Eichner doing man-on-the-street interviews. Online, Morris’ new web series “Funny or Die Presents: First Dates with Toby Harris” debuted on Yahoo Monday. Then there’s the Funny or Die-produced film “Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie.”
“These are logical steps for a company that makes content. We have access to celebrities and this is the direction we want to go,” Steele said. “If there is a world to conquer out there, we’re going to try it — maybe stupidly but we’re going to try it.”
Quotes: “I’m the gatekeeper. I’m supposed to keep all the crap off of Funny or Die. I’m not successful everyday you may have noticed.” -Steele
“In the last two years it’s become manageable. It’s been successful the whole time, but it was chaotic.” -Morris
“He loves Old MIlwaukee beer and he loves making commercials for no reason.” -Steele speculating on Will Ferrell’s beer commercials
“I’m really gay, but they’ve been really nice to me.” -Eichner defending the FOD crew for not having any female comedians on the panel
“For comedians, I feel like it’s never been easier to get your voice and sensibility out there.” -Farah
“We worked on fostering a relationship with the comedy community… As we venture into new mediums, we’re able to take that community with us and hopefully provide them more laughs.” -Starzen on Funny or Die’s decision early on that social media would be important to their distribution
“We’re not used to making a lot of money so it’s OK when our projects don’t.” -Farah
“Being funny is the most important thing. I think sometimes our budgetary constraints work for us because we have to be creative around that.” -Morris
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Occupying Media: 24 Hour Protest People
6 p.m. Sunday: 5 p.m., Sunday (hashtag: #OccuMedia)
Panelists: Boyd Carter, managing director at Artisan Technology Solutions, Charles Wyble co founder & chief tech officer at Free Network Foundation, Colin Delany of Epolitics.com, Priscilla Grim of Occupy Wall Street, and Kira Annika of Occupy Wall Street.
The gist: As Kira Annika found her management position at a Chipotle to be unsatisfyingly marginal, she heard about Occupy Wall Street. Her first thought was a well wish for those going, but then she had a better idea.
“How could I not go? All I did was pay rent, go to work and smoke pot in my bathtub. That’s not where I wanted to be,” Annika said. She hitch hiked from her home in Portland, Oregon and made it to New York city in October.
The other panelists were either part of the main Occupy Wall Street, which is a public protest about American finance. They discussed their part in the protest, whether it was building towers to provide internet service, or printing publications that was aimed at educating protesters.
Grim held up a publication at one point, opened it and showed that on one side was a story and the other was a poster that an “occupier” could use if they didn’t have supplies.
Quotes: “I quit my job, and my life. I sold as much as my stuff as I could so I decided to hitch hike to New York city from Portland, Oregon.” - Annika
“I used to think I was paranoid but not anymore. People would ask me to removed my cell battery just to talk.” - Carter.
“Kim Kardashian and Jersey Shore are distracting from what is really going on right now.” - Grim
“We built something called a freedom towers to occupiers to have internet so they could do live streaming and citizen journalism online. We decided we wanted to build an alternative internet which really mirrors Occupy Wall Street which is rebuilding everything.” - Wyble
“I was manager and I paid rent. And then I worked and paid rent, and then worked and paid rent. I was doing nothing as an adult and I knew I wanted to do something more.” - Annika
“In this critical period, what was really thriving wasn’t the main stream media, it was people out there driving it through social.” -Delany
“From the very first night, it was the first time I had been in any action that there were more cameras pointed at the police than at us. Every weekend they would arrest people and act terribly, then it would go up online, and then there would be twice as many people the next week.” - Grim
Takeaways:The panelists agreed that Occupy Wall Street would not have happened without the internet. Social media also played a major role in not only banding or forming occupy, but keeping protesters abreast on any changing issues.
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SXSW Panel: Election 2012: Campaigns, Coverage and the Internet
SXSW Panel: Election 2012: Campaigns, Coverage and the Internet
Time/Date: 3:30 p.m., Sunday (hashtag #2012Elect)
Panelists: Claudia Milne, North American editor at BBC.com/News BBC NEWS; Micah Sifry, co-founder and editorial director of Personal Democracy Media; Michael Scherer, White House correspondent for Time Magazine; Teddy Goff, digital director for Obama for America; Zeynep Tufekci, professor at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
The gist: Is social media - and how it’s used by presidential campaigns to communicate with supporters - giving voters more power or just the illusion of power?
That and more were discussed by a panel of journalists, scholars and campaign practitioners who came together for a panel during Sunday’s SXSW Interactive to examine how social media has changed the political landscape.
Time Magazine’s White House Correspondent Michael Scherer moderated the panel and started by saying that, despite the fact many political campaigns are embracing social media over the past few years, the 2012 presidential campaign has been largely fought out through traditional platforms, like cable news debates and political commercials rather than on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.
President Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign was the first early adopter in the political sphere to use social media as a way to fundraise, communicate and organize supporters.
But panelists disagreed on whether social media is actually giving voters more power to have a voice, or whether its giving greater power to campaigns, which can now access information on a person’s political and religious beliefs through just the click of a button on Facebook and Twitter.
Micah Sifry, co-founder and editorial director of Personal Democracy Media, said the amount of power that campaigns share with supporters has gone down since 2008, a point he demonstrated by showing an example of the mybarackobama.com site from 2008 to now. The 2008 dashboard allowed users to launch events, create groups, raise money and find friends online, while the 2012 site omitted some of those features.
“The amount of user empowerment has gone down and the amount of campaign empowerment has gone up,” he said.
Teddy Goff, digital director of Obama for America, said he disagreed with the assertion because the difference between how the campaign operates now versus in 2008 is “giant.” Coming into the 2012 election, the campaign doesn’t need to build a social network as it did in 2008.
Goff referred to a handwritten list titled, “Why I support Obama,” that went viral last month.
“That now has thousands of likes on Facebook, so it didn’t need to happen on mybarackobama.com,” he said.
He also said supporters appreciate that the campaign “gets” social media like, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr, which it can use to its advantage in interactions.
In one instance, Obama supporters appreciated when the President’s campaign responded to a woman’s request that she follow him on Tumblr, Goff said. For every hour that the president didn’t follow her, the woman posted a photo of Amy Poehler’s character from “Parks and Recreation,” Leslie Knope, looking irritated.
The woman’s online campaign picked up steam and the President’s team agreed to follow her with a post on Tumbler reading, “You had us at Leslie Knope.”
“I spent 20 minutes at home one night reading the response from that and people said, ‘I love you guys, you get it,’” Goff said.
Sifry also criticized mainstream media for what he called “superficial coverage” of how many Tweets a link or event gets on a given day without delving into the heart of why that event is relevant.
“They’re merely counting ‘likes’ without any sense of discrimination about what it means, if it means anything at all,” Sifry said.
Panelist Claudia Milne, the North American editor of BBC.com, used the media’s initial coverage of the Joseph Kony video as an example.
“The initial coverage was, ‘Wow, this thing has taken off, isn’t it amazing,’” she said.
The media was more intrigued initially with the story of how do you get 60 million views of a half-hour video - not who is Joseph Koney, why is he relevant, who is telling this story, and why, she said.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
Scene report: SXSW CraftCamp
The familiar glow of smartphones, laptops and iPads was eerily missing during the all-day SXSWi CraftCamp session at Palm Park near the Convention Center. Attendees looked refreshed and relaxed —even after losing an hour night’s sleep. Crafters are not your average techies. Instead of tweeting and texting during the session, these craft makers were sewing and gluing.
And why would anyone want to tweet anyway when you could make a mini robot doll at the craft table? Or what about a felt moustache on a Popsicle stick? No wonder these guys were feeling a little zen on the third day of SXSWi.
“There’s such power in making something on your own, having something tangible that you create,” said Willo O’Brien, co-founder of Stitchlabs, a company that makes software for independent makers and sellers to manage their business.
With social media tools like Pinterest driving interest in crafts coupled with a struggling economy tempting more Americans to try DIY projects, crafters are experiencing exciting times both creatively and with tech innovations.
Social media connections have allowed crafters to reach and sell to people globally in a way that had not been done before, O’Brien said.
Bookbinder and craft book author, Grace Dough said using a Square Card Reader has revolutionized the way crafters do business since the tiny portable device (literally a little square) plugs into a smartphone and can swipe credit cards.
O’Brien, who is also a designer and illustrator, launched her bag of designer tees, tote bags and jewelry in 2007. She’s been pinning all kinds of things on Pinterest boards like her watercolor inspirations and motivational images and quotes. She says the most important part of social media is the connection, not the latest Twitter strategy.
“DIY is nothing new,” O’Brien said. “I think people are longing for personal control in these times and not trying to fit in someone else’s plan.”
It’s a movement similar to what food is seeing with sustainability and going back to growing your own food. “The new economy is the you economy,” Crafter Tara Gentile said.
The modern DIY movement, according to Dough, began in 2000 and exploded with the website Etsy, which allows crafters to sell their handmade products online.
“Internet and social media has made the movement mainstream as we started joining together in larger groups,” Dough said.
The CraftCamp will continue on Monday with sessions on public relations strategies for craft businesses and how to fund your first DIY business.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Q&A: Network Effect - Building a Business Around Sharing
Time/Date: 5 p.m. Sunday (hashtag: #dropbox)
Panelists: Drew Houston, founder of Dropbox; Kara Swisher, journalist, All Things D.
The gist: Straight-shooter Drew Houston (pronounced “How-ston”) was perfectly paired with blunt, hilarious All Things D reporter Kara Swisher for a Q&A that walked the audience through Houston’s background, the creation, funding and development of Dropbox, a tool that allows you to upload files and keep them stored and synched across many devices. Houston was candid about the mistakes he’s made (referring to an investor as a “pimp” to the press, for instance), but was drawn out of a staid origin story by Swisher’s brash questions and her jokey interjections. She probed Houston on the company’s off-told start (he began writing code for Dropbox on a Boston bus when he was frustrated by using online storage services for a 3-gigabyte file he was carrying around on a USB flash drive and got more detail on that story. Houston has always been a tech wiz; he was hired as a systems engineer at 14 after pointing out a tech company’s flaws in a product. In their conversation, Houston said that the key to Dropbox’s success and his company’s vision has been to make a useful, simple product that anyone can use and to remove much of the complexity that has stymied other like services.
Quotes: “How the hell did you get here, and how the #*)& are you going to stay here?” — Swisher. “I tried all the other stuff that was out there. None of these things really worked the way I wanted.” — Houston. “You can start a great company anywhere… If this is your baby, you want to maximize yourself.” — on moving to San Francisco from Boston. Houston said he felt his friends in the Valley were making much faster progress in startups. “I think the hallmark of a good product is that you show up to the home page and end up with a solved problem.” — Houston “You’re not a product, you’re just a feature.” — Late Apple CEO Steve Jobs to Houston in a meeting with Apple, according to Houston. He said it was a good conversation, but they agreed to disagree. “So the silly number is correct.” — Swisher, after prodding Houston on the company’s finances, which he declined to reveal; he did confirm the company’s $4 billion valuation.
Takeaways: Good engineering and a vision of simplicity has helped Dropbox achieve a $4 billion valuation. The company has declined offers for an acquisition (including interest from Apple) and continues on its mission to spread across virtually all computer and mobile platforms to offer its cloud storage services. Houston says the companies priorities going forward are security and data reliability as the company tries to build something simple and beautiful while hiring the right people.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
I spy at South by...
Among dozens of bikers that seem a lot happier riding around today was this huge bike. Any idea how he gets on and off the bike?
Who knew roaches loved hot sauce? This developing company thought it would be a good idea to have several people in bug outfits hand out hot sauce.
I’m always keeping an eye out for popup tents. You never know who might play or what you might see.
And I had to snap a photo of our beautiful skyline that has been hiding behind clouds all weekend.
Keep up with the things I’m finding at SXSW on this blog. Here is a post from yesterday. Have a funny photo you want to share? Email it to me at isadoravail@gmail.com.
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SXSW Core Conversation: Right to Be Forgotten: Forgiveness or Censorship?
Time/Date: 12:30 p.m., Sunday (hashtag: #forgotten)
Panelists:Jill Van Matre, University of Colorado; Meg Ambrose, University of Colorado
The gist: The right to be forgotten has the potential to impact a broad range of people not just the victims, or “whiners,” depending on your perspective. Lawyers Jill Van Matre and Meg Ambrose discussed privacy, free speech and forgiveness in the digital age, looking at the two extremes: “Are you a preservationist or a deletionist?” Van Matre said.
Examples along the spectrum of the right to be forgotten included a college student haunted by the post of an ex-boyfriend, the “Star Wars Kid” and underage siblings charged in the murder of an infant.
Van Matre and Ambrose opened the floor for discussion, taking questions ranging from the legality of insurance companies denying coverage based off photos posted online to how privacy laws in the U.S. differ from those in the European Union, where the right to be forgotten has gained more traction.
Quotes: “How human do we want [the Internet] to be? Why do we want to keep this stuff anyway?” -Ambrose
“Pull up your most embarrassing moment and imagine it’s online and anytime anyone searches your name it comes up on the first page of Google. Is it more than just embarrassing? Does it rise to the level of where legal action is appropriate?” -Ambrose
Takeaways: There’s not much users can do to take back what has been posted about online, and for the time being, there’s not much the law or technology can do to recall or stop the spread of that potentially harmful information once it’s out there.
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SXSW Panel: Still Invisible? Waging Stories With Social Media
Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. Sunday (#sxsw #SXStoryPower)
Panelists: Felipe Matos, Presente.org; Heather Cronk, GetEQUAL; Jackie Mahendra, Change.org; Joe Sudbay, AMERICABlog,
The gist: Underreported stories can have a new life and audience when they hit social media circles. It has taken people to come out of the shadows and tell their stories about everything from gay and lesbian equality rights to immigration reform to trigger action.
Presente.org Organizer Felipe Matos was born in Brazil and raised by a single mother. He was sent to the United States as a teenager, and the first time he realized there was something different about him was when his friends were getting driver’s licenses and he couldn’t. His undocumented status prevented him from moving ahead.
He was part of a social justice walk that was 1,500 miles from Miami to DC, taking his Twitter followers on the journey with him, tweeting photos and updates of the stories of people they met along the way as well as their own.
He was advocating for the DREAM Act, a bill that would give undocumented students of “good moral character” a pathway to citizenship if they choose to go to college or the military. On a trip they called the Trail of DREAMs, they connected with other community members and spread the word and worked against the deportation of DREAMers.
Joe Sudbay is deputy Editor of AMERICABlog, which focuses on LGBT equality issues. His blog has been a powerful tool for change. They’ve followed legislation and the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in the military. Thirty military servicemen wrote their stories on their blog to keep pressure on the Obama administration. His outspoken tactics got him an invitation to the White House to interview Obama, where he challenged the president on the status of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell as well as marriage issues.
Quotes: “You look like an immigrant here, so the police are going to bother you.”’—Matos was warned in a small Florida city during the walk to D.C.
“When the president came in (to the interview room) he said blogs really matter to him and his staff and that he really appreciates the construction feedback.” —Sudbay, on his group interview with President Obama.
“We got 13 veterans and civilians to chain themselves to the White House fence in protest.” —Cronk said of campaign to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
“Neither of these bills (DREAM Act and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell) would have seen the light of day because these activists didn’t play by the rules and it’s a true testament to the power of waging stories.” — Sudbay
Takeaways: Stories about communities that are “invisible” can have newfound power with social media and have the ability to ignite change.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
Sports Media: The Beat Goes Gone?
Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. Sunday (hashtag: #sportsbeat)
Panelists: Johnny Ludden, senior NBA editor, Yahoo! Sports; Jonathan Abrams, writer, Grantland; Kathleen Hessert, president, BuzzManager Inc.; Kevin Arnovitz, NBA writer. editor of ESPN.com’s TrueHoop Network, ESPN.com; Tom James, director, media services, San Antonio Spurs.
The gist: Sports writers, a social media expert and a director of media for an NBA team discussed the way that sports journalism is changing from the pre-Internet days of newspaper writing. Very few surprises on this very subdued panel, but there were some interesting anecdotes about the ways that, for instance, Tweets exchanged between players in the NBA may make for bigger, more attention-grabbing stories than the actual games.
Quotes: “As a team representative you have to have faith in your product.” — James, saying the Spurs don’t get too bent out of shape trying to keep up with social media feedback and complaints. “You can’t unscramble an egg. You have to find a way to make these things work together.” — Hessert on social media as the genie that can’t be put back in the bottle. “Good reporting is at the basis of everything. I don’t think that’s going to change. —Ludden.
Takeaways: Sports media, like all media, was profoundly transformed by the rise of social media and the speed of the Internet, but there is still good sports writing happening and a role for good writers who can craft stories.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW, SXSW 2012, TV
SXSW Book Reading: The Science of Habits: Why We Do What We Do
4 p.m., Sunday: 11 a.m., Sunday (#SXSPOHabit)
Speaker: Charles Duhigg, investigative reporter at the New York Times and author of the book, The Science of Habits: Why We Do What We Do.
The gist:
Duhigg wrote an article for the New York Times in February on Target’s marketing techniques, especially how they identify when customers are pregnant.
Duhigg spoke about his new book, The Science of Habits: Why We Do What We Do, which researches the habits of humans (and some animals), and how we might be able to control them with simple genuine rewards. By using these small rewards, humans are more likely to do something automatically.
Through neurological research, Duhigg said there was a simple formula to forming a habit, which was essentially a cue to begin something, the routine of doing it, and the small reward at the end.
He said that by looking at the product campaign of Febreeze, it’s easy to tell why we are habitual beings. Febreeze started off as being marketed as an odor eliminator, but quickly became the biggest product bust that Proctor and Gamble ever made.
But marketing researchers didn’t give up on Febreeze. They decided to make the clean smell of Febreeze the reward of cleaning.
Quotes: “If you teach kids to habitually make their bed, by 6th grade they do their homework earlier.”
Some keystone habits seem to matter more than others.” “People who exercise regularly use their credit cards less, cook more. Makes other patters more malleable.”
“The sensory celebration of Febreeze was a reward just for cleaning your house.”
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SXSW scene: One woman's SXSWoes
Terry Coniglio, a social media coordinator at Georgia State University, came to South by Southwest Interactive for the first time this year, but delays on a shuttle service and a long badge line have been frustrations of her first fest.
The troubles began on Friday with a two-hour wait for a badge pickup with lines that snakes through a long stretch of the Austin Convention Center. But, Coniglio says, she may have actually come out lucky; when she left the line at 2 p.m. Friday, she was told that people at the back of the line could be expecting to get theirs around 6 p.m.
She’s had other problems with a shuttle that was supposed to pick her up at her hotel about four miles south of downtown off IH-35. The shuttle, from R&R Limousine and Bus, she says, never showed up to pick her and other passengers up. Instead, she says, a compassionate hotel receptionist and a maintenance worker at the hotel drove the attendees to the fest. She started waiting at 7:30 a.m. and didn’t make it downtown until 10:20 a.m..
“R&R didn’t provide shuttle service we paid for,” she said. R&R hasn’t posted any Tweets since Friday, but some festgoers on Twitter have been Tweeting their displeasure with the service. Coniglio says she’s been keeping up with the problems on Twitter and believes the problem seems to be too few buses for outlying hotels. Around her neck, she was still wearing on Sunday a pass for the shuttle service.
The long waits for shuttle and for a badge have been stresses at a conference that is already overwhelming for a newcomer, she says.
(Photo by Omar L. Gallaga)
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Austin, SXSW 2012
SXSW panel: Computation and Its Impact on the Future
SXSW Keynote: Stephen Wolfram, founder and CEO, Wolfram Research
Time/Date: 12:30 p.m., Saturday (hashtag #compimpact)
The gist: Distinguished British scientist and inventor Stephen Wolfram explained the development and capabilities of his recently launched computational knowledge engine, Wolfram|Alpha, which allows users to ask a question and receive a response derived by the massive number-crunching and modeling enabled with computation.
Along with the computational software system Mathematica, which Wolfram was chief designer of, Wolfram is using the Wolfram|Alpha system to tackle an array of fundamental problems in science and technology.
The system, developed in 2009, aims to introduce a new way of getting information - not by searching the web, but by doing dynamic computations based on a large collection of built-in data, algorithms and methods.
Wolfram predicted that computation will have profound impacts on how we diagnose and treat disease and that computation will become intuitive - where instead of users telling computational systems what they want to know to solve a problem, the systems will be intelligent enough to guide users on what they need to know.
“More and more I see information becoming pre-emptive. Our system will know what’s going on in the world in general and will be telling us the things we need to know or do,” he said.
Wolfram said computation is enabling people to discover facts and concepts that couldn’t previously be explored. These new discoveries can be as important as how to better diagnose disease, to determining how many times a specific character speaks in a Shakespeare play.
To demonstrate the power of Wolfram|Alpha, which he launched in 2009, Wolfram plugged personal analytics that he has collected on himself since 1989. The analytics were then computed by Wolfram|Alpha to determine things like how many keystrokes Wolfram has made since 1989, and what times of days he sends and receives the most email.
“Personal analytics are just the tip of the iceberg. Computation is going to show up everywhere, and one example is in medicine,” he said.
Computation, which developed alongside computers in the 1960s and 1970s, is the most important idea to emerge over the last century, he said.
In the past two decades the science has produced prediction results and simulations that are getting closer and closer to real-life outcomes.
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SXSW keynote: Amber Case
SXSW Keynote: Amber Case
Time/Date: 2 p.m. Sunday, March 11 (hashtag: #AmberCase)
Speaker: Amber Case, co-Founder Geoloqi.com and cyborg anthropologist
The gist: Mobile technology has turned us all into cyborgs.
Quotes: We are all cyborgs. The minute you look at a screen you are in a symbiont relationship with technology.
We are looking at extensions, not of the physical self, but of the mental self.
The devices are larger on the inside than they are on the outside. We all have these little Mary Poppins bags with us.
I’m worried a little bit that this is all ethereal.
Your computer becomes an external brain.
I find that I miss all of my life when I’m looking at the screen all the time.
Your phone can be used to augment reality, but also become a remote control for reality.
Takeaways: - Case looked at the evolution of technology and used the example of solid (solid computing interfaces like mice and keyboards) to liquid (liquid touch screens) to air (augmented reality and heads-up displays of location-based information).
Case discussed augmented reality pioneer Steve Mann, who started wearing about 80 pounds of computer equipment in 1981 to augment his reality with messages and overlays. He now wears a set of glasses that project a laser image on his eyes.
She discussed the danger of persistent architecture like mice and keyboards. She calls that kind of tech dangerous because it limits the development of new interfaces.
She discussed calm technology that is not constantly vying for our attention. It’s in the background. It’s quiet. She gave the example of a vibrating belt that signals when the wearer is facing north. Users eventually developed a natural sense of direction. Case suggested that this technology could be used for GPS apps on phones so that drivers don’t have to look at a screen and create dangerous situations.
Case worked with her Geoloqi company to develop augmented reality that operates in the background to provide info (recognizes when you are standing at a bus stop and tells you how long until the next bus will arrive), but also turning the phone into a remote control (turn the lights on in your house when you turn the corner on your street).
Case talked about the importance of making the interface disappear in order to make the technology easier to use, but also pushing it into the background.
-One of the biggest obstacles to this technology is battery drain.
-Case announced that her Geoloqi company is partnering with appcelerator, factual and LocAid to expand features.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Dual Presentation: Nick Denton on the Failure of Comments
Time/Date: 11 a.m., Sunday (hashtag: #DentonInt)
Panelists: Nick Denton, Gawker Media; Anil Dash, Activate
The gist: Gawker Media publisher Nick Denton discussed designing comments systems for “the most intelligent members of the audience.” Gawker’s stable of blogs cover everything from science fiction to productivity. Sites include Gizmodo, Kotaku, Deadspin, io9 and Lifehacker.
Denton, who was once a journalist at the Financial Times and The Economist, said the stories that go unreported were the inspiration behind Gawker.
“I was struck how the conversations you’d have with journalists after deadline were far more interesting than what would appear in the newspaper the next morning,” Denton said. “It was the story behind the story, and we turned that into a business.”
But that business hasn’t spared Denton’s site from the same commenting problems that plague newspapers, magazines and nearly every other online community from YouTube to Reddit.
“I want good conversations online. In the late ’90s, there was still a hope that online could capture the intelligence of the readership, that the web would allow writers and readers to collaborate on stories. [Today] the idea of capturing the intelligence of the readership? That sounds like a joke.”
Denton calls this the “tragedy of comments.” Though he doesn’t believe it’s happening online yet, Denton thinks there is a way to combat the vitriolic, lowest common denominator comments; Gawker will launch a new commenting system working toward that goal in the next six weeks.
Denton is quick to point out that this isn’t about squashing debate, which he sees as essential to a comments section. “Have you ever had a good conversation with people who just agree? That sounds like the most boring conversation on the planet. A good conversation involves disagreement.”
Gawker’s new comments section will be about “shared responsibility and ownership,” letting those who start a conversation serve as curator of the comments that follow. “No one really feels ownership and the quality of the environment deteriorates until it becomes a complete wasteland,” he said. “I don’t like going into the comments because for every two that are interesting there are eight that are off topic or just toxic, and I want to be able to deal with the intelligent critics and not with everybody.”
A comment section’s negativity can also seep into the content, Denton said. “The comments set the tone for the writer. There are earnest stories our writers would like to write, but they know there would be jeers from the commenters.” This feedback loop creates an antagonistic relationship between writers and readers and keeps the content creators from engaging in the community.
While other sites have attempted to connect commenters to their Facebook or Twitter accounts to make the conversation more civil, Denton said he doesn’t see that as the answer. “Anonymity is at the heart of the Internet. It let’s [commenters] be themselves. Anonymity is critical for people within an organization to expose the truth about an organization. We have to have anonymity as one of our tools.”
The new Gawker commenting system would also include what Denton calls “fractional commenting,” which would allow discussions to form around specific parts of an article such as a particular paragraph or an element of a photo, similar to the way SoundCloud users may comment on one segment of a song.
The new system would also ambitiously aim to bring sources in to share their side of the story. Denton gave the example of Dov Charney, founder and CEO of American Apparel and the object of a multitude of less-than-flattering articles on Gawker women’s issues site Jezebel. But, Denton said, Dov should have a chance to chime in on the discussion.
“As it it now, he would never go into the comments now on Jezebel. He would be torn limb from limb. But what if we could provide security for Dov to say his piece?” Denton said. “We don’t really believe in democratic process or decision making when it comes to discussion. I want to hear from Dov Chamey if he’ll go in. And if you put it to a vote, they’d vote to ban him on Jezebel. If you want to have interesting dissenting opinions you can’t put it up to a vote.”
Denton said the new system will go live first on Gawker.com.
Denton also briefly touched on an email NBC’s Brian Williams sent him criticizing musician Lana Del Rey for her SNL performance. After receiving the email, Denton said he forwarded it to Gawker’s editor to point out that the widely ridiculed performance was not being covered. The editor decided to post the Williams email on Gawker’s home page.
“I have a voicemail from [Williams] that I haven’t listened to yet,” Denton said.
“Play the voicemail now,” a man in the audience shouted.
Denton smiled. “I won’t get any page views out of it so what’s the point?”
Quotes: “Gossip is just news. It’s just the news you really want.” -Denton
“We don’t want to be judged by J-School standards. The only standard we care about is to entertain and inform our readers and tell the truth.” -Denton
“What was so bad about that Gap logo? Maybe it was ugly, but the idea that a major corporation could be bullied by a mob that represented probably 0.5 percent of the customer base is extraordinary.” -Denton
“In the old world, [juicy stories were only] passed around from journalist to journalist… People keep the best stories for themselves. The truth of the matters is, blogs were supposed to revolutionize that. They were supposed to level the playing field and make the reader as informed as the writer, but it didn’t happen.” -Denton
“No newspaper journalist likes the commenters.” -Denton
“We don’t care about the volume of comments. I would happily drop half of our comments if they would be twice as interesting.” -Denton
“Wouldn’t’ it be nice if people who disagreed moderately about things could actually be in the same room and have a sensible contestation?” -Denton
“With the iPhone 4 leak story, people felt sympathy for the guy who left the iPhone in the bar. Readers loved our story. You get to see the iPhone two months early, Steve Jobs got really pissed, but you also get this really human story about this guy who lost his phone. They feel sympathy for the subject, but they want to read the story.” -Denton on Gizmodo’s the iPhone 4 leak coverage from April 2010
“People don’t experiment, partly because they had venture funding and people have a board to watch out for and investors are often the most conventional thinkers around.” -Denton on the lack of innovation in online communities
“The danger we face is that we have become a media company, and we’ve developed some of the habits of a media company.” -Denton on the fine line between Gawker sites and other media
“The ‘gamification’ of comments was a wrong turn. We had an approval process. You had to go thorough vetting, but the public process of starring and banning has been way too drama ridden. It stresses everyone out.” -Denton on Gawker Media’s last attempt to fix comments
“[The best comments] don’t come from people who have a long history of commenting. Often it’s a first timer. They want to set the record straight. Those are the most valuable comments of all, and no system that is in existence allows those comments to come to the top.” -Denton
“There are plenty of interesting sites that are butt ugly.” -Denton on website design
Takeaways: The idealistic view of what comments could be may have changed, but there still may be ways to elevate the level of discussion in online communities.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW panel: Social Media Is a Bubble and SXSW Is a Fad
Time/Date: 12:30 p.m. Sunday (hashtag: #SMBubble)
Panelists: Curtis Hougland, founder and CEO, Attention; Alyson Shontell, editor at Business Insider; Josh Levine, CEO of Rebel Industries; Jason Rzepka, MTV.
The gist: A bubble in tech is defined by overpaid people and companies, an inflated valuation, a glut of companies trying to do something and irrational exuberance. The tech industry right now is experiencing a glut of start-ups and apps and SXSW Interactive itself may fall victim to the bursting of a bubble if some of these companies come to do business and go home empty-handed. The energetic panel started with some humorous bits (mostly from Rzepka) about start-up/app hype. Great questions from the audience (including one in which panelist Levine was called out for decrying the very things that in his SXSW panelist bio) made for an energetic discussion. It seems many people in the room have had some of the doubts expressed by the panel rolling around in their heads as well. For instance, one of the hot apps of the fest, “Highlight,” was discussed. Few people in the audience said they are using it and no one raised their hand when asked if they were having a positive experience with it. When the talk shifted to SXSW Interactive, there were complaints about the Panel Picker (It should be more curated by the conference, Levine said), the party-hearty atmosphere of the fest and even the SXSW Go app. There was a small amount of dissension on whether the social media bubble is real, but most audience members and the panelists seem to believe it’s inevitable. And, if it increases the value of companies that really matter, that might not be such a bad thing.
Quotes: “This doesn’t stand for much anymore.” — Hougland. “I”ve been coming to SXSW since it was cool… in 2010.” — Rzepka. “I think business IS pleasure here. It’s one and the same.” — Shontell. “I think the Panel Picker is a mistake.” — Levine, saying he thinks things should be more carefully curated by experts at the conference instead of the public. “Give us some time to digest this.” — audience member proposing fewer panels and more time to go off and discuss and not be so overwhelmed. “SXSW might be a symptom of the bubble.” — Hougland. “SXSW needed to be here at the panel.” — Hougland, promising they’ll give the feedback from the panel to the festival. “Don’t fear the bubble.” — Shontell, saying the talent will disperse in great ways and that great things might come from it bursting. “It feels a lot like it did in 2000.” — Hougland, who says the bubble is real.
Takeaways: There’s a glut of competition out there and it’s harder for consumers to differentiate. Interactive keeps getting bigger because it includes everything; at some point that could make it mean nothing. Hype and too much money and too many people trying to feed at the start-up frenzy trough could bring an end to the boom if that process hasn’t already started.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW, SXSW 2012
SXSW panel: Celebs & causes: A thin line between #winning & #fail
Time/Date: 12:30 p.m., Sunday (hashtag: #causeceleb)
Panelists: Aria Finger, dosomething.org; Kenna Zemedkun, Musician; Diana Walker, United Nations Foundation; Noopur Agarwal, MTV Networks
The gist: Panelists discussed the role of celebrities in promoting social causes via social media and the success, failure and best strategies. the conversation focused on case studies including 2010’a “Dead” campaign, in which celebs including Alicia Keys “died” by signing off of social media, refusing to sign back on until fans pledged $1 million to charity.
The panel agreed that the campaign was less than successful, but applauded the risk.
“The organization took a very big risk, doing something that was never done before. Being too provocative might have turned people off,” Agarwal said.
““This happened in 2010. that was a long time ago in social media years,” Walker added. “I give them credit for experimenting. I think they’re all still learning.”
They next discussed Lady Gaga’s Twitter campaign to repeal the U.S. Military’s controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and her reaction to the death by suicide of Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14-year-old bullied, gay male. The panelists debated whether or not the singer was the right person to speak out.
“She was the right artist,” Finger said. “She’s crystal clear about what her focus is (LGBT issues) and I think that gives her a lot of legitimacy.”
The third case study was Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore’s humorous campaign against child sex trafficking, “Real Men Don’t Buy Girls.” Panelists gave the cause a thumbs up but assigned the campaign low marks.
“I didn’t think the video was funny. I think we need a real goal, rather than just talk,” Finger said. Walker agreed. “I really think you do have to use your social currency, your megaphone, on an issue you care about. To me, I’m not compelled or convinced that any of these celebs are taking action. I feel like they’re just doing it because they are friends of Demi and Ashton.”
Finally, the panel discussed Kony 2012, a trending film and campaign by Invisible Children to raise support for the arrest of Joseph Kony, leader of the rebel group Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) carrying out acts of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and South Sudan.
“You become passionate watching that video. I just think it’s awesome,” Kenna said.
“Videos need to stay under 2 minutes at most,” Walker added. “The fact that a 30-minute video can go viral is remarkable. Getting back to the celebrity part, I think it was genius that they mobilized individuals to push celebrities into action.”
“People were asking Rihanna. It was down to Rihanna. If she didn’t retweet (the video), she was an (expletive).”
Quotes: “I think we need a real goal, rather than just talk,” — Finger; “Individual stories are the most compelling. You can talk about bullying as a whole, but when you hear someone’s individual story it’s very telling,” — Walker;
Takeaways: Celebrity involvement in social issues can definitely impact social cause campaigns and, with the access fans have to them through social media, that impact is greater than ever. But celebrities need to be credible and consistent spokespeople for the causes they are drawn into. Humor can be an effective tool in social media campaigns, but it’s really hard to mix humor and serious social issues and get it right. Finally, campaigns should not be confusing — they need to have a consistent message and a clear call to action.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Digital Sport: Know More, Do More
SXSW Panel: Digital Sport: Know More, Do More
Time/Date: 11 a.m., Sunday
Presenters: Jimmy Fallon; Allyson Felix; Andrew Wilson, EA Sports; Fred Santarpia, general manager at VEVO; Stefan Olander, vice president Digital Sport Nike The gist: Comedian and late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon joined four other panelists to discuss how gaming, technology and music can motivate people to be more active and make sports more fun.
The panel, which included track and field athlete Allyson Felix and Vice President of Digital Sport at Nike Stefan Olander, was peppered with jokes from Fallon, who kicked it off by making a quip about Olander’s resemblance to Matthew McConaughey and Felix’s speed.
“She’s the fastest woman in the world,” Fallon said while introducing the two-time Olympic silver medal winner. “So fast that while I’ve been talking, she actually left the stage and ran back out again. Oh, she just did it again now.”
Fallon’s participation in the SXSW Interactive panel wasn’t announced until just days ago, and was greeted with enthusiasm by festival attendees - who formed a line wrapping around the sixth floor of the Hilton hotel in downtown Austin to get inside the packed ballroom where the Nike-sponsored panel was held.
“When you think of great figures in music, sports and technology, a few names come to mind. I Jimmy Fallon am not one of those names. So what am I doing here? I thought I was here to see The Magnetic Fields,” he joked.
The panelists sought to answer a few questions: How do you bring sport and activity to a new level of engagement? How do you motivate people to get moving? What influence does music have on motivation, and do we create more fun if we make it a game or a competition - is social the catalyst?
The answer to the latter was overwhelmingly yes.
“We live in a Facebook and Twitter generation. Everything we do in this world is so much bigger than what we did 10 years ago,” Andrew Wilson, of EA Sports said. “[In gaming] the thrill of victory and agony of defeat that comes from a community engaged in experience is unbelievable.”
Wilson said the idea of crowd sourcing data in real-time has transformed the gaming industry into one in which how players play the games tells developers how to make them better.
“”It’s changed from being this dead media where we build it, you buy it…” Wilson said. “Now, it’s turned into a conversation that’s two ways.”
Olander said the same effect has occurred in sports.
Sports are inherently social, he said, and apps like Nike’s Cheer Me On - which lets your Facebook friends know when you start a run and provides real-time cheers when friends like or post a comment on your status - are increasing peoples’ motivation for working out.
Social media creates an online community of people who can support one another and hold each other accountable in workouts, he said.
“We’re driven by recognition. As human beings, we want credit and gaming has done a good job of this. When you reach a new level you feel good about it, and the same happens in the world of sports,” he said.
Olander said there is incredible power in knowing how you’re doing from one day to another, and how it relates to your friends - something that Nike considered when developing the Nike+ FuelBand - a wristband designed to be worn through-out the day that encourages the wearer to be more active by sharing real-time data about exercise.
Olander said the transformation enabled by social media and sharing real-time data has moved NIKe from a company that only produces to products to one that provides services for people to be better athletes.
Fred Santarpia, general manager at VEVO, said social media will also transform how music is produced and released. Instead of music artists producing an album with 15 tracks, going on tour and then taking a break for a couple years to work on new material, Santarpia said they will likely releases singles all the time.
Just like musicians can interact instantly with fans through Twitter and Facebook, athletes are too to increase their motivation.
“Twitter is so cool because for the first time I get to engage with fans and talk back and forth,” Felix said. “And knowing they’re excited and pumped for a race brings extra energy to me when I’m stepping on the track and wanting a better performance.”
Fallon had the chance to show of his running skills when an audience member challenged him to a race down the aisle of the ballroom. Fallon lost, but, as expected, still got all the laughs.
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SXSW scene: Mobli 2.0 party (Or, 'The night that Leo came to Interactive')
Photos by Vivien Killilea, via Getty Images Entertainment, provided by Mobli.
So, it was the night that Leo came to Interactive.
In a year for South by Southwest Interactive in which some of the biggest names to ever come to the festival (as opposed to Film and Music), Leonardo DiCaprio may be the biggest name yet. And for this year, that includes Jay-Z, who will play a Monday show for American Express at ACL Live; Al Gore, who will do a Q&A with entrepreneur Sean Parker on Monday and Jimmy Fallon, who on Sunday moderated a panel for Nike.
It’s getting a little celebrity up in here for SXSWi.
DiCaprio was in town Saturday night along with Tobey Maguire, Lukas Haas and Jared Leto for a party thrown by start-up Mobli, which has created a tool for celebrities to create their own content channels for photos and videos and, as the chief executive of the company says repeated, “To tell their own stories.”
In a chat with CEO Moshiko Hogeg, we learned that Mobli originated in Israel at a concert Hogeg attended with his then-girlfriend where he noticed all the people shooting photos and video with cell phones. To hear him tell it, he imagined an app or tool that would allow people not at the concert to experience the show through the eyes of those seeing it.
He secured a major investor and then something surprising happened. Actor Lukas Haas began using the app and told his buddy, Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio became an investor and now Tobey Maguire is on board too. Lance Armstrong and other celebrities have created channels on Mobli and the company’s big party on Saturday night was a launch party for version 2.0 of its app.
Hogeg says that most of the executive team now operates out of New York City but about 20 staffers handling tech are still based in Israel.
Early at the party before things got going, an awkward group of investor-types and about 20 models brought in from San Antonio and Houston (apparently there’s a model shortage in Austin due to SXSW) made small talk before the lights went down, DJ Spooky took over the turntables and the crush of people in anticipation of the guests got thick.
At about 10:30 p.m., Tobey Maguire and Lukas Haas entered the fray, gamely agreeing to have camera phone pics taken with fans. A few minutes later, Oscar-nominee DiCaprio appeared from a VIP room with a group of several large men keeping people away and sticking their hands in front of camera lenses. DiCaprio, with facial scruff and a black Oakland Raiders cap worn low on his forehead, posed for photos, but was not really about the glad-handing.
The party got louder, the liquor flowed more freely and soon Kevin Connolly from “Entourage” and Jared Leto were partying too. It was an intense private party given the whole production was about an app; Interactive is clearly morphing into something bigger, something able to attract a-list actors and musicians to the fest, even if they’re just here to be seen and get a photo taken. But isn’t that the kind of thing that eventually leads to a bust?
(More on the party from Michael Barnes.)
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SXSW Core Conversation: Tapping into America's Secret Sauce: Entrepreneurs
Time/Date: 11 a.m. Sunday, March 11 (hashtag: #USAsauce)
Panelists: Steve Case, Chairman & CEO Revolution Llc and founder of AOL; Tim O’Shaughnessy, CEO LivingSocial
The gist: Steve Case, one of America’s most iconic entrepreneurs, and Tim O’Shaughnessy, CEO and co-founder of LivingSocial, discussed their paths as successful entrepreneurs and how the rest of the country can tap that entrepreneurial spirit and talent to build a strong economy.
Quotes: As a nation, I think we need a broader entrepreneurial base. We think there are a lot of great companies with a lot of great entrepreneurs, but the capital is still focused in just a few areas. - Steve Case
I do believe that the sharing economy is something that is going to develop over the next few years. -Steve Case
Our economy and our job creation engine is entirely reliant on what you guys, these young companies, do. -Steve Case
On the needs for immigration reform: Once we give them these degrees, we kick them out of the country and they go back to their own country and they start companies that compete with us. -Steve Case
Takeaways: -Case and O’Shaughnessy discussed the need for scaling businesses and figuring out the right time to hit the accelerator and expand and when to focus on developing the product or service in a startup.
-They discussed the challenges of maintaining a company culture while expanding exponentially. O’Shaughnessy discussed how Living Social had employees that were hiring new team members when they had only worked there three months. They were successful in maintaining company culture because they had a lot of training and discussions around how to maintain the culture.
“The systemization of that process has allowed us to grow and not fall apart. It’s difficult to get that many people marching in the same direction at the same time.” -Tim O’Shaughnessy
-Case discussed how the first internet revolution was connecting everyone, a la AOL. The next internet revolution, he said, will be using that connection to make things more efficient (car sharing, vacation home sharing) and how to make people’s lives easier (mobile apps).
-Case discussed a new jobs bill that is currently before Congress. It has passed the House and is expected to go before the Senate this week. The bill would encourage startups and entreprenuership by reducing reporting burdens for companies with over 500 investors, allowing for more crowd funding investments and making IPOs easier for small companies.
“People are figuring this out in other countries. They are figuring out how to put entrepreneur-friendly policies in place.” -Steve Case
-While tech startups are doing well, startups in other industries are down 23 percent, Case said, and those startups are primary job drivers in the economy.
-Case suggested that the next step, if the jobs bill passes, would be to reform immigration policies so that foreign students that come to the U.S. to study are not kicked out after getting their degrees, and instead are encouraged to stay in the U.S. and start companies.
-O’Shaughnessy discussed how there are default answers for search (Google) and retail (Amazon). There is not yet a default answer for local info, but there will be in the next 10 years. It remains to be seen who that will be.
-Startups heading into the speed-up phase need to learn how leverage their business models and their technology in new ways. O’Shaughnessy said that at Living Social, they specialize in helping businesses with new customer acquisition, but they started looking at businesses that were full and needed new revenue streams. For instance, a sushi restaurant that is always booked, but wants to offer cooking classes and doesn’t want to shut down the restaurant to do it. Living Social could secure the facility and help the business market the classes and grow a new revenue stream.
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SXSW Featured Session: Barry Diller interview: State of the content industry 2012
Time/Date: 11 a.m., Sunday (hashtag: #bdiller)
Panelists: Ali Velshi, CNN; Barry Diller, IAC
The gist: Diller was repeatedly pressed by Velshi to predict the future of the technological landscape. The mogul responded by refusing — or saying he was unable — to prognosticate, but he frequently railed against the concepts of entrepreneurship and innovation, insisting that if young people were interested in doing something in a particular area, there was already a foundation and structure for it.
“The dumbest thing is to start out alone,” he said. “It’s a great thing to be part of some other group that has maturity or things you’d like to learn.”
He also spent a great deal of time talking about — and demonstrating — Aereo, a service set to go live March 14 in New York City. Using a device the size of a dime, Aereo captures over-the-air signals available in a given market and delivers them wirelessly to any device — phone, iPad, etc., through an Internet interface. The service costs $12 per month and New York broadcast stations have already sued to stop its deployment, wanting a retransmission fee similar to the stipend they receive from cable and satellite providers. Diller says that they stations are not “on the side of the angels.”
“When you get Radio Shack to pay you for some slice of their profit when they sell an aerial, we’ll be happy to give you anything you want,” he said. In any event, Diller anticipates a good fight. If successful in New York, he anticipates rolling the service out to 75-100 cities within a year.”
Quotes: “Location based is obvious. I just don’t find it that interesting.” “I’m always attracted to the radical.” “We’ve got now bandwidth and we’re always going to have more bandwidth, so we’re going to use it. The main tracks are laid … even though our speeds are less than a lot of smaller countries.” “If there’s no commercial purpose, there’s no purpose. I’m not talking about non-profits.” “As long as you have an idea, can broadcast to everyone. That is a profound change in how media has been organized for the last 100 years.” - Diller.
Diller: “Cable won’t disappear.”
Velshi: “Good. Otherwise I’d be coming to you for a job.”
Diller: “That’s okay; everybody does.”
Takeaways: Technology is providing a radical shift in how people access and receive content. Diller predicts that the bundling model of programming delivery favored by the entrenched interests of cable and satellite companies will be defeated (but not completely go away) allowing viewers to access content a la carte and on the go through devices connected to the Internet.
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SXSW panel: The Rise of Brooklyn Food Scene
Time/Date: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_IAP11870">11 a.m. Sunday (hashtag: #bklynfood)
Panelists: Christina Tosi, pastry chef at Momofuku Milkbar; David Crofton, co-owner of One Girl Cookies; Erica Shea, co-owner of Brooklyn Brew Shop; Jessica Applestone, owner of Fleishers, a butcher shop; Peter Meehan, food writer for the New York Times.
The gist: The national food scene is rising, not just Brooklyn’s, and it’s a constant give and take among all the people who contribute to it, from the butchers, bakers and beer-makers on the panel to other chefs to the farmers to the food writers. “Everything that we’re doing is informing that movement,” Applestone said. “And everything that everybody else is doing is influencing us, too.”
The proximity to Manhattan has certainly helped launch Brooklyn’s food scene specifically because the world’s publishing and media powerhouses are based there. The people who run those businesses can hop on the train to explore Brooklyn and then tell the world what’s happening there. Also, Brooklyn’s rich ethnic history influences everyone who has ever lived, traveled or operated a business there.
Quotes: Shea: “We launched the Brooklyn Brew Shop out of the Brooklyn Flea, which is an incubator for so many food businesses. It was like getting an MBA by fire.”
Meehan: “Brooklyn has gone from a place that was a little bit on the fringe to the center of the discussion about food in New York.”Â
Applestone: “Across the country, there’s a real do-it-yourself attitude with food. People want to take our classes and apprenticeship to learn butchery. It’s part of the spirit that informs what we do.”
Takeaways: Crofton said that Brooklyn’s small-town feel contributes to why the food scene has been so successful. To know all the other chefs and bakers means that you can call one of them up if you need help, advice or just to vent about poor sales one month.Â
Tweets and websites are great, but Applestone says that the power of people walking into your shop, picking up your book is what matters the most. Tosi said that when Momofuku first opened, they hadn’t even claimed the website URL, but Shea said that they grabbed the URL before they even launched the business.
Part of the Fleisher’s business model is not to ship out products. People across America might learn about their butcher shop through a book like Julie Powell’s “Cleaving” or an article in the New York Times, but not being able to get it through the Internet forces people to seek out similar local businesses no matter where they are.Â
Tosi said that she wouldn’t want to run anything but a neighborhood bakery. She finds inspiration from getting to and from work every day and from other businesses and Brooklynites. “The book is great, but it all starts and ends at the bakery every day,” Tosi said.
We’re getting back to a more pure expression of food. Applestone said they started Fleisher’s because they couldn’t find a butcher who sold sustainably-raised meats. “The first time the food inspector came to our shop, he said, ‘You use butter?’,” Crofton said.Â
To celebrate meat puns, Applestone hosts a Tshirt contest with Serious Eats and the winning sayings, like “Bacon gives me a lardon,” end up on shirts.
Photo by chrisgold via Creative Commons on Flickr.
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SXSW Panel: Stand with Planned Parenthod: A Crisis Response
11 a.m. Sunday: 9:30 a.m. Sunday (#SXStandwPP)
Panelists:Amy Bryant Digital content manager for Planned Parenthood, Gabriela Lazzaro Engagement Planner iCrossing, Heather Holdridge director of digital strategy for Planned Parenthood,Nakia Hansen director of social media strategy for The College Board, and Stephanie Lauf director of online supporter engagement for Planned Parenthood.
The gist: Within the past year, funding for Planned Parenthood has threatened to be cut by the government, and had one of it’s main supporters pull hundreds of thousands in funds.
But by prepping and opening themselves up to their supporters and audience, the women’s healthcare provider said they were able to launch their campaign for help with incredible response.
The Planned Parenthood team used three points for their campaign: prime your community so they’ll be there when you need them, get control of the message early, and engage with your supporters and give them meaningful calls to action. Reaching out to supporters through email and social media, Planned Parenthood educated people and alerted them to the upcoming events.
In Spring 2011, the federal government came close to cutting all funding for the program, but voted against it. The “I Stand With Planned Parenthood” campaign reached thousands of women, and more than 100,000 people responded to an email by signing an open letter to Congress of their support.
At the tail end of the panel discussion, there was mention of Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s threat to cut the Texas Women’s Health Program which could impact more than 130,000 women. “The fight is never over,” Hodgins said.
Quotes: “One in five women have visited Planned Parenthood in her lifetime.”- Hansen
“One of the things that was so important was that we spent so much time explaining what Planned Parenthood actually does.” - Bryant
“The old instinct is to get your message together after the crisis but when something like this happens our supporters are asking about it within minutes.” Bryant.
“Within moments of the house vote, we launched a ton of messages on our social media sites, emails.” - Lauf
“I think one of the interesting things about the two incidents, as contrasted with what we were doing a month ago, that campaign lasted four days. The congress fight was several months.” -Holdridge
“When Komen happened, the community was primed because they had seen different versions and iterations of this fight.” - Holdridge
“The average supporter is going to wait until the crisis is at level 10 and we want to have all the information on the web site there and available for them.” - Bryant
Takeaways: By Planned Parenthood engaging their community early on and educating them about their mission, the organization was able to stay afloat in their most financially scary time.
Instead of waiting for something to happen, their proactive approach proved to be successful beyond what some of the organizers believed.
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SXSW Panel: Socializing the Presidency: Digital Politics 2012
Time/Date: 9:30 a.m. Sunday (#sxsw #SocialPres)
Panelists: Christina Bellantoni, PBS NewsHour; Craig Newmark, Craiglist Founder; Heather Smith, Rock the Vote; Maria Teresa Kumar, Voto Latino; Mary Katharine Ham, WMAL, Cumulus Media
The gist: During the 2008 presidential elections, Americans witnessed social media take a massive role in the campaigns, especially in affecting fundraising. In just four years, new technologies have popped up and others have disappeared. In 2012, there’s no question now that social media’s role is crucial, and panelists debated on how social media and other location based mobile technologies may transform and shape the upcoming presidential elections.
Some social media trends in politics include using more QR codes in merchandise, synching voter registration cards with state voter cards, and spreading information about changing registration and Voter ID laws, which is expected to cause major confusion during upcoming elections, potentially leaving many voters without ability to register.
Ham said Twitter’s @reply option is underused and could be used more to have relationships with campaigns and get direct access to candidates in a way that didn’t happen before.
She also added that unlike the previous presidential election where the amount of engagement online was extremely predictive of results, now it’s the way campaigns use social media that will be predictive not the amount of engagement online.
We’re also seeing the power of film in organizing, like with the recent trending KONY 2012 video, Smith said.
She added “in 1992, we registered 200,000 voters and that was massive at the time. Fast forward to registration using the Internet, and it’s 2.2 million people.”
Quotes:
“There’s a motivation barrier. We (Rock the Vote) did a lot of work to making voting cool, we wanted to make it part of your identity. Right now politics is a dirty word. When it starts to feel fake, it stops feeling about you.” —Smith
“With social media now, we as individuals can make the difference ourselves.” — Newmark
“The celebrity stuff is good for occasional attention, what matters is persistent grassroots pressure from the bottom up.” — Newmark on celebrities tweeting about news, politics
Social media can be effective, but you lose control right way (as far as messaging). —Newmark
“If you feel like power grab is happening, you fight that with greater participation.”—Smith
Takeaways: As more people are empowered with connectivity, their collective voice can move campaigns for better or worse. While last campaign focused more on what’s the new technology, the upcoming presidential election is about using those existing technologies more effectively.
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SXSW Panel: Is Our Photo-Madness Creating Mediocrity or Magic?
SXSW Panel: Is Our Photo-Madness Creating Mediocrity or Magic?
Time/Date: 9:30 a.m. Sunday (hashtag: #photomad)
Panelists: Kevin Systrom, founder and CEO Instagram; Kristen Joy Watts, Sr Content Strategist, Mobile & Social Platforms Group R/GA; Richard Koci Hernandez, Assistant Professor of New Media UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism; Verna Curtis Curator of Photography in the Prints & Photographs Division at the Library of Congress
The gist: Could the “like” button on Facebook be creating a high school like mentality, where people feel confident and popular or insecure and self-conscious based on the number of likes people give them any time they post a photo?
A panel that included Founder and CEO of Instagram Kevin Systrom and Emmy award-winning journalist and photographer Richard Koci Hernandez discussed this and the ways in which the rise of mobile photography is affecting how we express our creativity, and how we connect and communicate every day.
Hernandez, whose work has appeared in Time, Newsweek, USA Today and the New York Times, among others, said his biggest fear with the Facebook like feature is that it creates an online “popularity contest.”
In the long run, however, Hernandez said social media and the digital space give photographers instance exposure to a larger audience than was ever possible in the print space.
“I can post a picture right here, right now, and have thousands of people following and looking at it. That’s immense power and potential we have,” he said. “We are in the golden age of story telling.”
With more than 100 million photos uploaded to Facebook every day, 3.5 billion cameraphones in use around the world, and Instagram - which reached 13 million users in just 13 months, panelists said one of the greatest challenges in coming years will be managing, saving and sorting photos that are most relevant to the public.
The sheer volume of photos that we’re taking can lead to both thoughtfulness and thoughtlessness. Hernandez says that taking all these photos makes him more aware of the moment and enriches his life experience.
But Curtis is more wary. She says that by always being connected to a camera and a network of viewers doesn’t allow you a personal peace of mind to think and daydream. Constantly wondering if someone is liking your image limits the emotional experience of creating the photograph. Systrom agreed. “There’s value in separating yourself from the digital world for a certain amount of the day to give yourself that creative space.”
“Over the next few years, how do we present what matters? If 10,000 people are taking photos really quickly together in one place, it signals there’s something going on and we should be able to tap into that,” Systrom said. “…the biggest challenge is to figure out how to sift through that and present the most interesting photos.”
Systrom also defended Instagram and other photo-sharing sites against the claim that they distract from real world.
“Taking photos helps you see the world around you in a very new way,” he said. “And everyday that goes by on Instagram you see things you’d never seen before.”
Systrom says that when he first created Instagram, it wasn’t to create a voracious system of liking and branding or who can take the most beautiful or ironic photograph. It was based on the idea of how do you share your life on the go.
Curtis, the traditionalist on the panel, expressed nostalgia for the printed image and the process for developing film, but she does see value in camera phones because “people are making better images because they have a lot more practice.”
One thing the panelists didn’t address was the controversy about how filter photo apps like Instagram and Hipstomatic change the quality of photos (see the difference between the two photos at the top of this post) and if that degrades photography across the board.
Quotes: Hernandez: “I love the like button and I don’t believe in the tyranny of the like button, but my worry is that people’s passion for photography and creativity be extinguished because they don’t get likes. People shouldn’t associate their photo self-esteem with the like.”
Systrom: “It’s not about photography, it’s about the message.”
Systrom: “I’ve seen more of the world rather than less because of Instagram.”
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Video: A soggy Saturday at SXSW
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Video: Rainn Wilson at SXSW Interactive
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March 10, 2012
SXSW Panel: Reporters & Evangelists: Politics of Online News
SXSW Panel: Reporters & Evangelists: Politics of Online News Time/Date: 5p.m., Saturday (hashtag #partisans) Panelists: Andrew Gruen, citizen journalist at OhmyNews; Mary O’Hara, journalist at the Guardian; Shira Toeplitz, journalist/pundit Roll Call; Prajwal Ciryam, co-founder and managing editor of Partisans.org The gist: Three journalists squared off on the role of citizen journalism and sought to answer a question that’s become ever-present, especially in recent months as the presidential campaign trail blazes on: what’s the role of ideological journalism in online news?
The journalists came together for a panel moderated by Partisans.org Co-founder and Managing Editor Praywal Ciryam during day two of the SXSW Interactive festival.
Mary O’Hara, a journalist for The Guardian, said in reality there are a lot of newsrooms with political pressures to tell a story a certain way - an example of which was grossly evident when revelations first surfaced in July 2011 that reporters at News of the World hacked cell phones and paid police for information on a murdered teenager, among other cases.
“It goes to the heart of ethics in journalism,” O’Hara said. “Are you going in with such extreme agendas and methods you’re undermining the job of journalists and the profession?”
O’Hara said the hacking scandal, and subsequent public inquiry of the culture, ethics and practices of the British press, are the most extraordinary events to occur in journalism in the past 100 years.
“But it was journalists who exposed the malpractice of journalists so we have to be careful not to tar [all journalists],” she said.
Panelist Andrew Gruen, a contributor to the online citizen news site OhmyNews, championed citizen journalism, praised the creative ways emerging news sites, like the Texas Tribune, are finding funding from many sources, and predicted that stories could one day be written by algorithms.
Gruen cited technology created at Northwestern University that takes statistics from a baseball game, plugs them into an algorithm, and in 20 seconds can write a story that summarizes the outcome of the game.
“[With the technology], right after the game reporters could be on the field doing things only reporters can do,” he said.
The group also grappled with tough questions, like should reporters write stories that readers want or that they need to know (and is it arrogant to assume journalists know what readers need), and what three skills do traditional news reporters have that citizen reporters lack.
As a professional journalist for Roll Call, Shira Toeplitz said she and other professional journalists have a standard code of ethics and industry guidelines that govern their work, and they have editorial oversight in which multiple editors check for accuracy and balance when viewing stories.
O’Hara said a crucial issue in journalism is understanding and figuring out the concept of citizen journalists, which she said some professional reporters bemoan because they feel it devalues their work - rather, she said, than seeing citizen journalists as a supplement and valuable addition to traditional news.
“We’re in an extraordinary period of adjustment and haven’t figured out what our balance should be,” she said.
With the U.S. presidential campaigns underway, the panelists also discussed a Jan. 12 New York Times piece asking whether reporters should be “truth vigilantes” by correcting false information quoted in their stories by sources. The Times’ article used Mitt Romney and his assertion that President Obama has made speeches apologizing for America.
New York Times opinion writer Paul Krugman objected to Romeny’s assertion in a column but the Jan. 12 Times’ piece asked whether a reporter should do the same when writing a story about the claim.
“If this is a good idea, that journalists should be truth vigilantes, can partisan journalists do that?,” Toeplitz asked.
Ciryam responded that news sites can be partisan but they still have a responsibility toward the facts of a story.
The panelists also made their predictions as to whether the online news landscape would consolidate or further fragment and proliferate.
Gruen said the question is not a case of one or the other happening - but that both can happen together successfully.
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SXSW Panel: Feel Rich: Health is the New Wealth
Time/Date: 5 p.m. Saturday, March 10 (hashtag: #feelrich)
Panelists: Crystal Wall, food blogger for Feel Rich; Paul Wall, rapper; Shawn Ullman, CEO Feel Rich; Milton Harris, personal trainer
The gist: Feel Rich is the brain child of Quincy Jones III (QD3). The site seeks to harness the hip-hop community’s respect for music, movement and entertainment to promote a health and fitness culture. The site has harnessed multimedia and social media to take the message to the web.
Quotes:
We didn’t have a lot of money, and the networks weren’t interested in our content, so we took it to the streets and the streets are loving it. It shows this demographic wants this information. - Shawn Ullman
When you start to get interactive with people it starts catching on. - Milton Harris
If you want to become the next LeBron James or Steve Jobs, this is how you get there. We’re really just making health cool. - Shawn Ullman
As rappers, we promote partying, the party style of it and all the bad habits that go along with it. You don’t hear rappers talk about organic milk. This is so you can see that there are role models in this. -Paul Wall
When people discuss health in school, it’s always super corny.We want to teach that your body is something that you want to invest in. -Paul Wall
Takeaways: -Feel Rich, which launched in December and has 3 million views on its YouTube channel, seeks to reach out to urban communities that may have challenges with healthy eating and physical fitness.
-The site uses hip-hop stars and regular people to tell their stories of weight loss. The site combines blogs, video and social media.
-Offline components of the site include visits and classes to Boys and Girls Clubs and schools all over the country.
-The subtle message is that if you get healthy, you’ll be at the top of your game, which could lead to wealth, hence the name.
-The use of mobile technology has been key to reaching an urban population.
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SXSW Panel: Engineering serendipity to instigate and delight
Time/Date: 5:00 p.m., Saturday (hashtag: #serendipity)
Panelists: Aaron Parecki, Geoloqi.com; Aston Motes, Dropbox; Ben Carey, Benrik; Brett Martin, Sonar; Gabe Smedresman, Meet Gatsby
The gist:“Most of us having something in our pocket broadcasting where we are,” said Gabe Smedresman co-founder of Meet Gatsby. Smedresman led a panel of other techies who are finding ways to use that information to “manufacture serendipity.” For Smedresman’s Meet Gatsby and Brett Martin’s Sonar, that digitally created serendipity comes in the form of apps that introduce you to nearby people with similar interests.
Artist Ben Carey leverages those same tools in a different way with Situationist, an app that directs people to perform various tasks with strangers. Examples include, waving, high-fiving and hugging for five seconds. The app is currently banned by Apple from the App Store for “not quite using their technology as authorized.”
Smedresman himself questioned the idea of engineering serendipitous encounters or discoveries. “If serendipity is created by a machine, does it still have magic to it?”
“There’s something about Sonar that isn’t serendipitous,” Martin said. “There are algorithms and number crunching that find that connection. What is serendipitous is that [the two strangers] didn’t come to a place with a plan to meet each other.”
There is a certain utopian vision inherent in these types of apps, Carey said. “Part of what is behind [Situationist] is this idea that strangers are either psychopaths, pedophiles or terrorists. If you think strangers are nutters, you’re less likely to come together with them or feel you’re part of the same country. In a way, it was made to go against that kind of demonization of strangers.”
Whether or not users share the same optimistic viewpoint, there are some barriers keeping these apps from finding mainstream success. Besides concerns about privacy, there’s the strain geolocation apps place on a phone’s battery.
Martin joked there’s also another reason these serendipitous apps may be a hard sell in some advice to developers in the crowd. “People don’t wake up and think, ‘I want to meet new people today.’ People care about getting paid and getting laid, so I would focus your serendipity in those areas. Like, if one of you were to put $20 in my pocket, that would be serendipity I would be interested in.”
Quotes:“Serendipity is why we like to go out to eat even if we cook better food at home. It’s all about hoping something magical might happen. You’ve got to put yourself out there and see what happens.” -Martin
“Connecting two people is one of the most basic things we can do with this information… Having this information gets you past the barrier for entry of conversation.” -Smedresman
Takeaways:Location-based apps are giving mobile users new ways to find connections with friends of friends or people who may share similar interests, but privacy concerns and the limit of current phone batteries may slow adoption rates.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
Oh, the things you see at SXSW
“Oh, the things you see at SXSW,” said Jessica Torrez-Riley as I sat down next to her at the Austin Convention Center. She’s a graduate student, and, like me, it’s her first time at SXSWi.
What Torrez-Riley said is true. There are plenty of things at SXSW that will make you take a second look. I can’t remember half the things I saw yesterday, so I decided to chronicle some things I’m seeing today.
The ProxyBot, who/which is live streaming every step he takes.
People endlessly marketing their companies. Some even stick phones with QR codes on their heads. Is that a stuffed tiger?
Phone charging on a FedEx employee. She keeps telling everyone she is mobile charger, but I can tell she’s a little tired and annoyed.
And SXSW volunteers picking up endless fliers on tables and on the floor. A worker tells me fliers aren’t supposed to be handed out. Good luck with that.
So, as I make polite conversation with Torrez-Riley, the commuter train wails, people rush to get around and into free parties, she says, “I am so happy to be here. I’m in heaven.”
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Priming the audience for a truly social Olympic games
Time/Date: 5 p.m., Saturday (hashtag: #Connect)
Panelists: Alex Iskold, GetGlue; Lauren Pasquale, Samsung; Matthew Moller, Samsung; Shira Lazar, whatstrending.com; Stephanie Agresta, Samsung
The gist: This panel examined the impact of digital innovation on the Olympic Games and the possible ways convergence technology will shape viewers’ connections to Team USA and Olympic events. They talked about the U.S. Olympics Genome Project, which uses a sort of Six Degrees of Separation type philosophy to show people how they are connected to Olympians.
Quotes: “As a kid it was my dream to go to the Olympics, but I couldn’t do that. So now I get to participate as a social media director.” — Pasquale. “More athletes and Olympians than ever before are online.” — Lazar. “We’re really going to try to bring the Olympics to people in a completely new and different way.” — Moller. “It’s important for us to create a way for a fan to feel close to an athlete.” — Pasquale. “Our focus is on making the conversation the best it can be. Conversations remains our number on focus.” — Iskold. “Get Glue is fun because it provides more engagement for the viewers.” — Lazar. “I’m sure more athletes and Olympians than ever before are online.” — Lazar. “There isn’t that broadcast medium deciding or filtering who you’re going to follow.” — Moller. “We want to find a Linsanity at the Olympics.” — Lazar. “Some of the stories about why the dream doesn’t come true are as compelling as the ones that do come true.” — Pasquale.
Takeaways: The Olympics organization, technology makers and brands all hope to grab a piece of the Olympic social media pie and are going to greater links than ever to do so, using lessons learned in earlier Olympics such as Calgary to guide them. London should host the first truly social Olympics.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Fashion: Low-tech rain gear at a high-tech conference
Umbrellas have been everywhere around the Austin Convention Center this weekend and, honestly, it’s kind of cool. But for tons of techies headed back to Austin for SXSW, umbrellas were the last thing on their packing lists.
Which is okay. Companies including Discovery Channel, Fandango and Group Me had ponchos available in short order. A Fandango spokesperson told me that they rushed logo-laden ponchos into production in record time.
Meanwhile, others found creative ways to stay dry without umbrellas or ponchos — any port in a storm, eh?
Here’s a run-down of South By So Wet fashion.
Black
Pro: The “Little Black Poncho” is an essential element of any female geek’s wardrobe.
Con: Can look like a garbage bag.
Clear
Pro: Allows everyone to see that ironic t-shirt you’re wearing.
Con: Allows everyone to see that ironic t-shirt you’re wearing.
Basic Blue
Pro: Reminds people of the bright blue skies of SXSW ’11.
Con: Reminds people of the bright blue skies of SXSW ’11. Also, hope you like smurf jokes.
Hook ‘em!
Pro: It’s the poncho that screams “I’m a townie!”
Con: It’s the poncho that screams “I’m a tourist and an easy mark!”
Old Yeller
Pro: Highly visible in traffic.
Con: Sorry, but you kinda’ look like you stepped off a Morton Salt box.
Combover
Pro: The quickest way to get over to the Hilton for that MySQL coding panel.
Con: It seems to me that you’ve lived your life like a candle in the wind.
Baghead
Pro: Finally a good use for a swag bag.
Con: I don’t see any down side to this. I hope it’s a trend.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Featured Session: The View From Inside Rainn Wilson's Brain Stem
Panelists: Rainn Wilson, SoulPancake Founder
The gist: He comes from a beet farm on TV, but Rainn Wilson (who plays Dwight on NBC’s “The Office”) shows off his tech skills by chatting about how he’s created an online community, SoulPancake, that’s like social networking for those who want to think deeper.
This thoughtful and personal interactive forum— which his character Dwight would probably never use and, in fact, mock for its touchy-feely vibe— asks “life’s big questions” and has now moved to multiple media platforms.
Some questions asked on the site recently include “Does love make you complacent?” and “What makes you stronger?”
This summer SoulPancake is launching YouTube channels. They are also partnering with the Oprah Winfrey Network, and have taken SoulPancake questions to the street to inspire and challenge.
“My life has had an incredible journey,” Wilson said. “An artistic journey from doing experimental theater in New York City to a philosophical journey. The journey we all take as human beings. That’s what SoulPancake is about.”
Funny man Wilson managed to get the laughs while tugging at the heartstrings and getting people to think big.
Quotes:
“A lot people on the web want people enslaved to computers, clicking on ads. But I believe Internet is future of spirituality (meaning spirituality in a larger sense like creating beauty).”
“My history with the Internet..in 1993, my wife and I bought our first computer for $600 it had one program called Wordstar, and we bought off a message on a corkboard.”
“Remember search engines? When I started becoming an actor in LA I started searching myself or Ask Jeeving myself.”
“I truly believe we need to de-lamify spirituality. Anything that has to do with our higher selves, it’s creating things, art, anything that elevates us beyond pooping and eating.”
“I had amazing Great Books class in high school. And all we would do is debate. My teacher would say it’s continuing the big conversations. I didn’t see a place on the web for that conversation. Raissa Landor (his high school English teacher) now contributes and has her column on SoulPancake.”
Takeaways: Wilson’s spiritual and artistic journey, as well as his history with the Internet, led to the creation of SoulPancake, the brand as well as the website. There’s an opportunity to do more with the Internet and provide a service that inspires and provokes.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: How Women Present Themselves in the Digital Age
5:54 p.m., Saturday: 3:30 p.m., Saturday (hashtag: #SXperfanx)
Photo by Maira Garcia/AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Panelists: Bianca Bosker, Senior Tech Editor The Huffington Post, Lisa Ling EP and Host OWN, Margaret Johnson, Women’s Editor Huffington Post, Susan Orlean, Author, and Tiffany Shlain, Founder Connected the Film.
The gist: Women carry so many different roles in life, how do we keep our image respectable and acceptable in a digital age?
Most of us are honest. Some of us hate that social media has regurgitated our childhood insecurities and yet, the majority of us check incessantly to see who is liking our statuses, responding to our tweets, or responding to our most recent posts. This is on top of day-to-day worries and in real life experiences. We become obsessed and it could prove to be unhealthy.
Shlain suggests unplugging for a day. “If my brother, who is a doctor, can do it, you can, too.”
Women in the audience seemed to really enjoy this panel with an audible “Mmm-hmm” after many points made by the panelists. While most of the panelists admitted that they are a little wittier, nicer or more private online, they try to portray their true selves online.
Quotes: “Somehow, because there are so many vehicles that we have this burning desire to be liked. It’s exacerbated and perpetuated all these insecurities I had when I was younger. ” - Ling
“Women are the ultimate social media.” - Orlean quoting a Tweet sent to her.
“It’s been proven that women have more followers, tweet more and follow more. I feel more pressure to be witty and intelligent online.” - Bosker
“Everyone just wants to be loved, end of story. I think that we are being watched with this feeling that is going to make us ultimately collaborate more.” - Shlain
“While there is something extremely awful about bullying, I also think teens get a bad rap because adults are guilty of horrible behavior online. This is not something endemic to teens.” - Bosker
“Anyone who has lived through their teenage years, knows that thinking back to teenage years can deform you.” - Orlean
“All of this technology is making women more insecure than ever before. We are being bombarded with things at all hours of the day. To me, its all these things we grew up resisting.” - Ling
Takeaways:We want to be liked and we want to be accepted, and we want people to accept that we want to be liked. But it shouldn’t consume who we are and drudge up insecurities that are best left in our teens.
As a woman I must say, this panel was quite refreshing. It’s just too bad there were only a handful of men that attended.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW core conversation: Monetizing mommy
Time/Date: 5 p.m. Saturday (hashtag: #MommyMoney)
Panelists: Catherine Connors, Her Bad Mother; Erin Chase, Publisher, $5 Dinners LLC
The gist: When Catherine Connors started her blog in 2006, the idea of making money on a mom blog was considered controversial and most bloggers in her genre were memoirists and essay writers. ‘We have come a very, very long way since,” she says. Since then, blogs like hers have allowed some women to become entrepreneurs (last year, she says, her blog and its related business earned her six figures and 300,000 U.S. page views per month on average). Chase talked about how social media can be both a powerful distraction and a good tool to market a blog and to connect with other moms and brands. (Although she warned that Pinterest can be very addictive; she says she’s past the addiction phase.) For Connors, her experience led to a job as a director of Community for Babble Voices. For Chase, she’s gotten deals to publish cookbooks. Mom blogging is now an industry (there’s even a “social mom industry.”) When it comes to strategy, Connors says, she doesn’t strategize the content (much of which can be very personal), but she does strategize ways to make money from that content. She thinks there is room for strategies around bloggers who carve out specific niches for their content/writing. The core conversation at the Sheraton was full with plenty of men as well as women asking questions and seeking knowledge from the successful mommy bloggers.
Quotes: “Nobody makes a fast buck in blogging. It’s hard work. It’s definitely a job.” — Connors. “Twitter is where bloggers and brands talk to each other. Facebook is where EVERYBODY is. Pinterest is where the addicts are.” — Chase. “You can call it mommy blogging.” — Connors, on concerns that some people don’t like being labeled that way. “(Social media) can be a powerful distraction at times. It can become a 24 hour a day activity. You find yourself on 4 a.m. on Pinterest saying, ‘Oh I should have pinned that!’ — Chase. “What we are selling brands is the opportunity to work with bloggers in creative ways.” — Connors “Brands still make the mistake of not knowing who they’re reaching out to.” — Connors.
Takeaways: Mom blogging is evolving rapidly into a platform for entrepreneurship for women who are building businesses around their lives. Some brands are working with bloggers and with agencies who represent bloggers to reach those communities in creative ways. Communities like Babble (acquired by Disney) are working to cultivate that audience and build out content by hiring bloggers like Connors. Working with brands directly and developing relationships with them can be very lucrative. It’s not easy, they say, to determine what your mom blogging is worth when dealing with businesses who want to partner. You need to communicate with other bloggers and get under the hood of your own blog to learn what it’s worth so you don’t undervalue or try to overvalue yourself. If you’re a brand, know the blogger and be as specific as possible while creating a relationship.
Permalink | | Categories: Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012
SXSW scene report: PostSecret creator Frank Warren
Time/Date: 1 p.m., Saturday (hashtag: #bondSXSW)
Aspects of film, technology and music came together at Lambert’s over barbecue and beer at the BOND Strategy and Influence: SXSW Art + Tech + Innovation Salon, where visionaries marrying technology and art gave insight into their work.
Among those presenting was Frank Warren, creator of community art project PostSecret. Warren detailed the origins of his popular site, which is the most highly trafficked ad-free blog on the Internet.
In its early days, PostSecret was more manually run than its current iteration, with Warren handing out postcards and people mailing them back to his home. His anonymous secret-sharing project has expanded quite a bit from then, with Warren receiving around 600 cards a week, of which he posts 20 or so. As for those other 580 postcards, Warren said the curation is one of the most important aspects to PostSecret’s success.
People still occasionally send in physical postcards today, Warren said. These scraps of paper are now featured in museums, books, on the site and in Warren’s home, where he has a collection of nearly half a million.
He recently experimented with a mobile app that allowed users to share anonymously, but Warren said commenting became a problem — degenerating into the sort of “unproductive dialogs” you might find elsewhere on the web. The app has since been nixed. Warren said he is still interested in creating an application that captures the PostSecret experience, but as a company of one, it may be a ways off.
Warren said he hopes what people take away from the PostSecret is “that our deepest secrets that we think no one will understand and separate us from each other — if we can find the courage to share those with ourselves and with each other, we’ll see they really bring us together.”
As for the most common secret Warren receives? “Peeing in the shower.”
Warren will be speaking again tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at a free and open to the public live multimedia performance at the Austin Convention Center, Exhibit Hall B.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Tweeting Osama's Death: From Citizen to Journalist
SXSW Panel: Tweeting Osama’s Death: From Citizen to Journalist Time/Date: 2:30 p.m., Saturday (hashtag #OBLtweet) Panelists: Steven Myers (Poynter), Sohaib Athar
Steve Myers, Poynter.org managing editor (left), and Sohaib Athar, an IT consultant who unknowingly broke the first news on Twitter about the raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound.
The gist: At 1 a.m. on May 2, 33-year-old Sohaib Athar was beginning his workday at home as an IT consultant when helicopters began hovering above a compound in Abbottabad, 2 kilometers from his home.
This was a rare occurrence in the Pakistani city, so Athar took to the platform he’d used frequently to find out and share information about everything from politics to where to find a kitten for his son: his Twitter account.
“Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event),” he Tweeted. “A huge window shaking bang here… I hope it’s not the start of something nasty.”
Unknown to Athar, he was breaking the first news report about the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden.
Athar joined Poynter.org Managing Editor Steve Myers during the SXSW Interactive festival on Saturday to discuss his experience, the role of citizen journalism, media coverage of the event, and the power of social media to spread breaking news around the world.
Unaware of what was happening - or who was in the compound - Athar used Twitter and Facebook accounts throughout the early morning hours to piece together and report on what was happening just a five-minute drive from his home.
It was only days later, after President Obama had broke the news that Bin Laden was killed in the raid by the Navy’s SEAL Team Six, that people - including Athar - realized he was the first to report on the attack.
“Uh oh, now I’m the guy who liveblogged the Osama raid without knowing it,” he Tweeted after the news.
The Tweets put Athar in the international spotlight after the event, grew his number of Twitter followers from 750-800 to more than 100,000, and added to the debate over what defines citizen journalism, its roles and contributors.
When asked by Myers whether he thought his Tweets during the event were citizen journalism, Athar said he “only wore the hat of a journalist for a few days and then took it off.”
“If I witness an event and broadcast whatever I know about it and then stop it’d make me a tipster. But if I go out and try to investigate and bring together as much information as I can, not only out of own curiosity, but to share it to the world, it makes me a citizen journalist,” Athar said.
“I don’t think it can be done behind computer only,” he said.
The next day Athar visited the compound and spoke with neighbors who lived next to it. One of the most moving experiences in the days after the raid was speaking to a female neighbor who was concerned about a young boy who lived in the compound. Athar said.
The woman had once helped the boy carry a pale of milk and was upset and fearful over whether he had been injured or killed during the attack.
Athar also had critiques of mainstream media for trying to portray stereotypes of Abbottabad in its coverage. For instance, he said, some reporters deliberately chose to interview and shoot images of people at mosques rather than at the nearby universities and medical colleges.
He also said he wished news stories would focus more on facts rather than emotion.
Addressing a common critique of citizen journalists - that a person would never trust a citizen doctor - Myers said that in fact they do during emergency situations when strangers come together and render aid to someone injured.
Myers said citizen journalists are like “first responders.”
When Athar was asked by an audience member whether he feared he’d be targeted by terrorists following news of his Tweets, Athar said no.
“Had Osama read my Tweets, he may had have the chance to run away,” Athar said.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW panel: Making the Real World Easier to Use
Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 10 (hashtag: #easyworld)
Panelists: Dennis Crowley CEO/Co-founder Foursquare; MG Siegler VC TechCrunch
The gist: Soon, everything we experience will be overlaid with the thoughts and feelings of our friends through our mobile devices. For instance, foursquare alerts you when you’re near places that your friends like, and provides you with suggestions from your friends on what to experience at those places. Other companies are attempting to create this type of engagement with television shows (“10 of your friends are watching!”) and music.
Quotes:
You look at everything as competitive in this space. -Crowley
Deals have been part of the product since the beginning. The monetization strategy is not bolted on at the end, it’s built into from the beginning. -Crowley
Check-ins are always going to be a big part of the app. -Crowley
We noticed that a lot of people were using the app, but they weren’t checking in. They just open the app and use it to consume data. - Crowley
Before we were the biggest of the small guys, now we’re the smallest of the big guys and we’re not going anywhere.
Foursquare is part of the fabric of SXSW. -Crowley
(On whether or not to sell the company or grow it into a large stand-alone): Why not shoot for the moon if its right in front of you. -Crowley
(On the badge and point system): Your whole life should be a big Pac-Man game. We’re able to listen to the signal in your life and everyone’s life and we’re able to tease out this information. -Crowley
That’s how you get from 20 million users to 50 million users, you help people save money and you help them find a new favorite restaurant. -Crowley
Takeaways: -Deals will continue to be a big part of foursquare and other location-based technology. Check-ins will also remain a part of the program, even if everyone doesn’t use that feature.
-The radar feature that alerts people to interesting things around them will be the new direction of location-based apps. However, battery life for mobile devices remains a problem.
-Talked about the data collected from users as the key element that can be monetized at the company. For instance, if a frequent customer at a restaurant, with several check-ins, stops going, foursquare could allow the restaurant to reach out to that user with a $10 coupon.
-Privacy still remains a concern for users of location-based apps, but functions can and have been adjusted to address that so users can only broadcast to their network.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
Scene report: Friday night SXSW partying (or what little we could do)
This man, Ben Shallenberger, blew minds and broke hearts with his soulful rendition of TLC’s “Waterfalls” at TechKaraoke Friday night. It was one of many, many SXSW Interactive parties. Photo by Omar L. Gallaga / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
The dampened slog of the first day of SXSW Interactive continued through Friday night as the rain failed to let up, the cold intensified and unprepared attendees shuffled into parties both official and un- hoping to find some warmth, free drinks and conversation.
It’s impossible to say how all the parties went, but the few I attended had short lines, yet were crowded inside.
Rooftop parties were particularly struck. The annual VIP party at Fogo de Chao was slightly delayed for a tent setup and partygoers huddled under it seeking meat and drinks. A sheet of rain fell between the tent and the bar, making the grab for your drink a wet, risky matter.
One party, highlighting OnStar and hosted by TechSet was an upstairs affair at The Parish that was basically a big rectangle of a room with people standing and drinking, two big TVs showing Chevy SXSW route information and a bored DJ. Perhaps it got more lively as the night went on but I bailed and sought refuge at TechKaraoke which seemed bigger and louder than last year. Set at The Stage, there were two areas — one for live band karaoke (with a longer wait to sing) and another room for traditional recorded karaoke. It was a lot of old school music, some dancing and a live stream to the web, if you dared being shown flexing your pipes online.
Downtown in general was a mess of missed cab opportunities, outdoor marketing areas that were completely put out of commission by the weather and coffee shops making a mint on hot chocolate. The whole city, or at least some of the desperate marketers and startups who banked on open-air fun, seemed to be singing, “Rain rain go away, let us make some cash and play.”
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, SXSW, SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: The New Hollywood: Building Celebrity Brands Online
12:30 p.m., Saturday (hashtag: #SXcelebbrand)
Panelists:Kevin Winston CEO, Founder Digital LA, Meghan McCain McCainBlogette.com, Miles Beckett CEO EQAL, and Nathan Coyle GM Cambio.com.
The gist:On the internet, anyone can say they are a celebrity, but what about those who actually are or work for celebrities? This packed panel explained the do’s and don’ts of celebrity Tweeting, blogging, and branding.
The panel agreed that while celebrities should find their own voice and stick to it, they often need help finding that brand. When social media goes well, ala Ashton Kutcher and Twitter, it can lead to new parts or work.
One panelist said 10 percent of traffic to their homepage just from a single celebritie’s Pinterest. It was Lauren Conrad’s, if you must know.
But just putting out content isn’t enough anymore. Celebs should respond to people and therefore, building a larger audience. If you are the audience, you could gain more followers by (maybe) getting a celebrity to respond or to follow you.
Quotes: “People think of Twitter as a way to broadcast, but it should be more like a conversation. What really stokes the fires is Re-tweeting and engaging the community.” - Beckett
“You will also be eviscerated on the internet because all these things will come up about me that are embarrassing, but it’s just a double edged sword that comes with blogging. “ - McCain
“You can look at tweet streams of some celebrities and you can tell that some are bipolar or have some sort of mental issue.” - Beckett
“It’s good to see artists speaking out way more than once a week. Be engaging and respond to someone who is saying something. Interact with them.” - Coyle
“Thank god I wasn’t on twitter during my father’s campaign, I’d probably be in jail.” -McCain
Takeaways:While some celebrities can grasp how to use social media, they often need guidance and strong precautionary steps to becoming successful (and not scandalous).
Side note: (Jared Leto sat in on this session for about half of an hour. Did anyone else notice?)
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW keynote: Baratunde Thurston: 'How To Read The World'
Time/Date: 2 p.m. Saturday (hashtag: #keynotunde)
The gist: Humorist, The Onion director of digital and “How To Be Black” author Baratunde Thurston essentially did a stand-up comedy act — a very skilled, well-received one — as the opening keynote speaker for South by Southwest Interactive. He began by talking about his background (opening with the time recently when a woman called him, “The whitest black person I’ve ever met.”) and some very funny material from his book about his mother. Wearing a plain black T-shirt and jeans, Thurston shifted to some of the work The Onion has done, including a hysterical bit about a story about an $8 billion Planned Parenthood “Abortionplex” that turned into a meme on fake reviews Yelp. He explored freedom of the press around the world and how satire and humor is being used in unexpected places like Egypt, Afghanistan, Iran, China and Nigeria, showing illustrations and video clips from the universe of world comedy. He spoke about the way that comedy and satire can help make sense of the world and push the limits of freedom of speech. The presentation was funny and well-attended; the gigantic Exhibit Hall 5 was completely full. Thurston skillfully used slides, video and his own comedic skills to make it a lively, inspiring presentation. Unfortunately, the 40-minute presentation’s end prompted people to get up and start leaving, making a short Q&A that followed completely inaudible.
Quotes: “I’m am a very social dude… I’m like a reverse introvert.” “You can almost measure the freedom of a society by its tolerance of its satirists.”
Takeaways: Everything is connected. This creates a lot of noise and confusion. But it can create some opportunities for clarity and trust. Humor, especially can cut through that confusion and make sense of the chaos and problems of the world. We need to cultivate more wit and ensure that satirists have the freedom to practice their craft.
Bonus: read an interview with Baratunde Thurston that ran in the American-Statesman.
Photo via SXSW Inc. Photo by Alexa Less
Permalink | | Categories: Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Real-Time Newsjacking & A Cold Blooded Tweeter
12:30 p.m., Saturday: 11 a.m., Saturday (hashtag: #SXUGNewsjack)
Panelists: Esty Gorman, planning director at Isis Worldwide, Remco Marinus, Creative Director at Lemz, Christopher Winfield, Regional Creative Director at Iris Worldwide, and Michael Logan, Head of Content & Business Development Next Media Animation.
The gist: Panelists discuss how their products and how they use “newsjacking.” Some based their videos on real news stories and some based their entire product campaign on how news stories are told.
Although the panel was extremely interesting, most of the time was spent watching videos the panelists made. It proved to be highly entertaining, but lacking was an in-depth discussion.
Quotes: “We thought that if we act like a news show we will make it because they produce a lot of quality content over time. We actually developed an editorial team instead of a management team.” - Marinus (IKEA did one commercial every day for one year).
“One thing about news jacking is how you are able to take a news story and make it go viral very, very fast.” - Gorman
“We’ve not sued for slander, but it’s pretty much impossible to be sued for satire.” - Logan
“When using different medians to (newsjack) be relevant and be sure you are not exploiting yourself.” - Winfield
Takeaways:Viral content and videos are unpredictable, but with a keen eye and strong creative designers, things like Angelina Jolie’s leg can gain thousands of followers in a matter of hours.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW panel: SOPA media coverage dissected
Time/Date: 12:30 p.m., Saturday (hashtag: #SOPA)
Panelists: Brian Stelter, The New York Times; Jake Bialer, The Huffington Post; Kim Hart, Politico; Stacey Higginbotham, GigaOm
The gist: The Protect IP Act, or PIPA, was introduced in the Senate in May but didn’t begin to attract media coverage until October, around the time the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, was introduced in the House. Traction for the story began with the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Reddit and ramped up over the following months, getting mainstream media coverage in November and December.
“We were seeing statements from Congress like, ‘I don’t get how the Internet works,’ and it incensed some people,” GigaOm senior writer Stacey Higginbotham said.
Things came to a boil on Jan. 10 with SOPA Blackout Day when 160 million people viewed Wikipedia, many learning for the first time about SOPA.
Many from the audience with media and creative backgrounds came forward with criticism of the mainstream and tech media for running with the message of SOPA “killing the Internet” and not a deeper level of coverage.
POLITICO Pro’s senior technology reporter Kim Hart said the public argument seemed to skew toward the tech industry because contacts in the content industry had predictable statements and were hesitant to put top brass on the phone. “During the coverage, the content industry was furious with the media; we got earfuls every time we talked to them,” she said. “I think it was a big public relations lesson for them. Tech folks were taking time to answer calls and the content guys were not.”
Higginbotham said she encountered hesitancy on the tech industry’s part as well. “We reached out to people on the tech side, obviously since we are a tech publication, but only about half of them were willing to take a strong stand against SOPA,” she said. “About half didn’t want to talk about it because they were in the content industry or their clients were supporters of it.”
Brian Stelter, The New York Times TV and digital media reporter, said while the Internet was united, the big players in the content industry remained relatively silent. “With TV, it’s not like they didn’t have a channel to reach the average American. There wasn’t the same manipulation of the audience from the content organization.”
“CNN didn’t cover the story until the day of the blackout,” Higginbotham said. “Was that possibly coming down from on high?”
“I’ve tried, but I haven’t found that,” Stelter said. “I came away with the impression that it just wasn’t sexy enough to them. My sense was they were trying to avoid that story because it was hard to explain.”
Jake Bialer, The Huffington Post innovations editor, said SOPA showed us how tech companies can transform overnight into advocacy groups. “In mid-November, I thought it was fascinating when Tumblr suddenly transformed into this advocacy origination and sent messages to every single user they have.”
Hart said those sort of moves caught the attention of Washington that the traditional advocacy model is changing. “[The content industry] is now often tiptoeing around certain issues for fear of setting [the tech industry] off again,” she said. “From the tech side, everyone thinks that’s unlikely. It was this specific piece of legislation. But I think they’ve seen there is a way to mobilize on the web… This whole instant made people realize how powerful that can be.”
Quotes:“I don’t know if the tech industry is excited about being a key player in D.C. For many of them, the idea of participating in politics is kind of like washing your dog with your tongue. Why would you do it?” -Higginbotham
“In talking with tech sources in the past, I would hear ‘But you’re Politico, why do you care about us?’ I don’t believe there will be that response any more.” -Hart
“‘Killing the Internet’ was a much more powerful statement than ‘stop piracy.’ ‘Killing the internet’ won that battle of language.” -Stelter
“Anyone on the internet with a big audience can suddenly transform into a giant advocacy organization.” -Bialer
Takeaways: Media coverage of SOPA showed many in the tech industry they have a voice. While they may not be entirely changing the game of lobbying in Washington, it proved these companies can mobilize and unite for a cause.
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SXSW Panel: Richard Garriott's continuing space mission
Time/Date: 12:30 p.m., Saturday (hashtag: #playonmars )
Panelists: Richard Garriott, Portalarium Inc.
The gist: Garriott, a game designer and space enthusiast whose father was a NASA astronaut, flew to the International Space Station on October 12, 2008, becoming the 483rd person to leave the Earth. With the discontinuation of NASA manned missions into space, Garriott argues that we are actually entering a second golden age of space travel, with private companies leading the way.
Public-private partnerships to explore space, he says, will expand access to non-NASA entities, increase flight frequency and drive down costs. Space travel will eventually become cheap enough to make space travel profitable for companies involved in research. “There will be some science to do, but it will be mostly tourism. It will be around the price of a first-class around the worl plane ticket and it will be totally worth it.”
Garriott says that space travel remains important for biological research, mining asteroids, protecting the Earth from asteroid impact and, ultimately, making humanity a multi-planet species (Mars, he’s looking at you).
With the explosion of privatized space exploration, Garriott believes we could inhabit Mars in 30 years. He suggested that the first manned mission to Mars should be one way and asked the audience how many of them would volunteer for that mission if they knew it would be safe, that there would be plenty of other people with them and that they could one day return to Earth. About half of the crowd raised their hands.
Quotes: “I grew up believing that everybody goes to space.” “It is truly only a matter of time before one of these (asteroids) will (hit the Earth).” “The next exploration back to the moon might be private.” “Building a base on the moon I think is not a great idea.” “Humanity needs to become a multi-planet species, and Mars is the best place to do that.” “Those of us who are (privately exploring space) just elected to do so.”
Takeaways: Space exploration isn’t over. Increased competition will lead to lower prices, safer vehicles and unheard of access for ordinary citizens.
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SXSW panel: Everything Is a Remix, so Steal Like an Artist
Time/Date: 12:30 p.m. Saturday (hashtag: #remix)
Panelists: Kirby Ferguson, creator of the video series “Everything is a Remix”; Austin Kleon, author of “Newspaper Blackout” and “Steal Like An Artist”
The gist: Austin-based artist Austin Kleon and filmmaker Kirby Ferguson talked about fostering creativity and the myths around it. Both are fans of collaborating and remixing others’ materials and they argue that all art is a combination of others’ work.
(The audience for this panel was, like several others, crammed into a small room on the fourth floor of the convention center, which left about 60 people sitting on the floor outside of the room, listening to the panelists talk on a TV screen. ”Sitting with a group gathered around the audio projector outside of the #sxswi #remix panel, like families used to gather around the radio,” was how terrieakers put it on Twitter. This was happening as a panel on headhunting, which was booked in the large-capacity Ballroom D, was practically empty.)
Quotes: “Creativity isn’t magic. It comes from copying.”
(Because I was stuck outside, I had a hard time differentiating between the panelists, so my apologies for not being able to attribute quotes to one panelist or the other.)
“People stealing your stuff is the least of your worries, especially when you are first starting out. Staying in obscurity is a bigger worry.”
“I have to be boring. I like leading a boring life. There’s this image of Don Draper drinking and screwing all the time that creative people feel like they have to live up to. It’s way more important to be a better human being than a great artist.”
Takeaways: The basic elements of creativity are copying, transforming and combining. Nothing is completely original, and that idea is even in the bible in the book of Ecclesiastes, which says. “There’s nothing new under the sun.”
The issue is that we just need to redefine “original.” “It doesn’t mean unprecedented; it means it’s a new, novel combination of things. It’s a leap from what is currently being done.”
Take Star Wars, which borrowed freely from “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” “Yojimbo,” “Metropolis” and others.
Does knowing that George Lucas was inspired by so many before him ruin the magic? Is it like seeing Oz from behind the curtain? “It can diminish it a bit, but there’s lots that is completely original. The story is a mashup of other stories.” Reply (I think from Austin): “I think it makes it even cooler, because you get this film education. You go and watch these other movies.” Kirby: “Sure, but does it make Star Wars more interesting?”
Artists really are filters, taking the best stuff and boiling it down to its best parts and combining it with other filtered ideas.
The line between homage and theft is thin. The difference between ripping someone off and remixing their stuff is crediting where your ideas and the original material came from. “A remix is more honest.”
They ended the panel with a clip from Steve Jobs: “Expose yourself to the best work that has been done. Picasso said, ‘Good artists copy; great artists steal.”
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SXSW panel: The Start-Up of YOU: 21st Century Career Strategy
SXSW Keynote: The Start-Up of YOU: 21st Century Career Strategy
Panelists: Reid Hoffman, partner at Greylock and co-founder and executive chairman at LinkedIn, and Ben Casnocha, an entrepreneur and author of “The Start-Up Of You. “
Time/Date: 11:00 a.m., Saturday (hashtag #sxswi #startYOU)
The old American belief - of constant progress by working hard, earning a degree and climbing the career ranks at a company that’s loyal to you and guarantees prosperity - is over, according to Reid Hoffman, a partner at Greylock and co-founder and executive chairman at LinkedIn, and Ben Casnocha, an entrepreneur and author of “The Start-Up Of You.”
In its place is a constantly-evolving global market that requires individuals to act similarly to entrepreneurs forming new companies. Successful professionals must constantly plan, anticipate, adjust and pivot toward new opportunities as they arise, Hoffman and Casnocha said.
“Industry is changing. The landscape of companies and how they are operating is changing,” Hoffman said. “So you’re never a finished product. You’re always in permanent beta.”
The two keynote speakers joined forces this morning at SXSW Interactive to distill major points from their newly released book, “The Start-up of You.”
The book offers a blueprint to professionals on how to manage their careers, take intelligent risks, seek out and capitalize on emerging opportunities and prevail amidst uncertainty.
The authors outlined three major strategies for success - harping most on the plan and ability to adapt. Hoffman used PayPal as an example of a company that successfully evolved its original plan of founding as an encryption platform on mobile phones, then becoming a service for individual payments on Palm Pilots, and eventually becoming the platform it is today thanks largely to the initially unanticipated customer-base on eBay.
“PayPal launched thinking it’d be a palm/mobile payment OS between individuals. And in the first week, eBay people used it immediately,” Hoffman said.
The company made a “pivot toward opportunity,” Hoffman said, and the combination of maneuvering got PayPal where it is today.
Casnocha also pulled examples of individuals who adapted and evolved their careers - from Andrea Bocelli (who started his career as a lawyer before moving into opera), to Jerry Springer and Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook.
Sandberg’s career with NGOs, government and the private sector was highlighted in the book and in Hoffman and Casnocha’s talk.
Casnocha said she successfully found a way to evolve her career while looking for opportunities that aligned with her original aspirations since college: to help the less fortunate, give back and keep the world connected.
Hoffman also discussed a framework the authors call “ABZ Planning.” Plan A is your current plan and how to successfully achieve it. Plan B, according to Hoffman, represents the move an individual should make when a new opportunity - with greater potential than Plan A - emerges. And Plan Z, in two parts, is being aware of and planning for a worst-case scenario in business, and knowing how you would survive it.
Just as in startups, having the three plans gives individuals the confidence needed to adapt and take intelligent risks, Hoffman said.
The two also stressed the importance of strengthening your network - something professionals can participate in even if they’re not networkers. Casnocha and Hoffman used Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to move Facebook from Boston to Silicon Valley during its formative stages, simply so it could be in the heart of a ripe startup network.
“[Zuckerberg] is amazing, but it’s that network around him that causes these companies to get to massive scale,” Hoffman said.
The men said to think of the network around you as a “virtual company” that exists to help you achieve your goals, help others, invest in yourself and find tools that help you advance.
Casnocha said that often the most helpful people in a network or those that we don’t know very well - like a new friendship formed during SXSW or a friend of a friend.
Casnocha cited a famous study in which newly hired professionals were asked how they found their jobs. Researchers were surprised to learn that the answer wasn’t job listings, or close friends and co-workers. The newly hired employees learned of the job opening from acquaintances in their network whom they didn’t know very well.
“With people you know really well, often you read the same books, go to the same conferences, think similar thoughts and are exposed to a similar stream of opportunities. So it’s an important relationship for coherence, but it doesn’t provide much new information,” Casnocha said. “It’s those weaker ties in different industries who are exposed to different kinds of information and add a fresh element to your network. The ideal composition is a mix [of both].”
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SXSW conversation: Joss Whedon
The Mayans missed this: 2012 is the year of Joss Whedon. He has projects big (“The Avengers”) and small (“Much Ado About Nothing”) on the way. And they’re all labors of love, according to the writer, director and producer, who spoke Saturday at the Convention Center. He was in Austin to premiere his great new horror project, “Cabin in the Woods,” but the conversation, moderated by Entertainment Weekly’s Adam B. Vary, touched on much of the Whedonverse. (For those keeping score, here’s how the cheers broke down in descending volume during the intro: “Firefly,” “Buffy,” “Cabin in the Wood,” “The Avengers,” “Angel” and one dude for “Dollhouse.”)
Some highlights:
“Cabin in the Woods”: You can’t talk much about this fresh take on horror without ruining it in some ways (Whedon suggested calling it “awesome” and “a timeless classic” at Friday night’s screening). Why make a movie like that?
“I am always going to be at odds with that particular part of American culture (spoilers),” Whedon said. “I like stories. My favorite thing is going into a movie and not knowing what to expect.”
He says audiences are usually very ready to come along for the ride. “I want to see a movie that surprises me, and I want people to be surprised by what they see.” He said Danny Boyle’s “Sunshine” did that for him in the recent past.
(More on Whedon and “Cabin” from Joe Gross’ interview here; “Cabin in the Woods” red carpet photos and video.)
“The Avengers”: Who are the bad guys? “The Vulcans. I don’t know a lot about the Marvel universe and I thought there were Vulcans.” Seriously, he would not reveal the villains, but did say they are not the Kree or the Skrulls (and he might now be in trouble with Marvel). He told the studio he wanted to make a war movie; this is about a bunch of dysfunctional and isolated people coming together and becoming bigger than the sum of their parts, a theme Whedon knows well. Plus, they’re superheros! Audiences can expect cool things. “I’m not past the idea of a superhero movie. I’m not ready to be postmodern about superheroes yet (another big cheer).” “I’m a fanboy. I want to see these guys do everything they can do.”
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SXSW panel: Top Chef: How Transmedia is Changing TV
Time/Date: 11 a.m. Saturday (hashtag: #sxswbyBravo)
Panelists: Aimee Viles, vice president of Emerging Media at Bravo Media; Andy Cohen, host of “Watch What Happens Live” on Bravo; Dave Serwatka, vice president of current and cross platform productions at Bravo; Lisa Hsia, executive vice president of digital media at Bravo of digital media with Bravo Media; Tom Colicchio, restaurateur and head judge on “Top Chef” Head Judge/Top Chef.
The gist: Bravo executives and TV personalities Andy Cohen and Tom Colicchio explained how the network used social media and an online web series called “Last Chance Kitchen” to increase viewership and engagement for this past season of “Top Chef: Texas,” which was won by Austinite Paul Qui of Uchiko.Â
As one of the first networks to include live tweets, Twitter handles and Facebook on the TV screen, Bravo has been a pioneer in social TV and this recent season of “Top Chef” pushed the boundaries of interacting with viewers.
Quotes: “We only judge on the food that’s in front of us in that episode,” Colicchio said. “A chef could have a bad day, and this gives them a chance to get back in the competition…They got a note that said to meet me in the kitchen. They showed up thinking I was going to say goodbye to them, and then they saw another chef and found out they had to compete.”
“There’s a lot of unknowns about how to track this kind of data. Analytics in the social media field still has a long way to go,” Hsia said.
Hsia: “If it doesn’t spread, it’s dead.”Â
Question from the audience: “How much of an impact does being on the show have on a chef’s restaurant?” Colicchio: “Try to get into Uchiko tonight.”
“Engaging in social media is a process, and you need to have evangelist,” said Hsia.
When asked if online streaming would negatively impact cable, Hsia said: “TV is on the upswing and Hulu and Netflix aren’t going to kill it.”
Takeaways: Transmedia is storytelling across multiple platforms, and the panelists don’t see a separation between what happens the online and in the broadcast; its all content. The key to the success of “Last Chance Kitchen” was that what happened online had a direct impact on the actual show because the winning chef could cook his or her way back on the show. The producers actually kept “Last Chance Kitchen” a secret from the cheftestants, which added to the effect.
But it wasn’t just “Last Chance Kitchen.” They all but required chefs to engage via social media. They hosted tweet recaps on Thursdays and Q&As with the recently eliminated chefs on Fridays. Twitter fans got to battle each other on the site. In one episode, viewers’ tweets decided what the secret ingredient would be for one of the quick fire challenges.
One of the problems is a lack of analytics to accurately track viewer engagement. Toyota, the show’s primary sponsor for both the regular broadcast and the online series, needed data to back up the sponsorship commitment, and they are doing an “ambitious research study” to get them that data, Hsia said.
However, the data that they do have says a lot: Hsia said she was hoping they’d get a million views, but “Last Chance Kitchen” ended up getting 8 million streams, which she said was the most in NBCU’s history. ”Toward the end, 26 percent of on-air viewers watched ‘Last Chance Kitchen’.”
Hsia said that the highest ratings block of the whole season was when they announced who was coming back from the final “Last Chance Kitchen” contest.
Some tidbits for hard-core “Top Chef” fans: Colicchio says that even he doesn’t know where the next season will be based out of. Many of the “Last Chance Kitchen” episodes were filmed back to back once they got back to San Antonio. Cheftestant Heather got a death threat online, so they got NBC security involved to help protect her.Â
One of the highlights of the panel was a clip of the guy who got famous with that honey badger video doing a voice over of a clip of Bev, one of the most contentious chefs on the show. (In another smart move, Bravo hired him to narrate some of the online videos.) A lowlight? Multiple audience members asking blatantly self-promotional and fan questions that distracted from the topic of the session. But overall, a great panel.
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SXSW solo speaker: Group deals are killing your small business
Time/Date: 9:30 a.m., Saturday (hashtag: #GroupDeals)
Speaker: Kara Nortman, CityGrid Media
The gist: Kara Nortman of CityGrid Media, owner of consumer sites such as Urbanspoon and Citysearch, detailed where deal sites have succeeded, where they’ve failed and where they may be going in the future. She reflected on the evolution of the deal site, from Groupon’s debut in 2008 through countless copycats and spinoffs. She covered the oft-heard complaints from consumers to horror stories from local businesses.
The idea that customers will only use a discount or voucher once and then never return is debatable, Nortman said, pointing out that 44 percent of consumers survey said they did return to a business they previously visited with a group deal. But for businesses, there’s more to consider. A poorly executed deal can anger existing customers by spiking traffic at the wrong times and can damage the brand’s reputation online. While the volume of online reviews and ratings increase following a deal, the ratings decline, with a majority of those new negative reviews including terms like “Groupon” or “daily deal.”
Negative experiences have made most small business owners skeptical of daily deals. “Now owners antennas are up, and we’ve moved to a system where daily deal companies are guilty until proven innocent.”
The consumer’s response to group deals has also shifted. What started as an exciting exercise in discovery and deal seeking has turned overwhelming and embarrassing. “If you’re out for diner with friends, are you going to fill comfortable pulling out a crumpled up piece of paper when the bill comes?” Nortman said.
Besides growing tired of excessive deal emails, many consumers end up feeling burned by expired deals. 61 percent let a deal expire before redeeming.
However, a new generation of group deals are honing in on specific targets and offering more desirable, exclusive experiences.
Savored: Focused specifically on fine-dining deals with full inventory controls for businesses and no paper coupons required. Deals come with a $10 reservation and are handled entirely on the backend. Consumers get 30 percent off — not the deepest discount in group deals but a rate that Savored believes will drive the “right” kind of diner.
ThinkNear: A statical-minded company that examines demand patterns and auto-generates several campaigns per week per business, ThinkNear aims to drive demand when businesses need it most, even taking into account realtime data based on weather, traffic or events.
PunchCard: A loyalty-based incentive program in the form of a digital punch or stamp card. PunchCard allows users to consolidate all loyalty cards and even use loyalty cards at businesses that don’t offer them. Consumers snap a picture of their receipt to receive credit for their purchase and PunchCard issues a cash back reward after a certain number of purchases. This gives the company a database of details on the business’ most loyal patrons, which PunchCard uses to approach the business.
With these new options, Nortman said small business will be able to market more effectively and consumers will get more relevant deals. The relevancy of deals is where Nortman said Groupon is behind the competition. “Groupon is failing by not focusing all their energy and becoming a data-driven company,” she said. “Groupon has a lot of very smart people and they are going after all the most interesting trends in the industry. The challenge is they’re going after all of them at once.”
But the burning question for many business owners in the audience was if Groupon and other deal sites were worth it anymore.
“If you are a business that has low variable costs — that is the amount it costs to serve each incremental customer — then Groupon is more likely to work for you,” Nortman said. “If you’re a new business or you’re introducing a new concept, it’s a massive advertising platform, regardless of if people actually transact.”
Quotes: “For certain daily deals or prepaid vouchers, they’re not dead. They’ve actually highlighted a massive opportunity. Whether Groupon continues to thrive is questionable.” — Nortman
Takeaways: Deal sites aren’t going away; they’re getting smarter. By targeting the right consumers and offering more exclusive experiences, the new wave of group deals is finding a way to make marketing easier for small business.
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SXSW solo presentation: The Power of Fear in Networked Publics with danah boyd
Time/Date: 11 a.m. Saturday (hashtag: #networked)
The gist: We live in a culture of fear. The attention economy provides a fertile ground for the culture of fear. Social media is ramping up the attention economy. Fear is important and can be a way to solve problems. But fearmongering is what we need to worry about. As humans, we’re terrible at assessing risk. In one example boyd gave, a report about muggings made elderly women stay in their homes; more of those women died of starvation than were victims of the muggings. Fear is not predicated on risk assessment; it’s about the perception of risk. Fear is effective and it builds upon itself; over social media it shifts from being a broadcast message to something much more pervasive. Data shows clearly that cyberbullying does not increase bullying particularly much. It happens more devastatingly and frequently as school and is more feared and talked about, making it seem like a larger problem that it actually is: a fear network. In general, techies embrace other cultures, but many of the technologies they created are being used by ideologues to spread fear and hate. Lots of big, surprising ideas in this panel. Boyd, a very polished, smart speaker who has been a keynote at SXSW, covered a lot of ground on how social networks and the media can accelerate certain ideas (sometimes falsely) that create fear and anxiety. She said she doesn’t have a solution, but believes the tech community needs to address how to combat fear.
Quotes: “I want us as geeks to think through what some of these issues are.” “Technology is no longer just about the geeks. Social media is not just about the geeks.” “Fear cannot be combated through data; people automatically throw it away in favor of perceived experience.” — all quotes from boyd.
Takeaways: Fear is not ration and we’re not particularly great at using data and facts to combat it; instead we rely too much on our own experienced and perceived experience fed to us through media and our personal networks. The 2012 elections are already strongly themed to spreading fear and using fearmongering effectively, much of it spread through social networks. Techies as a community need to find ways to deal with and combat fear.
Photo via SXSW Inc., provided by danah boyd
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW, SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Big Ol' Babies: Why Baby Boomers=Public Media FAIL
10:30 a.m. Saturday: 9:30 a.m. Saturday (hashtag: #SXBigBabies)
Panelists: Dee Kapila, Educational Technologist The University Of Texas Center For Teaching And Learning, Jonathan Coffman, John Barth, professor and novelist, Product Manager for Dell.com, and Adam Schweigert, Director of Strategy at Mindset Digital. (Vivian Schiller was not in attendance.)
The gist: Panel of former public media millennials who left the industry for something else, moderated by a baby boomer. The ten points this panel decided to touch on were great topics that engaged the audience early on.
It’s not about you - or your brand or what you want. Something that both boomers and younger generations struggle with ever-evolving social media.
The redesign is never finished. - Something Baby Boomers have a little more patience with, rather than the millennials who are anxious to hurry up and start a new product, when the redesign is [really] never finished.
Really, another meeting? - Something that rang true with most attendees in the room We love failure! Millennials need to understand that failure could mean more workload. It should not be glamorized to show they can multitask.
Look Outside. How can public media survive when they are constantly asking how to do more with less? They can try to learn how to collaborate.
Mentors wanted. - But not many are willing.
We can’t wait. - Millennials want to help quickly and efficiently. They are quick to move on to a company that will snap them up and allow them some freedom.
Talent Gap. - As millennials leave, boomer are retiring, leaving a pretty big generational gap.
What would make you return? - Surprisingly, no panelists said money. Not that they are money grubbing people, they all gave the impression that with the right guidance and mentorship, they would come back.
Quotes: “I’ve responded to a lot of people in journalism that are frustrated and are walking away. This is a huge problem, especially as boomers are at the retiring age. ” - Schweigert
“Millennials want the world handed to them on a silver platter, and we get discouraged if we don’t have that or get the opportunity to have it.” -Coffman
“We tend to hire people that are most like us and that we are most comfortable with. ” - Barth
“We (millenials) decided when we got a little bit of attention from our managers that we can razzle dazzle them and that it would be okay if we failed. And then we did fail and what happened? Nothing.” - Kapila
“Public media, if we want to actually survive, we need to have a shared mission and understanding and really get over competition. We need to just develop partnerships.” -Schweigert
“We are all former public media employees, but we care enough to come back to participate in the dialogue.” - Coffman
“As a boomer or manager when you hear this it’s like Mentor? What is that and how much time it will take. We actually don’t know how to mentor.” - Barth
Takeaways: Judging from the three millennial panelists, they would go back to public media, but they don’t want to be expected to have all the answers. They want guidance, mentorship, and an opportunity to not only prove themselves, but to help the industry and become successful as a whole, not an individual.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Tech Superwomen: Mentors and Mentees, FTW
SXSW Panel: Tech Superwomen: Mentors and Mentees, FTW Time/Date: 9:30 a.m., Saturday (hashtag #SWTXSW) Panelists: Cathryn Posey, founder of Tech By Superwomen; Ekaterina Walter, Intel social media strategist; Leslie Bradshaw, president, chief operating officer and co-founder of JESS3; Margot Bloomstein, principal, brand and content strategist at Appropriate Inc.; Nilofer Merchant, author nilofermerchant.com
The gist: Five female leaders in the tech industry said mentorship is key to increasing the low numbers of women in high tech, entrepreneurial roles - a point they drove home by tracing the mentors in their own lives who helped them get where they are today.
“As I look back over my career, every major decision I made has largely been motivated by a mentor that maybe knew a little bit about me and my interests and said, ‘Have you thought about this, or studying this topic or looking at this role?,’” said Margot Bloomstein, principal, brand and content strategist at Appropriate Inc.
The panelists began the session by explaining their own definitions of a good mentor, which they said ranged from a person who contributes to your knowledge base, has faith in you, and provides a strong dose of tough love to say, “stop whining” and go do it.
“Good mentors will tell you to step up,” said Cathryn Posey, founder of Tech By Superwomen.
Panelist and author at nilofermerchant.com, Nilofer Merchant, started the session by laying out statistics that women face in the corporate world. Only 3 percent of venture-backed funding goes to female entrepreneurs, she said, and women make up 2 percent of CEO seats and less than 10 percent of corporate board seats.
Leslie Bradshaw, president, chief operating officer and co-founder of JESS3, said women have been systematically held back, but in the past 20-30 years have increasingly pursued professional degrees and positions. Those numbers will continue to go up, she said, and “the only thing standing in the way will be ourselves.”
Merchant said a panel dedicated to women being underrepresented in the tech industry should not even exist in the next five years because it’s a “completely solvable issue.”
Part of the challenge, Merchant said, is how women see themselves.
“What’s the story you tell yourself [about what you’re capable of]?,” Merchant asked. “No one is going to say, ‘Yes you do have permission.’ You have to give yourself that permission first and from that place mentorship starts. It starts with that story we’re telling ourselves of, ‘Am I allowed?’”
She said women need to be more strategic about how they network - citing research showing that women network with people they know and like, while men tend to network with people they believe they should know.
The panelists responded to questions - including one from a male engineer asking whether he should approach mentoring a woman any differently than how he would mentoring a male (the response was mixed), and another about how to increase funding to female entrepreneurs (Merchant recommended companies have a female advisory board).
Takeaways:Ekaterina Walter, social media strategist for Intel, offered this advice before the session concluded.
“You can fail again and again, and don’t let anyone discourage you because of gender or age, or whatever,” she said. “And when you meet someone, ask them ‘How can I help you? What can I do for you?’ That generosity will open doors, networks and will automatically bring mentors to you.”
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW scene report: Staying dry
When my socks got soaked from this morning’s pouring rains, I headed to the women’s restroom at the Hilton to see what I could do. Turns out the restroom felt more like a locker room, as a woman drenched head-to-toe from the heavy rain dried her pants, changed into extra socks and laid out other wet clothes.
All the other women there sighed in pity.
But it wasn’t just the women experiencing wardrobe issues: A male SXSW staffer in the lobby was putting on waterproof pants over his jeans.
Even the pets at the festival had to adjust. I spotted a dog sporting a pink rain poncho and a dog owner carrying his pooch and wiping his wet paws before they hit more SXSWi activities.
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SXSW panel: Integrating Brands into Social Television
Time/Date: 9:30 a.m. Saturday (hashtag: #socialtv)
Panelists: Mike Shields, digital editor, Adweek; Jonathan Carson, CEO, Nielson Digital; Michael Cupo, director of social media, ESPN; Jennifer Kavanagh, senior VP of digital, Oxygen Media; Kristin Frank, senior VP and general manager, MTV.com, VH1.com, MTV networks.
The gist: On a very soggy Saturday morning, a packed Stephen F. Austin conference room (with marketers standing all along the walls) hosted this panel on brands and social TV. The panelists believe that this isn’t just a fad and that the next 3-5 years will prove critical to how we as viewers interact more with TV and how content producers and advertisers create richer, more meaningful experiences to make that happen. The clunky interfaces of the old keyboard-on-the lap WebTV have given way to tablets and smartphones that make it easier to react in real time to what’s on TV, especially for sports events or award shows like the MTV Video Music Awards. There were plenty of questions from the audience at the end and the panel earned a burst of applause when it concluded. Carson from Nielsen said that these kinds of social TV experiences (at least right now) tend to skew male and to the 25-34 age group, but that people younger than that are very engaged with social media, and not as engaged with TV.
Quotes: “A huge part of what people talk about when they’re engaged in social media is television content.” — Carson. “Television in and of itself is a social currency. It’s traded regularly, its value goes up and down.” — Kavanagh. “You can’t really DVR live sports. We’ve really encouraged people to watch TV with us.” — Cupo. “At the end of the day no amount of technology or social can make bad content good. But it CAN make good content great.” — Frank.
Takeaways: The future of social TV, the panelists believe will be “co-viewing” (content producers guiding viewers by watching with them), widgets on connected TVs and engaging the most passionate fans with contests and partnerships as MTV did with “Teen Wolf.” Each of the representatives from content companies on the panel said they’re working on exciting things they plan to unveil soon that will change the way viewers interact with their programs.
Permalink | | Categories: Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012, TV
March 9, 2012
SXSW Panel: A crash course in becoming SuperBetter
Time/Date: 5 p.m., Friday (hashtag: #avantgame )
Panelists: Jane McGonigal, SuperBetter
The gist: Game designer and author McGonigal, who created her own game, “Jane the Concussion Slayer,” to aid her recovery from a serious head injury, debuted a new mobile app, “SuperBetter” (free, available from the iTunes App Store). She created the online, social game with doctors and researchers to aid people with building resilience (the ability to stay strong, motivated, optimistic and curious even in the face of a serious challenge) in four areas: Physical, mental, emotional and social.
The game gives players a choice of tasks to complete in each of these four areas daily. For instance, physical resilience might give players the choice of either rising their hands over their heads or walking three steps.
The title falls under a new era of gaming McGonigal calls the “Gamebrian explosion,” a play on words of “Cambrian explosion,” the era around half a billion years ago when evolution kicked into high gear and living organisms became much more complex and diverse.
“Now, we’re seeing this crazy explosion of games that don’t even look like games,” McGonigal told the crowd, “games that empower us to live life without regret.” She suggested calling them “actualizing games” because they help players actualize their potential.
She took issue with the common complaint that games are a waste of time. Critics, cab drivers and even gamers have argued that nobody on their deathbed is going to say, “I wish I had spent more time playing games.”
McGonigal found the top five regrets of the dying and explained how they actually support the idea that playing games answers those regrets:
- I wish hadn’t worked so hard — McGonigal suggested this means that the dying person really wishes he or she had spent more time with their family and pointed out that games are great family activities.
- I wish I had stayed in touch with friends — Social network games, she said, are great for maintaining relationships.
- I wish I had let myself be happier — Studies show that people are not only happier during game play, but after as well.
- I wish I’d had the courage to express my true self — McGonigal showed photographs of gamers and pictures of their avatar representations which, she argues, allow gamers an opportunity to express their true selves. Avatars can also influence real-world behavior, she suggested. Positive in-game image can make players more confident in the real world.
- I wish I had lived life true to my dreams instead of what others expected of me — Since people spend so much time gaming (10,000 hours by the age of 21) games, she suggested, are the perfect venue to work to live a life free of regret. They teach us to rise to the occasion; to not give up; and to look for allies when the going gets rough.
Quotes: “When I hear these, I hear ‘I wish I had spent more time playing games.’” “The opposite of ‘virtual’ is not ‘real.’ It’s ‘actualized.’”
Takeaways: This new category of gaming is shifting us from the pursuit of happiness to the happiness of pursuit.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: The secret lives of the brain
Time/Date: 3:30 p.m., Friday (hashtag: #BrainLives)
Panelists: David Eagleman, Baylor College Of Medicine
The gist: Eagleman explained a dense topic — how neuroscience is teaching us that our perception of reality might not only be inaccurate but is most certainly unique to each of our brains — in an engaging and humorous fashion to an appreciative room.
Since our brains contain some 10 billion neurons — each as complicated as city of Austin — with hundreds of trillions of connections, most of the heavy lifting happens “under the hood,” in subconscious processes we’re not only completely unaware of, but have no access to or control over.
“It’s what you want,” Eagleman said, comparing the conscious mind to a newspaper reader who just wants the headlines delivered with no knowledge of all the reporting, editing, and production that gets them there. If a CEO of a large company were to concern himself with minutia such as what type of bread is being served in the cafeteria, the result would be chaos. In the same way, our consciousness is barred from access to lower-level processes which are constantly running what Eagleman called “deep evolutionary programs.”
He spoke about how one-third of the brain is devoted to creating “the illusion of vision.” In reality, he noted, we have vivid visual experiences at night, while dreaming, with our eyes closed. The eyes are not like a camera, he said. They actually take in a small amount of data which our brain then anchors to. “We accept that it’s reality that’s being presented to us,” he said.
He talked about synesthesia, a condition in which people associate numbers with colors or personalities with smells, etc. A synesthetic might see reality differently than you do, but that’s okay as long as we can make transactions in the outside world, he said. The artist Kandinsky had sound to vision synesthesia, Eagleman said. He would blare music and “paint what he was seeing.”
Synesthetics experience cross talk between the areas of the brain responsible for, say, letters/numbers and color, which causes the association. Synesthetics might also associate concepts such as months in a spatial fashion. Their reality is literally different than those without the condition.
Finally, Eagleman spoke about the effects of neurological research in the areas of law and morality. He referenced Charles Whitman, who went on a sniping spree from the UT Tower in 1966. An autopsy of Whitman, Eagleman said, revealed a tumor impinging on the areas of his brain which controlled fear and aggression.
He also referenced the case of a 40-year-old man with normal sexual tendencies who suddenly became a pedophile. He went in for testing and doctors discovered a massive frontal lobe tumor. He had emergency surgery to remove the tumor and his sexual proclivities went back to normal. A year later, when he started showing signs of pedophilia again, doctors discovered that they had missed part of the tumor. Upon removing it, the pedophilia symptoms again vanished.
This raises questions, Eagleman said, of law and ethics. “When we talk about morality and decision making, we’re talking about the neuro-chemical basis of that,” Eagleman said. Culpability in the legal system is based on the assumptions that we are free to choose how we act and that all brains have equal capacity. Both of these assumptions, he says, are wrong.
But as we understand the differences between individual brains and why we do what we do, it should lead to rational sentencing and customized rehabilitation.
Quotes: “Optical illusions are interesting to third graders and then to neuroscientists when they grow up.” “What we take to be reality actually has to be questioned.” “The conscious mind is the broom closet in the mansion of the brain.”
Takeaways: We are the sum of our neurons and chemicals. We have a lot less control than we thought. Unconscious brain activity is not something we can access. We’re not really at the center of ourselves the way we thought we were. We’re finding the most complex thing we’ve ever found in the universe and it is us.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Public Radio Is Media's Future. You heard it right
Time/Date: 5 p.m. Friday (#sxsw #publicrad)
Panelists: Jake Shapiro, PRX Public Radio Exchange
The gist: While news outlets are struggling with a changing media landscape, public radio has managed to not only survive but thrive.
Public radio’s audience is growing, and they’ve been launching new national shows, podcasts, creating interesting things with music like a Public Radio Remix, which is a curated edited stream that goes into shuffle mode. All of that has been part of the secret of its success.
Other innovative mobile apps and digital ideas include Public Radio Talent Quest, a talent search for hosts, which has created an interactive experience as well as discovered good talent.
Some of the challenges include threats to federal funding, which fuels technology and innovation.
Quotes:
“I got into (public radio) as a captive listener in the back of a station wagon (as a kid). I was destined to go into public radio as the son of an ethnomusicologist and a psychoanalyst.” —Shapiro
“Public radio is not just playing catch up with digital media, but actually competing.” —Shapiro
“File sharing has not been our problem. No one wants to steal our stuff. Dammit” —Shapiro
“Curating is the buzz word of the Internet.” —Shapiro
“Many times the Internet doesn’t tell a story. Telling a story is where public radio excels with shows like This American Life and StoryCorps….”
Takeaways: Shapiro suggested other media outlets should learn from some of the lessons of public radio like have a mission, tell a story, curate, broadcast, and ask for money.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW scene: ScreenBurn Arcade
If the trek to Palmer Events Center proved daunting for some South by Southwest Interactive attendees, it appears that other visitors to ScreenBurn Arcade are already making up for it at the free, open-to-the-public three-day event.
What has in the past hasn’t been a highlight of the fest this year is stepping up its game with gigantic, eye-popping booths from Alienware (owned by Dell) and Red 5 Studios, which overwhelm the entrance to the main exhibit area.
Alienware has a large presence with several play areas where the public can try its gaming computers, including a three-monitor set-up that envelopes the player in a kind of gaming cocoon. Red 5 had a gigantic booth for its online game “FireFall” and live actors/booth folks representing game characters. (See photos below.)
Because of the weather and the short hours of ScreenBurn on Friday (it only runs 3 to 7 p.m.; it’s noon-9 on Saturday and noon to 7 on Sunday), it’s hard to tell if the changes to ScreenBurn are successful. What we can say is that the look of the event is much different with a dark, noisy show floor more reminiscent of what you’re find at a game expo than what used to be in a too-large, empty space at the Convention Center. There are smaller companies represented, a stage with a giant screen at the back of the Arcade area and a bean bag lounge area out in the hall for those who want to escape the din.
Walking around on Friday afternoon, there were families with kids, gamers at different stations trying out the wares and a live game tournament happening on stage. We didn’t get to see any panels yet, but they are planned for the weekend in the main stage area.
Here are a few photos of what we saw (all photos by Omar L. Gallaga):
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW, SXSW 2012, Videogames
SXSW through pedicabber eyes and colds (brrrr)
As temperatures dipped down into the low 40s this afternoon, two bike riders outside the Sheraton Hotel wiped the rain-soaked chairs of their cab.
“We keep riding around to keep warm,” said 25-year-old Meckenzie Stunkard. “It still feels like it’s 30 degrees out here.”
Stunkard was visibly cold, her teeth chattering every few seconds.
Craig Garrison, 22, said he quadruple layered his shirts before heading out today. He also sported two pairs of pants, goggles, a scarf, and a hat.
The two riders, who work for Texas Trike Pilots, said they had to wait out the rain until around 4 p.m. Friday.
“Normally, we’d work 2 p.m. to 3 a.m. and with this weather, getting sick is a big concern,” Garrison said. “But I keep going because I need the money.”
Garrison and Stunkard said business was good today, despite more than one inch of rain falling around the city on the first day of SXSW.
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SXSW scene: Pedicabbers hoping for better weather
Pity the poor pedicabbbers.
It’s cold, it’s rainy, it’s icky … and many folks are opting for other forms of transportation this afternoon.
Waiting outside the Austin Convention Center at 5 p.m. was pedicab driver David Hart, whose shift just started. A customer, he hopes, will soon appear.
“Of course it’s not good right now,” he said, “but it’s going to get nicer.”
Hart plans to work until 2 a.m. tonight — and he’ll keep it up every night during the fest.
Rain or shine.
“It’s usually nonstop,” he said. “It’s a marathon.”
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Hyper Local Public TV Station Models: Content 3.0
4:30 p.m./Friday: 3:30 p.m., Friday (hashtag: #SXHyperlocal)
Panelists: Angee Simmons executive producer of Kansas City Public Television (KCPT); David Neff, author of The Future of Nonprofits, Kevin Dando director of marketing for PBS, Kliff Kuehl, president and CEO of Kansas City Public Television (KCPT), and Shane Guiter, director of development KLRU.
The gist: A discussion of new models of how local and national public television stations are leaning toward becoming hyperlocal. Stations are realizing that audiences want exclusive, in-depth stories about their community.
Neff said the panel was like,”the future of nonprofits through the lens of local television news.” The challenge comes with the content and quality of reporting. How are grant and donation-based nonprofits supposed to create a better quality of journalism on an already shrinking budget?
Quotes: “When you start to see newspapers fold and television close, we hope that we’ll still be here for our readers to tell these stories, but we still need supporters.” - Simmons
“Not everyone has the internet or phones in other countries, so it’s our job to reach them.” - Kuehl
“Between nonprofits and public television stations, there’s a great opportunity for sharing content.” - Neff
“Ten million may sound like it’s not a lot of money when you are talking about ACL or Jon Stewart’s salary, but $10 million is what costs to run our station every year.” - Guiter
Takeaways: Local public television stations must change drastically to keep up with social media, geolocation, web, mobile, and citizen journalism.
Some public television stations could migrate from showing regular broadcasted shows to hard news programs. Â Â
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Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Gamify and Socialize: Beyond the Buzzwords
Time/Date: 3 p.m. Friday, March 9 (hashtag: #gamify)
Panelists: Bing Gordon Partner Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Brad Stone Sr. Writer Bloomberg Businessweek
The gist: Game design is the new MBA and every company should have a gamer in residence.
Quotes:
Anybody 35 or younger has a different outlook on life. People who game are instant feedback. -Gordon
The most important thing to think about with gamification is that people like things that feel right. What seems right looks more like a game and less like a book. People who grew up playing games view the world differently. We get to the point where games look more normal than Gutenberg. -Gordon
Gamers believe that constant improvement is possible. There are multiple ways to win, but every session can bring improvement. -Gordon
The most powerful aspect of gaming is not competition, but cooperation. -Gordon
Games are a system for creating meaning. - Gordon
We are moving from an age of listening to learn and towards an age of learning by doing. Gamers know that if you see a door in a virtual world you always open it. They jump in and find the edges. - Gordon
The future of education is John Dewey and John Madden. - Gordon
Visionaries who rant don’t get a lot done. -Gordon
On the subject of online gambling: ‘In general I’m in favor, but nervous. The smartest people I meet in analytics, come out of the casino business. The second currency is the secret. What makes me nervous is the murky history of cash-based games. I think it’s too exciting not not try. ” - Gordon
A million is no longer a big number on the internet. - Gordon
Takeaways:
-Gamers see the world in a different way and can not only improve existing models, but can also innovate and transmit ideas in new ways.
-On the subject of online gambling, Gordon said it is too exciting not to try, but cash-based games make him nervous.
-Defining reach has changed drastically in the past three years. Once upon a time, 500,000 unique monthly visitors was a big deal. Now it’s 10 million.
-The concepts employed in games, like virtual rewards, can increase user friendliness for users and productivity for employees. Games can teach us a lot about efficiency.
-Alternate reality gaming (gaming that brings the virtual into the real world) is the new frontier of gaming.
-Education is the next place that gaming will show up in a meaningful way.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW panel: Political Humor 2.0: Teh Internetz R Leaking
Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. Friday (hashtag: #PoliHum)
Panelists: Alf LaMont, VP of marketing and development, The Comedy Store; Carol Hartsell, comedy editor, The Huffington Post; Greg Proops, comedian (no-show); Rory Albanese, executive producer, “The Daily Show With John Stewart”; Sara Benincasa, author, blogger and comedian.
The gist: The panelists talked about the challenges of doing humor from a political point of view without simply taking sides to a large, full room of attendees. The panelists suggest that comedy has an inherent recklessness that perhaps doesn’t lend itself to a conservative viewpoint; they struggled to name an influential conservative comedy site. They said they believe that shows like “Daily Show” and “Colbert Report” are becoming incredibly influential. Albanese spoke about the challenge of shifting “Daily Show” from targeting Republicans, to, say, covering the Obama administration and satirizing everything, not just one side or the other. All the panelists had interesting things to say about the Internet, about the political climate and their own approaches, but Albanese seemed to have the most quotable pearls of wisdom. Not surprisingly given the topic, the panel was a crowd-pleaser with lots of laughs.
Quotes: “I actually still get all my news from D.L. Hughley.” — Albanese. “It’s got a siren.” — Albanese on the one reason why The Drudge Report may be successful. “Come to our side. It’s fun. We’re better looking.” — Benincasa on recruiting Ann Coulter to the left. “There is something about comedy that’s reckless that doesn’t adhere itself to a conservative lifestyle.” — Albanese. “Can anyone name your favorite conservative comedy site?” — LaMont. Very few answers were given. “Just try being funny.” — Albanese on the danger of choosing a side first. “Poop jokes have no political affiliation.” — Benincasa. “People are talking more about everything. Everybody is still a kid who wants to make someone laugh.” — Hartsell on the Internet’s influence on people’s exposure to comedy. “I don’t think people realize how hard it is to be funny and to be consistently funny.” — Albanese
Takeaways: If you’re interested in comedy, focus on being funny before you focus on attacking the left or the right. Some kinds of humor (toilet humor, cat jokes) are universal and don’t have a political point of view. The Internet is increasing the amount of conversation about politics (much of it comedic) and providing more places where humor can spread.
Permalink | | Categories: Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012, TV
SXSW panel: My Robotic Kitchen Planned This Dinner Party
Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. Friday (hashtag: #SXcooking)
Panelists: Mike Lee, founder/CEO of Studiofeast; Will Turnage, vice president of technology and invention at R/GA.
The gist: Mike Lee and Will Turnage wanted to create an app or a cooking program to solve a problem: Why don’t more people host dinner parties?
Turnage, who has developed two well-received apps for cookbook author Michael Ruhlman, and Lee, who helped put on that subway dinner party in New York last year, realized that people cited three primary reasons why people don’t cook for others.
1) I just don’t cook. 2) There are too many moving parts, it’s hard to keep track 3) I can do it, but it’s not worth the trouble.
This amounts to a lack of knowledge, a lack of organization and a lack of effort, so they worked on creating an app that solves some of these problems by using data and computer programming that Auguste Escoffier could have never imagined.
The goal was to create an app that helped home cooks cook more like chefs instead of line cooks, which are essentially the kitchen’s prep machines. The chefs are the ones who are handling multiple tasks at the same time, adapting the recipes and menu according to how many people they are serving, what ingredients and tools are available, etc.Â
One of the hardest parts is training an app or a computer program to help someone when they’ve screwed up a recipe and need to readjust cooking times, ingredients, etc.
Their app/program, which is tentatively called Food. You. Me. and might not ever even come out [yes, that’s as weird as it sounds], isn’t out yet, but there’s a similar app called Cooking PlanIt that is coming out this spring.Â
Quotes: “We don’t have many great meals by ourselves, and most of our great memories with others involve food,” says Mike Lee.Â
Photo by Steph Goralnick.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: The Future of Lifestyle Media
3:30 p.m. Friday: 2 p.m., Friday (hashtag: #SXlifestyle)
Panelists: Andrew Wagner, editor of Krrb Magazine and New York Times Columnist; Camille Styles, Camillestyles.com; Grace Bonney, founder of Design Sponge; and Tolly Moseley, Austineavesdropper.com.
The gist: How to turn your blog into a business, while staying true to your voice (that is to say, when you find your voice).
For bloggers wanting to turn a profit, the option for selling advertising is convenient, but the focus should be on content. Fresh, new, ideas paired with originality, quality and frequency is king to being a successful blogger.
With an ever-growing number of ways to share your blog posts, the panelists agreed to stick to a few applications that compliment your personality or brand. Bonney said she is reluctant to adapt to tools and would rather have the tools adapt to her. Moseley, a once believer in being a never-Tweeter, said it’s a great tool for her now.
Quotes: Being a great blogger is also being a great community builder. - Wagner.
It can look desperate if you are posting and sharing the same blog post on a ton of different apps. If the tools don’t work for you, then don’t use them. - Bonney.
By listening to your community, you can find and offer a tool that people have to pay for.- Moseley.
I got really nervous about following what I thought the audience wanted me to write. I didn’t want to do just that, so I found my muse. - Bonney
I quickly found that recipes I created and wrote about were getting more hits than other blog posts about lifestyle. As a blogger, it’s so crucial to be the source and be the place where content is created. - Styles.
Takeaways: To make your lifestyle or DIY blog a break out, find your niche, write what you enjoy, connect with people in real life, and care about what you write. Content may be king, but if it’s shoddy and unedited content, it may not be successful. The panelists unanimously agreed that a blogger can flourish if they start simple and keep an open mind to any opportunities.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SCENE REPORT: What are SXSWi attendees most excited about?
With badges hanging around necks, smartphones in one hand and umbrellas in the other, SXSWi participants today seemed enthusiastic during the fest’s first day despite the rain, cold temperatures, and jokes about soggy nerds floating on twitter.
Here’s what some participants are looking forward to checking out the most.
Mike Wavrecan of Victoria, British Colombia -can’t wait to see Napster founder interview with Al Gore, which was just announced this morning. The television producer gets inspired by all the SXSWi panels, but as a three-year veteran he knows better than to try to do everything. “Don’t stay up too late,” he advises.
Latest app he’s downloaded? SXSW’s Go, which helps you keep up with all fest-related goodies
Brett Boessen of Sherman, TX - wants to check out gaming sessions and how they are engaging, learning tools in higher education classrooms. As associate professor of Austin College, Boessen is scoping out all education related panels.
Latest app he’s downloaded? MyRadar, a weather app to check out just how soaked Austin is going to be this weekend.
Chris Harris of Toronto, Canada -looks forward to connecting with other festivalgoers most of all. Harris heads online content for a Canadian broadcasting company, so he’s all about the social media and television panels. That doesn’t mean he won’t sneak away to non-work related panels he thinks are cool like one on how soccer sexes up spreadsheets. Hmm.. Latest app he’s downloaded? A guide to Austin parties
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SXSW Panel: CNN's Black in America/ Silicon Valley Aftermath
Time/Date: 2 p.m. Friday, March 9 (hashtag: #SXSWBIA)
Panelists: Hajj Flemings, CEO/Co-Founder Gokit; Hank Williams, CEO Kloudco; Jason Samuels, Professor of Journalism, NYU/Lead Producer CNN CNN/NYU; Soledad O’Brien Anchor and Special Correspondent CNN, Wayne Sutton Partner, Entrepreneur New Me Accelerator
The gist:In the summer of 2011, New Me, the first technology accelerator focused on African Americans, was launched. The inaugural class was covered by the CNN documentary “Black in America,” along with an exploration of the issues underlying low minority representation in the tech industry.
While filming the documentary, Samuels said that participants were on their best behavior, “because they were a reflection of black people in America.” They did not participate in the usual reality TV behavior of drinking and in-fighting.
The industry has to be willing to change, but right now, the industry has little incentive to change because it’s making money.
Some important conversations have arisen out of the documentary. More influential minority leaders in the tech industry have to focus on how to be leaders and mentors. And the conversation about a career in tech has to start sooner, panelists said, as early as elementary school. The documentary has been shown to students all over the country to help start that conversation.
Quotes: I felt this was an under-reported story. The more I read about it, the more important I thought it was. - Samuels.
Having CNN involved creates a tremendous platform and a tremendous platform. It creates a voice for those that maybe didn’t have a platform. -Flemming.
What can you do to be a pioneer and pave the road for someone after you? - Flemming It’s a big deal how sad the situation is, but it hadn’t occurred to me. - Williams
I think it speaks to what it means to be black in America. - Samuels
It forced people in the industry to make some statements.It brought in some really influential thought leaders. There is no really nice way to talk about this. - Fleming
It exposed perspectives that people haven’t really talked about. In the past few years there have been discussions about gender diversity, but this is the first time we’ve talked about ethnic diversity. This pulled off a scab and exposed a wound that has not been discussed. -Williams
What’s changed? What the documentary did was create a conversation across the country. Other accelerators are launching. For women and other minorities. Meetup groups formed to watch the documentary and a conversations began. - Sutton.
You can’t have action until you have people coming together to discuss that there is a problem. I recognize that it is something that is important and perhaps critical people for like me to focus on and change and make some sort of difference. If we don’t do something we are in danger of being a permanent under class. The primary result of the documentary has been to mobilize and get people talking about this issue. - Williams.
We began to have an interesting conversation about a career path. It’s created an opportunity in the city of Detroit to talk to high school students. We start to look at career options and training. - Flemming.
We continuously have to work together. You have to be leaders. - Sutton.
It’s important that we start to engage kids at a very young age in this discussion. - Williams.
Silicon Valley is not necessary to learn to program. You can be in Timbuktu and learn to program. - Williams. Silicon valley is relevant if you’re trying to start a company.
It’s important for people to be able to understand failure. One of the problems in the AA community is that they can’t afford to fail. It’s not just culture, there is an actual economic fact that underpins that. - Williams.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel:@TVEngagement: Does Social Media Drive TV Ratings
Time/Date: 2 p.m. Friday (##sxsw #tvengage)
Panelists: Colin Helm, MTV Networks; David Jones, Shazam Entertainment; Ellen Stone, Bravo Networks; Susie Fogelson, Food Network; Tara O’Donnell, Text 100
The gist: Our TV watching experience has gone way beyond our bigger home screens and into our mobile and online worlds. But is this doing anything for TV ratings or does it just clutter our social media life?
Social media can extend the lifespan of any show, build communities and engage audiences.
Quotes:
“We’re inviting talent to be part of conversation, most important (thing) with social is that conversation is meaningful.” —Stone
“It should be an extension of what they are watching. Thanksgiving is the Super Bowl for the Food Network. So we had Thanksgiving Live event where celebrity chefs could Skype, Tweet, (etc.) ready to answer questions for a two-hour block. In two hours we got 20,000 (Facebook) likes in two hours.—Fogelson
“Foodies are crazy as far as ‘don’t get me off topic.’If people feel we are giving them commercial message and it’s on Top Chef, it’s going no where fast. We’ve learned how far we can stretch messaging and we know there’s an authentic voice. -Stone
“Food is so inherently social, we have great conversations. On our Facebook page we said ketchup or mustard? We got 7,000 responses” —Fogelson
“One of the big moments from VMAs this year was Beyonce revealing her pregnancy. That started with twit pic, then build momentum for big moment on show.” -Collins
Takeaways: While not all shows need major social media interactions, panelists agree its about figuring out what works best for each audience and show. Though there’s no scientific proof, panelists suggest that there is a linkage between social media campaigns driving TV show ratings, as long as the social media is authentic and true to the heart of the TV show and what the network is about.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Get smart! Hack your brain for peak performance
Time/Date: 2 p.m., Friday (hashtag: #brainhack)
Panelists: Daniel Wetmore, Stanford University; Dave Asprey, The BulletProof Executive/Trend Micro; Megan Miller, Bonnier R&D; Michael Scanlon, Lumosity
The gist: Panelists discussed non-invasive and invasive ways to stimulate the brain in order to improve mental performance and even raise IQ measurements.
Scanlon surveyed 750,000 people a bout their lifestyles and compared that to their cognitive performance. For sleep, peak mental performance occurred at 7 hours. Participants who exercised 2 times per week reached nearly the same mental performance as those who exercised 6 days per week. A theory Scanlon is exploring is that aerobic exercise grows new neurons in the brain. Those who drank one or two alcoholic beverages performed better mentally than those who did not drink at all, but performance dropped dramatically after one or two beverages. Those who read books and magazines — or played musical instruments — performed better than those who didn’t.
Wetmore said that the future of mindhacking will leverage what our brains do well to compensate for what our brains do poorly. He showed examples of devices to explain. For instance: one gadget stilted the tongue to help people improve balance. Another electrical stimulation device placed on the finger causes the brain to lower body temperature.
Asprey biohacked and brainhacked his body. He has gone from 297 to 210 lbs. and raised his IQ by 30 points through the use of gadgets that regulate heart rate variability, stimulate with light and electricity, train the brain with memory exercises, etc. All told, he spent $10,000, which he called a small price for the transformation.
Quotes: “In the near future, we’re going to be Obiwan Kenobi.” — Miller. “The future of mindhacking will leverage what our brains do well to compensate for what our brains do poorly.” — Wetmore;
Takeaways: The things we do shape our brains; our behaviors can make our brains better or worse.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
SXSW Panel: Raise Your Profile Using SXSW
Time/Date: 2 p.m. Friday (hashtag: #profileup)
Panelists: Brian Zisk, founder/creator, SF MusicTech Summit; Evan Cohen, general manager of Foursquare; Hugh Forrest, director of SXSW Interactive; Theda Sandiford, managing director of Theda Dotcom LLC.
The gist: In a fairly full room full of mostly first-time SXSW Interactive attendees, experts who’ve been at the festival (and the fest’s director) explained ways to get the most out of the event. All agreed that, especially for businesspeople, it’s necessarily to have a gameplan, but to be open to possibilities that open up during the fest. If you’re trying to launch a product or get yourself notices, it’s important to play to your strengths, be authentic, and use whatever means you have available to achieve your goals. Cohen explained how a few years ago Foursquare used chalk, T-shirts, temporary tattoos and lots of underground marketing (“Real marketing,” as he called it) top gain buzz for the location app. The panel also offered practical tips (don’t wear heels, register early to get a hotel as close as possible to the Convention Center). It ended with a Q&A in which the panelists gleefully critiqued the introductions that people asking questions made.
Quotes: “We thought we had the weather technology down this year.” — Forrest, promising the fest will do better on that (cold) front next year. “Have a gameplan, know who you want to meet. But be very open to the serendipity. If you’re walking by the convention center and (Foursquare founder) Dennis Crowley is playing foursquare, ask him if you can join in. The serendipitous moment are a big part of the event.” — Forrest. “If somebody says, ‘What do you do?’ Let ‘er rip!” — Fisk. “We created a crazy, underground energy around the fest.” — Cohen on Foursquare’s push at SXSW before it was an established product. “South By is both a sprint and a marathon… Make sure you stay healthy. Make sure you get enough food.” — Fisk. “If you’re not having fun or learning something or meeting the right people, go somewhere else.” — Forrest. “It’s not just about the merit of your product, it’s about the people you reach out to.” — Fisk. “Soft-stalk.” — Sandiford on the merits of gently stalking (not in a bad way) the people/companies you want to meet. “The best way to raise your profile is doing something creative.” — Forrest. “Panels are kind of the tip of the iceberg here.” — Forrest, on all the other things SXSW offers. “Enthusiasm counts for a lot.” — Fisk.
Takeaways: Knowing what you intend to do and what you want out of the fest is critical. Meet people, get their Twitter name so you can follow up later. Have a “rap,” a quick summation of who you are and what you do, your personal pitch. If you’re promoting an app or product, do whatever you can to customize it for the SXSW experience. (“Uber,” an app, has a BBQ button for the fest, for instance.) Find creative ways to reach out to people, promoting yourself or your brand and to stand out.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, SXSW, SXSW 2012
SXSW panel: Popping Your Bubble: Stories of the Digital Divide
Time/Date: 2 p.m. Friday (hashtag: #dgtldiv)
Panelists: Allison Aldridge, director of e-marketing for the Chickasaw Nation Division of Commerce; Dean Davis of College Of Menominee Nation; Dee Davis, founder of the Center for Rural Strategies; Eric Martin, interactive media specialist for Native American Public Telecommunications.
The gist: We take our ability to use the Internet for granted. More than 2/3 of the world’s population are not connected, including many in rural and low-income areas of the U.S. This is an international problem, but it’s worse in this country, where we’ve gone from No. 1 in connectivity to 18th, according to panelist Dee Davis.
Quotes: “Don’t assume even the most basic assumptions about web navigation,” says Allison Aldridge-Saur. Mobile design is often easier for new users than traditional web design. “You have to get rid of your flash and gimmicky design, and it forces you to get down to your core discipline and functionally.”
“If we want people in (Native Indian and rural areas) to compete, we have to reimagine how we are connecting.” — Dee Davis
Takeaways:
For many people, not being online comes down to money. A computer and an Internet connection aren’t cheap, but for some, especially in the Native American community, it’s a fear of exploitation, says Aldridge Saur. Urban people pushing technology, no matter if it’s medicine or transportation, haven’t always been truthful in their motives, so it’s no wonder they are wary of privacy invasion and being taken advantage of. They also worry about basic things they’ve heard about, such as viruses or data theft.
One of the biggest hurdles is that people who aren’t connected don’t have any interest because they feel like they are too old to learn or that the learning curve will be too great to overcome. Flashy or super sleek websites are intimidating. We assume that people know what “homepage” means.
“It’s hard for people in this room to think that people are still using dial-up,” says Dee Davis. But he said he’s seen people spend 19 hours downloading homework via dial-up. Imagine trying to take a college class online without a high-speed connection. Even if you have the money, you need population density to bring in high-speed Internet. In many areas, mobile devices are skipping over the traditional Internet-connected computer because it’s cheaper and easier to access.
“For many of us, you don’t exist at all if you don’t exist online,” says Aldridge-Saur. “And in many rural places, there isn’t a representation of their communities online. Word-of-mouth is still the primary means of communication.” We’re all increasing in our sophistication, but what concerns her is that there are huge groups of people who can’t participate.
So, what does all this mean to the digitally connected? Dee Davis says we can’t expect and force people and communities to urbanize, and conversely, we can’t expect the urban areas to carry the entire country. “The thing about small towns is that everybody is needed. Nobody is expendable,” he said.
One of the biggest reasons to push for more connectivity in these areas is that is allows more sharing of cultures, of language, of history. Native American languages are dying at a terrifying rate, and members of the tribe who move from the area can still stay connected to each other and to those who are carrying on the traditions, but only if both parties can be connected virtually.
Photo via SXSW.com
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
Fest-goers reporting issues with AT&T
It’s happening.
Again.
We’re getting multiple reports that AT&T service is crawling in and near the Austin Convention Center on the first day of South by Southwest.
From Twitter:
@alias_amanda: Day one of #sxsw = hurry up and wait. Traffic, registration, slow AT&T connectivity. #ugh
@jray1414: The only thing slower than the AT&T network at #SXSW is the shuttle pickup service.
@ChristopherATX: You know #SXSW is here when your AT&T iPhone doesn’t work within a 3 mile radius of downtown ATX.
With thousands of folks in town — all within a few blocks of each other — network congestion is pretty much a given, regardless of the cell phone carrier. AT&T’s network gets hit especially hard because of all those fancy iPhones out there.
The company typically adds temporary capacity during big events such as SXSW and the Austin City Limits Music Festival.
We’re checking to see what’s up. More to come.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: SXSW 2012
Rain, shuttle delays causing confusion, long waits for rides
Rain always throws a wrench in plans, but it was causing some serious delays and confusion in getting around the first day of the South by Southwest Interactive Conference.
About 30 minutes before the first round of panels on Friday, attendees gathered outside the convention center, trying to advise one another on which shuttles would take them where, and whether or not you had to pay for them. ”The shuttles were a bust for making it to my first panel,” tweeted Megan Ura. They’re small and fill up quickly!”
The R&R shuttles, which use color-coordinated routes, take paying guests (who are given orange wristbands) from outer hotels to downtown and some of the venues. The free shuttles that go to and from each of the interactive venues are also based on color routes, but the drivers weren’t necessarily announcing to riders the name of the stop or the difference between the two shuttles. (One driver also abruptly shut the door without explanation and wouldn’t let any more riders off. He drove up the block from the Omni and then let them off.)
SXSW has been advertising 5 to 10 minute waits for these free shuttles, but a group of attendees waited more than 20 minutes at the Hyatt for a shuttle and ended up taking a $6 cab ride to the convention center instead.
Interactive director Hugh Forrest joked in a 2 p.m. panel: “We thought we had the weather technology down this year.”
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
Jimmy Fallon to moderate Sunday SXSWi fitness panel
Comedian and talk-show host Jimmy Fallon will moderate a Sunday South by Southwest Interactive panel sponsored by Nike.
Nike’s new product, the Nike+ FuelBand is a wearable fitness gadget that looks like a wrist band. It’s one of several products Nike will try to push to the digital creatives at the SXSW Interactive festival and this panel appears to be a part of that push as well as a big lineup of concerts with guests including Sleigh Bells, The Shins, Nas, Girl Talk and others. Nike is partnering with VEVO on video as well.
The talk, open to badgeholders, is at 11 a.m. Sunday at Salon H of the Hilton Austin Downtown.
Another late-added speaker added today for Interactive was Al Gore, who will participate in a Q&A with Napster founder Sean Parker on Monday.
Photo by Cliff Owen / Associated Press
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW, SXSW 2012, TV
SXSW Weather: Where to buy rain gear
12:30 p.m. Friday: If you are finding yourself huddled with dozens of other soaked and unprepared SXSW attendees (did you see it was in the 70s here last week?), don’t worry, we’ll show you where you can pick up a jacket or rain coat within walking distance of the Austin Convention Center.
You might be able to find weather appropriate attire on South Congress, where the stores range from high-end retail to second hand thrift stores. There’s even a cowboy boot store where you would no doubt find a nice pair Texas cowboy boots. Down west Sixth Street is an REI, for those who want a heavy-duty jacket.
If you aren’t willing to hike that far (and we wouldn’t blame you with all the rain and yes, that was hail), you can always check the shuttle route, which will take you essentially to any SXSWi conference. For those who do have transportation, there are several Target, Wal-Mart and Academy stores in South Austin near the Brodie Oaks Shopping Center.
For continuous weather updates, you can check our weather blog, Weather Watch, where you can see that rain remains in the forecast until early next week.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: SXSW 2012
Al Gore added to SXSWi lineup
Former vice president Al Gore has been added to the schedule of speakers at South by Southwest Interactive, the festival announced Friday morning.
Gore will be interviewing Napster founder Sean Parker in a Q&A at 5 p.m. Monday in Exhibit Hall 5 of the Austin Convention Center.
Parker also co-founded Plaxo and helped develop Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg. He was famously portrayed by Justin Timberlake in the Oscar-nominated film “The Social Network.”
Gore is a co-founder of Current TV and is co-founder and chairman of Generation Investment Management, which means the two will probably have a lot to talk about in the realm of start-ups and venture capital.
Hugh Forrest, director of SXSW Interactive, said in an email, “The Sean Parker / Al Gore interview came together rather late in the game. Sometimes amazing things like this happen at SXSW — it is just part of the magic of March in Austin. We are extremely excited about their conversation.”
Parker is a huge deal in the tech investment world, but the SXSW blog entry with a gigantic photo of Gore and a very small mug shot of Parker says a lot about who the audience will likely be there to see.
Photo by Susan Walsh / Associated Press File
Updated 1 p.m. to add quote from Hugh Forrest.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Austin, SXSW, SXSW 2012
March 8, 2012
The Linkdown for Thursday, March 8, SXSWi Edition
Did you know that South by Southwest Interactive starts on Friday? The Linkdown may have mentioned it in passing. Here are some events and reads related to the fest (including what we’ve written up to this point). See you at the fest and here on the blog where we will be covering it all through Tuesday. You can also follow our SXSWi Twitter account to see what’s happening as we Tweet from the fest.
Events: (Note, many of these events may already be full and probably require RSVP)
- Tonight: Austin BASHH at The Ranch, free.
- Also tonight: Door 64 pre-SXSW Interactive party at Six Lounge and the Tap Room, $20.
- Also also tonight: Austin High Tech Happy Hour / SXSW kickoff at Molotov.
- Austin360’s side party database for Interactive, Music and Film.
- Startup Crawl is probably underway today by the time you read this. It kicked off at Omni Hotel.
- Here’s a Pinterest board I’m contributing to featuring lots of Interactive parties (with links to the RSVP pages).
- $5 gets you a list of all the parties at sxshhh.com.
- Searching Eventbrite is also a good way to find them.
- Looking for a job? Tech Career Expo happens Friday and Saturday.
- What’s free at the fest?
- Google going big with its Interactive and Music events.
- Twitter, Samsung Mobile and Learned Evolution will host a 10-day interactive art space at AMOA-Arthouse downtown starting March 9.
- Convio wants attendees to donate lunch money during the fest to benefit several charities.
- More event tools: Lanyrd and Sched in addition to the official schedule.
Good reads:
- A CNN.com piece I wrote about the changing culture of the Interactive festival.
- Did you see our write-up about the changes at this year’s free, open-to-the-public ScreenBurn Arcade?
- Saturday opening keynote speaker Baratunde Thurston spoke to us about his presentation and his new book “How To Be Black.”
- Good to know: SXSW street closures.
- More on how to get around downtown during the fest.
- Texas State students are writing up the festival.
- What’s in the swag bag?
- Where are all the Interactive venues? Here’s a map.
- 10 conversation starters for the fest in case you would like stuff to talk about to your fellow peeps.
- What to pack/not pack in your bag for the fest.
- Super inventor Dean Kamen previews what he’ll be talking about at the fest.
- General party tips for the fest.
- Food at the fest, via Addie Broyles’s SXSW Eats updates.
- The lowdown on the “SXSW Go” app.
- Where hipsters and nerds collide on video.
- Never seen this at the fest before: homeless individuals will be offering 4G hotspot service instead of newspapers at the fest.
- The new iPad doesn’t come out until March 16, so no pop-up store at SXSW this year.
- What to wear to the fest.
Got a Linkdown item we should include in a future update? E-mail it to us with “LINKDOWN:” in the subject line.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012
What's in the SXSWi swag bag? (2012 edition)
Above you can see what’s in this year’s SXSW Interactive goodie bag. What we’ve got is a chunky 272-page booklet full of panelist profiles, ads and infographics (including a neat tear-out poster, “Who is at SXSW 2012?”), a piece of last week’s Austin Chronicle focused on Interactive, an optional map (when I picked up my bag I was asked if I wanted it), a pocket guide to the fest and a guide to ScreenBurn.
The bag itself is designed by “Fail Whale” artist Yiying Lu.
You can see what was in last year’s bag for comparison below:
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW, SXSW 2012
SXSW ScreenBurn Arcade changes location, focus
Cover of today’s Austin360 print section, designed by Adrian Zamarron.
In today’s Austin American-Statesman, you‘ll find a preview of South by Southwest Interactive’s ScreenBurn Arcade, which starts tomorrow at the Palmer Events Center. The event has a new location outside of the Austin Convention Center, a new focus and lots of free content open to the public.
The organizers have listened to feedback about past ScreenBurn events and are hoping more high-profile panels, tournaments and announcements will get more of the public (especially students interested in game design) invested in the event.
You can check out more information at the ScreenBurn website.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW, SXSW 2012, Videogames
March 7, 2012
SXSW Interactive updates: attendance, celebrities and more
Jay-Z (with Kanye West) at last year’s VEVO Seaholm Power Plant show, March 19, 2011. Jay-Z will play Monday night at ACL Live as part of an AMEX event during SXSW Interactive. Photo by Jay Janner / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
SXSW Interactive starts in two days and you have to wonder if by the time it begins there’ll be any news left at all. (Don’t worry. There will be).
We’ll be covering the festival like crazy with panel write-ups, photos, videos and scene reports.
Here’s the latest on what’s happening as the fest gears up.
Attendance: In a profile of SXSWi fest director Hugh Forrest that we’re running in Saturday’s American-Statesman, he reveals what’s known so far about attendance for SXSWi 2012. The rate of growth for the fest is not expected to be in the 30-40 percent range that it’s been the last few years (last year’s attendance grew from under 15,000 in 2010 to the official count of 19,364 for 2011). Forrest says that based on pre-registration and early hotel room sales, the fest is on track to grow from 2011, just not at that stratospheric rate. Unless there’s a big surge of walk-up registration it doesn’t seem like we’ll be seeing 25,000 participants at Interactive this year.
Celebrity spotting: Jay-Z has been confirmed as a headliner at ACL Live on Monday for an AMEX showcase that will be streamed live on YouTube. Interactive badgeholders who sync up their AMEX card to their Twitter account have an opportunity to attend in person. And, here’s an interesting one.
Celebrity spotting part 2 — Leo edition: Mobli, a new “real-time, visual social media platform” based on photo and video sharing channels, will throw a party Saturday night and says that its confirmed guests include Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Lukas Haas. Makes sense since DiCaprio is an investor in Mobli. Other celebrities connected to the service, which will launch a new version on Saturday, include Lance Armstrong, Paris Hilton and David Arquette. Music at the party will be provided by DJ Spooky and DJ RAC.
FOOD YUMMIES: Our food writer Addie Broyles lists some of the no-badge food events happening around the festival. There are tons of them.
Presidential party: President Obama’s tech team will be doing a fundraiser/cocktail reception on Friday at Six Lounge. Tickets are $500.
More SXSW updates to come today, tomorrow and through the fest. Watch this space.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, SXSW, SXSW 2012
March 6, 2012
SXSW Interactive preview: inventor Dean Kamen
Even if he wasn’t responsible for the invention of the Segway (and, indirectly, one of our favorite visuals from “Arrested Development”), Dean Kamen would still be considered an important innovator who continues to surprise in areas like water purification, mobility systems and, apparently some solar power inventions he’s working on.
Kamen, the founder of the DEKA Research & Development Corp. and FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, spoke to us about invention, inspiration and the need to get young people excited about both.
American-Statesman: SXSW Interactive isn’t really known as an inventor’s conference, but there are always lots of entrepreneurs and innovators with great ideas. Are you hoping to inspire people to put that energy and knowledge into more tangible products and technologies?
Kamen: There are many problems that face our society right now, and I believe many of them have technological solutions. Given the challenges and opportunities that we will face as we move further into the 21st century, I believe that all innovators should apply themselves to using technology to both improve the quality of life for people around the globe and create new industries to sustain economic growth. A person doesn’t necessarily need to be an inventor to have an impact on technological progress; we need a new generation of advocates who recognize the importance of science and technology.
What kind of progress has FIRST made so far? Is there a gap in STEM skills and interest in science and tech in that generation of students?
FIRST started more than 20 years ago as a competition with a couple dozen teams in a high school gym in Manchester, New Hampshire. Since then, we have grown into a worldwide phenomenon that 300,000 students experience each year. Our alumni can be found in America’s best universities and corporations, and there are countless stories of kids whose lives have been fundamentally changed by the opportunities that the STEM fields offer.
That said, there is still much work to be done in this country. The United States ranks very low compared to other developed nations in terms of students’ performances in science and math. In a society where we get what we celebrate, we need to have a cultural shift so that young people look up to inventors and engineers the same way they idolize athletes and celebrities. That is the only way we will have a skilled workforce and a strong economy in the future.
What will your SXSW talk be focused on?
I will focus on my own experience with innovation — and how inventions can be used to benefit the world — as well as the development of FIRST. Everyone, from scientists and engineers to artists and entrepreneurs, can play a role in inspiring the next generation of technological leaders.
You have a very diverse portfolio of inventions — do you advise people interested in becoming inventors to focus on one thing or to try to create lots of different ideas and products?
I would encourage budding inventors to apply themselves to areas where they think they will do the most good. I’ve always tried to focus on projects with a clear benefit to society. Given the challenges and opportunities we face, I think that this strategy will allow future inventors to explore a wide range of issues and have a very fulfilling and successful career in technology.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Gadgets, SXSW, SXSW 2012
'Mass Effect 3,' 'Street Fighter X Tekken' reach store shelves this week
New in video games this week:
“Mass Effect 3.” — The lead-up to BioWare’s newest game has included some truly stunning commercials for the last chapter of this epic space trilogy. As with the previous games, this one is a hybrid role-playing game / third-person action shooter with rich characters and lots of dialogue. If you’ve played the previous games, you can import your save data so that decisions you made impact the action in this one. Expect big drama as Commander Shepard tries to take back the Earth from terrifying Reaper invaders. Rated M for Mature. $60-$80 in Standard or Deluxe Editions, for Windows PCs, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
“Street Fighter X Tekken.” — This anticipated mashup of the “Street Fighter” and “Tekken” franchises features tag battles, lots of online modes and a system to upgrade abilities and powers. It’ll be the subject of a pro game tournament next week at South by Southwest Interactive’s free ScreenBurn event at Palmer Events Center. Rated T for Teen. $40-$70 in Standard and Special Editions, for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.
Also out this week: “MLB 12: The Show” (PS3, PS Vita), “Mario Party 9” (Nintendo Wii), “Major League Baseball 2K12” (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC, Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, PlayStation 2), “The Sims 3: Showtime” (PC, Mac), “Unit 13” (PS Vita), “Blades of Time” (Xbox 360, PS3), “Ridge Racer Unbounded” (PS3, Xbox 360), “Country Dance” (Xbox 360 Kinect), “Supremacy MMA” (PS Vita), “Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7” (PS Vita), “Crush 3D” (Nintendo 3DS), “Nicktoons MLB 3D” (3DS), “Naraba’s World: The Mysterious Place” (DS), “Naraba’s World: Labyrinth of Light” (DS), “Silent Hill HD Collection” (PS3), “I Am Alive” (downloadable for Xbox 360), “Dungeon Defenders’ (Mac), “MotorStorm RC” (PS3, PS Vita), “Top Gun: Hard Lock” (downloadable for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3).”
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, SXSW, SXSW 2012, Shopping, Videogames
March 5, 2012
Apple says there'll be no pop-up store at this year's SXSW
Apple’s pop-up store in downtown Austin, which went up at the start of South by Southwest Interactive 2011 a year ago. Photo by Alberto Martinez / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Apple has confirmed to the American-Statesman that it will not be repeating its downtown pop-up Apple Store for South by Southwest Interactive this year.
There was speculation that the company would repeat the sales experiment for 2012 when it announced what appears to be an iPad 3-related event to be held Wednesday. That would have given the company only two days to release the device before SXSW Interactive begins on Friday.
Last year, Apple’s then-CEO Steve Jobs announced the release of the iPad 2 on March 2. The pop-up store opened at the start of SXSW Interactive on March 11. The pop-up store, at the Scarborough Building on Congress Ave. and Sixth Street, sold the tablet device as well as accessories during the festival.
The lack of a pop up store in Austin this year could point to a later release date for the iPad 3 (or whatever Apple will be calling the next version of its tablet) than the March 9-March 13 dates of the SXSW Interactive festival. The company said in a phone call with the American-Statesman that it has no comment on a release date for the device.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Computers, Gadgets, SXSW, SXSW 2012
Baratunde Thurston talks new book, SXSWi opening keynote (hilariously)
Photo by Alexa Lee, courtesy SXSW Inc.
In this week’s Digital Savant column, appearing in today’s American-Statesman, we talk to South by Southwest Interactive opening keynote speaker Baratunde Thurston, whose new book, “How To Be Black” was published on Feb. 1.
Thurston, a veteran of Interactive who is also director of digital at The Onion and co-creator of the Jack & Jill Politics blog, was a great interview and should be an entertaining keynote. His presentation will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Austin Convention Center and it will be broadcast live to the public at sxsw.com/interactive/live thanks to help from Microsoft.
All of the keynotes, in fact, will be shown at that page at 2 p.m. through next Tuesday.
We’ll be covering all the keynotes, lots of panels and the scene around the fest starting Friday in addition to pre-festival coverage all this week. Watch this space.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012
March 1, 2012
The Linkdown for Thursday, March 1
Windows 8 Consumer Preview, now available for the downloading!
The Linkdown is so exhausted already a week before South by Southwest Interactive, you guys have no idea. Let’s just say that the emails are piling up and The Linkdown can’t remember if he fed the cats and the kids this morning. Maybe neither? Uh oh. Anyway, here’s what you should be checking out in the events, SXSW and Internet reading departments:
Events:
- Aunt Bertha launch party happening Friday.
- Dad 2.0 Summit hits Austin starting next Thursday.
- Austin BASHH will be next Thursday at The Ranch.
- Door 64 pre-SXSW Interactive party is next Thursday.
- Upper Deck Social Panel happens on Thursday as well with a good lineup of speakers.
- Austin High Tech Happy Hour / SXSW kickoff is also on Thursday.
- Next CapMac general meeting is on March 13
- Registration for the next RISE Austin, which happens March 26-30, has just opened
Internet goodness:
- Want an early peek at Windows 8? You can download the free Consumer Preview from Microsoft.
- iPad 3 is expected to be announced on Wednesday. Does that mean there’s enough time for a SXSW pop-up store? Or will the release date be timed more closely to an apparent Apple Store opening in Houston?
- Speaking of which, what’s that used iPad 2 worth?
- Facebook pages (as in pages for business and groups instead of individuals) are switching over to Timeline view. Livestrong was one of the first organizations chosen by Facebook to switch over, the organization says.
- Sorry old-school iPhone owners: AT&T is effectively ending unlimited wireless plans even if you were grandfathered in.
- Speaking of data billing, Time Warner Cable will roll out tiered broadband billing in Austin later this year, but they say this time it will be optional. This has already launched in other parts of Texas.
- Remember when I said Google+ feels like a ghost town? The data supports me on this!
- This is why I am unlikable!
- Activision cutting 600 jobs.
- My favorite TEDxAustin 2012 presentation, now available on video.
- PlayStation Network going through some maintenance today (Thursday).
- HBO Go app coming to Xbox Live on April 1.
- RIP pinball wizard Steve Kordek, who passed away at age 100.
- “Harry Potter” ebooks coming to schools and libraries.
- Knight News Challenge has opened to the tune of $5 million in rewards.
- Online Desktop, which can bring you fast Windows access on a tablet, has come to Android.
- What’s up with Google’s new privacy policy?
- Starz Play content on Netflix like “Toy Story 3” has disappeared from Netflix today after their contract together expired.
- Dell’s slim XPS 13 has been officially released.
- Hotly anticipated game “BioShock Infinite” has a release date: October 16.
- How many Android apps are there? Oh, about 450,000, says Google.
- Austin game studio Stoic has a website and video up for its upcoming game “The Banner Saga.” (See video below)
SXSW-related
- Did you see our side party guide?
- timeRAZOR has put together an Interactive parties map. It’s only a handful of events, but you might find it useful.
- Looking for a job? Tech Career Expo happens March 9-10.
- Google going big with its Interactive and Music events.
- Twitter, Samsung Mobile and Learned Evolution will host a 10-day interactive art space at AMOA-Arthouse downtown starting March 9.
- Two more SXSW Eats updates from Addie Broyles.
- SOPA-related panels.
- “Boondock Saints” at ScreenBurn to announce a game based on the movie.
- And a Cosplay contest!
- Chicago Bears 7-time Pro-Bowl LB Lance Briggs will be a celebrity guest at the AT&T Mobile App Hackathon on March 9.
- UK Demo Day is on March 11.
- SXSW Startup Crawl is on March 8.
- Here’s a Pinterest board of Interactive party events and info that I’ve been contributing to.
- Searching Eventbrite is also good.
Got a Linkdown item we should include in a future update? E-mail it to us with “LINKDOWN:” in the subject line.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012
February 27, 2012
Stratfor suffers more hacking fallout; CEO still on SXSWi schedule
The company is refusing to discuss the contents of those emails or even to confirm whether they’re real. But Stratfor isn’t planning to stay out of the public eye as it weathers the storm. Founder and chief executive George Friedman is still on the schedule for a South by Southwest Interactive solo talk titled (appropriately) “Surviving Technology” that will take place 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13 at Ballroom D of the Austin Convention Center. It happens right after another high-profile presentation in the same room, the 11 a.m. Q&A with Pinterest co-founder Ben Silbermann.
It will be Friedman’s first appearance at the festival, according to SXSW.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012
Pinterest co-founder confirmed for SXSW Interactive
The session, according to the panel write-up, will deal with “what the site is doing now, why it has grown popular in cities far away from Silicon Valley, and … the company’s long-term goals.”
Pinterest has in a few short months (it actually launched in 2010) become a darling of the social media world. Its audience is primarily women and its function — as a virtual pinboard for things you like — is being imitated and widely credited for generating lots of web traffic, especially to shopping sites and women’s magazines.
The session takes place 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 13 in Ballroom D of the Austin Convention Center. The festival says that it’s likely this will be one of the sessions to be simulcast to festival attendees at other campuses who can’t make it to that location.
(Photo via Pinterest.com)
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW, SXSW 2012
February 23, 2012
The Linkdown for Thursday, Feb. 23
The Linkdown predicts that in the future we will all be riding around in skateboards controlled with our minds as in the video above. It’s just a matter of time. And mind. And balance.
Events:
- Code for America ATX Hackathon is on Saturday. Read more about it here.
- Forecast pub crawl is on Friday.
- ONA Austin meeting on broadcast TV and new media happens on Monday.
- Convergent Media Lab lecture event on Wednesday.
- Statesman Social Media Awards also on Wednesday.
- Aunt Bertha launch party happening March 2. It’s open to the public. We wrote about them in Digital Savant. Since then, Aunt Bertha joined the Austin Technology Incubator and is a finalist for the Unreasonable Institute.
- Dad 2.0 Summit hits Austin March 8-10.
- Austin BASHH will be on March 8 at The Ranch.
- Door 64 pre-SXSW Interactive party is on March 8.
- Austin High Tech Happy Hour / SXSW kickoff is on March 8.
- Next CapMac general meeting is on March 13.
Internet goodness:
- What if Austin’s Chaotic Moon improved their Board of Awesomeness by adding MIND CONTROL!?! Would totally blow your mind? (See video at the top.)
- OnLive Desktop finds a neat way to use Windows 7 on an iPad and get around that whole “it doesn’t run Flash” problem.
- CNET looks at Austin-based Infochimps’ new big data platform.
- White House unveils privacy bill of rights.
- Tugg, a website to launch at South by Southwest, will allow moviegoers to help select what movies play at local theaters.
- Google Glasses could be pretty neat or pretty scary depending on how you (wait for it…) look at it.
- Two Beatles/Apple-related things: iTunes has official Beatles ringtones for sale and there’s also a new George Harrison guitar app for iPad.
- Austin-developed “Starhawk” is now in open beta, available for free download to all PlayStation 3 PSN members.
- Brilliant Michael McDonald arcade stick.
- Want to read “The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs” monologue? It’s downloadable and free.
- How’s that Canoe Venture interactive TV ad consortium doing? Not so good!
- Nielsen on smart phone growth by age and income.
- Coming soon: Angry Birds… In space!
- PBS is running an online film festival featuring short films from indie filmmakers through March 30.
- Still some confusion as to whether Microsoft is planning to release Office for the iPad.
- Police Tasers, now with cameras.
SXSW-related
- Did you see our side party guide?
- $5 SXSHHH unofficial party list is also available for your RSVP needs.
- Looking for a job? Tech Career Expo happens March 9-10.
- You can vote for the Interactive Awards’ People’s Choice here.
- SXSW Startup Crawl is on March 8.
- ScreenBurn will feature a “Street Fighter X Tekken” tournament. HADOUKEN!
- As we mentioned Monday, the SXSW Go app has launched for iOS and Android devices.
- The fest is posting a series of 3-minute videos with info leading up to SXSW. Here’s one of them.
- Sunday is the deadline to apply to be a SXSW volunteer.
- Austin video star Stephanie Wonderlin will be Chevy’s official host for a series of videos from Interactive. You can check out the first one below.
Got a Linkdown item we should include in a future update? E-mail it to us with “LINKDOWN:” in the subject line.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012
February 21, 2012
Code for America brings Hackathon and SXSWi keynote to Austin
Code for America 2012 fellows assigned to Austin, Emily Wright Moore and Joe Merante at Austin City Hall, where they set up camp upon their arrival. Photo by Omar L. Gallaga / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
If you’ve never heard of Code for America, don’t worry. Until founder Jennifer Pahlka was added to the South by Southwest Interactive schedule as a keynote speaker in December, they were completely off my radar, too.
But the group, which only began in 2009, is already well-funded ($1.5 million from Google alone back in December) and well-staffed and has 26 fellows, many of which have been sent to eight cities (including Austin) to coordinate Code Across America, a Hackathon that starts this week.
The Austin portion of the event will be a Hackathon, an all-day affair Saturday at Conjuctured Coworking on 1309 E. 7th Street, from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The goal is to use open data from the city to create applications and tools that can improve the community. Here in town, two Code for America fellows, Emily Wright Moore and Joe Merante, set up camp at an office in City Hall for a five-week stay and have been meeting with city workers, techies and community leaders to get a lay of the land and to determine what kind of projects will be worked on Saturday.
Moore calls their effort, “A Trojan Horse of good change” and some of the projects that the fellows have discussed include finding ways to improve the city’s website, using the city’s data portal at data.austintexas.gov to create tools to wrangle that information and perhaps even opening up the city’s 311 data to create tools that can let us know what’s going on in specific parts of the city. (Say, emergency response times.)
The fellows, who are in a one-year program, stress that you don’t need to be a hardcore coder to participate; Moore’s background is in design and Merante is a lawyer, but both are convinced that positive community change can come from these kinds of tech projects. Non-programmers are welcome at the event.
Teams of 3-5 people will be formed and there’ll be demonstrations of apps that have already been created in other cities that can be brought to Austin.
“Anyone can pitch an idea or problem, and small groups form to brainstorm solutions and start writing code. We’ll also have a comprehensive list of projects and resources that are good starting places,” said Merante in an email.
Pahlka, who will be at SXSW Interactive to talk about a new program called Code for America Brigade, said she hopes to address the ways that programs like Code for America can solve problems that traditional civic engagement can’t.
“I’m planning to talk a little about people’s relationship to government as distinct to their relationship to politics. We want government to be more responsive to our needs, to be more engaged with citizens and to be more open and transparent, and more efficient. It’s a common goal for many people. Politics is not necessarily the proper input for achieving those goals,” she said.
Pahlka said that while every city has its own challenges and needs, that many of the tools created at events like Hackathons can be shared and used in other places.
The Brigade program is a way to get even more people involved. Last year, she said, Code for America had 550 applicants for its 26 fellows slots. “And these are people who want to quit their job move across the country; it’s a pretty tall order. And yet, enormous numbers of people are competing for these slots.”
The Brigade will allow many of those people to get involved with Code for America year-round.
Pahlka says she’s been pleased with the response from a tech industry that’s unfairly been characterized in the past as uninvolved in civic matters.
“We had no idea when we started this if anyone would care or if anyone would want to do this. There’s a notion that the tech industry tends to not care about government,” Pahlka said. “We found that to be absolutely not true.”
(Jennifer Pahlka photo via Code for America and SXSW Inc.)
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012
February 20, 2012
PSA: SXSW Go app is live, prominently features breadstuff
Over the weekend, the official “SXSW Go” app went live for iOS (iPhone, iPad, etc.) and Android mobile devices, giving attendees another tool to get their schedule planned out and browse the offerings for SXSW Interactive, Music and Film. BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 versions are said to be on the way.
Like last year’s app, also by developer Xomo Digital, this app contains the entire schedule, panelists, floor maps and the ability to sync your schedule with the SXSW website.
This year, it also includes a photo gallery that currently features photos of the Golden Gate Bridge, a guy showing off his tongue ring, a blurry pic of part of a computer mouse and a sort of croissant/roll (pictured above). One imagines (and desperately hopes) that these are test images from the developers. The last thing we need is an app developed by some kind of bread fetishist full of random images of baguettes and bread bowls popping up when you’re trying to look up a core conversation.
Another change this year: the app also goes cross-promotional with rolling banner ads and integration with Womzit, a new recommendations app that is unfortunately saddled with a name that hurts my mouth to say out loud.
A quick browse through the iPhone version of the app showed lots of social media integration and pretty quick navigation, but some users have complained in reviews on the Apple App Store that the app is not installing properly or crashes upon launch. Let us know in the comments if you’re experiencing any of these problems.
A few more screengrabs of the app and promo video below:
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Applications, Austin, Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012
What's in your bag when you attend a conference?
This week’s Digital Savant column, which ran Monday in the American-Statesman, asks the question, “What tech stuff should you pack in your bag for a conference like South by Southwest Interactive?”
There are several schools of thought on this, from “Pack light, why fight?” to “be prepared, lest ye be dared!” to the puzzling, not-at-all-useful, “pack a kerchief, there may be mischief!” It all comes down to how you work, really. Are you on-the-go, in need of nothing more than a phone and a notepad and an alert mind to absorb information or are you a professional who needs industrial-grade gear to do whatever job you need to do at a gathering in your industry?
Let us know in the comments what your packing strategy will be for SXSW Interactive or any other conference you plan to attend this year. And thanks to everyone who offered very useful tips and links via Twitter, Facebook and Google+!
Permalink | | Categories: Gadgets, SXSW, SXSW 2012
February 16, 2012
The Linkdown for Thursday, Feb. 16
Aurora, a female mountain lion at the Austin Zoo, licks a frozen bloodcicle to keep cool in this July 2011 photo. Terrifying, no? Photo by Rodolfo Gonzalez / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
The Linkdown has a deep, irrational fear of mountain lions and is therefore a little ambivalent about Apple’s next Mac OS version. Here is other, non-mountain lion-related stuff you should be checking out online.
Events:
- CapMac iPhone group meeting on Thursday (tonight).
- MapMyFitness co-founder Robin Thurston will be on MashUP Radio at 2 p.m. Friday.
- Discover East Austin Mobile PhotoWalk is on Saturday.
- FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics Tournament (qualifying round) happens on Saturday.
- ProductCamp Austin 8 is also on Saturday.
- Next Social Media Club meeting is on Tuesday.
- There’ll be a National STEM video game challenge TweetChat on Wednesday.
- Code for America ATX Hackathon is on Saturday, Feb. 25.
- ONA Austin meeting on broadcast TV and new media happens on Feb. 27.
- Convergent Media Lab lecture event on Feb. 29.
- Statesman Social Media Awards on Feb. 29.
- Dad 2.0 Summit hits Austin March 8-10.
Internet goodness:
- H&R Block’s mobile tax app and filing service is free till Feb. 29.
- Yes, lots of apps are raiding your address book without explicit permission.
- Apple’s iChat is morphing into the more iOS-like “Messages.” The free beta version is available for download.
- Another thing to do on the aging Nintendo Wii: watch Hulu Plus video.
- Ballet Austin’s got an app!
- Redbeacon, which puts homeowners in touch with home improvement professionals, has expanded to Austin.
- Microsoft is tracking web buzz with its new msnNOW service.
- Mobile app from the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau features local deals, too.
- Making virtual apes seem more human.
- How are children using tablets? Let’s ask Nielsen!
- Nonprofit folks: Paypal is providing funds for 150 scholarships to attend the Innogive conference. Deadline to apply is March 7.
- NPR Music App is now available for iPad.
- Austin is the 10th-riskiest city for cybercrime, according to Norton.
- AMD among top 10 most trustworthy public companies, according to Trust Across America.
- Austin-developed “Star Wars: The Old Republic” is expanding to Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore on March 1.
- Free demo of Austin-developed “SOL: Exodus” is now available.
- U-Verse iPad app?
- Blizzard has 4,700 employees worldwide, some of those in Austin.
- Video game character get real in Facebook photos.
SXSW-related
- App Hackathon announced for March 9-10.
- Did you see our party guide?
- Apple’s rumored iPad 3 launch in early March makes us think there’ll be another iPad/Apple pop-up store downtown during the fest.
- SXSWedu speaker LeVar Burton is bringing back “Reading Rainbow” with an app.
- You can vote for the Interactive Awards’ People’s Choice here.
Got a Linkdown item we should include in a future update? E-mail it to us with “LINKDOWN:” in the subject line.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012
February 15, 2012
Preparing to party at SXSW Interactive
Last year’s Red Bull-sponsored DJ Dance party at South by Southwest, which was on March 19, 2011. Photo by Kelly West / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
We’ve given you a look at some of the panels and trends to watch for in the daytime programming at South by Southwest Interactive, but increasingly the festival is becoming known for the huge number of happy hours, parties and late-into-the-night events that keep attendees partying until the wee hours.
One of the great experiences of the fest is being able to bounce from party to party and come in contact with techies from all over the world, but having that experience takes some planning. Most parties, even unofficial ones, require an RSVP in advance. Some of the biggest parties of the fest, like Mashable’s SXSWi House at Buffalo Billiards and TechKaraoke at The Stage on Sixth already have invite pages set up. The rule of thumb for the fest typically is to RSVP for all the parties you’re interested in even if you’re not 100-percent sure you’ll make it. If the lines to get in end up too long, at least you’ve got options.
Many of the parties are using Eventbrite to keep track of invites. That used to mean carrying around printed-out paper ticketscontaining a QR code to get in, but if you have a smart phone or tablet, you can download the Eventbrite app, which keeps track of all your tickets, no paper necessary. You can find it for iOS or Android devices at www.eventbrite.com/eventbriteapp/. You can also search on Eventbrite itself for upcoming events, including SXSW parties.
So where do you find a list of parties? If you’re an attendee of the fest, you should start with the official list of parties, available on the South by Southwest website, sxsw.com/interactive (under the Parties tab).
For unofficial or “side” parties, you can check out Austin360’s growing database, which includes maps, information on which events are free and whether there’ll be free food or drinks. You can find it at bit.ly/sxswside.
Other sites with party information include austin2012.sched.org, lanyrd.com/2012/sxsw-interactive and austin.sanfranfreesco.com, which is focusing on free, non-badge events. A new site, sxsshhh, is expected to launch on Thursday with a database of parties. The Twitter account for the site has already been posting RSVP information.
One new resources I’m seeing this year is the use of Pinterest to give a visual look at what parties are available. GSD&M has posted a SXSW survival guide at sxsurvival.com that includes a Pinterest list of parties at pinterest.com/gsdm/the-parties/ (this includes Music and Film fest parties, too).
Make sure you’ve got a list of parties you want to attend in your calendar. The week of the fest, it wouldn’t hurt to do a search on Twitter for “#SXSW parties” to see the latest updates and databases people have put together to keep track of the massive schedule. Last year, several people I know put together big lists, with links to RSVPs, as spreadsheets on Google Docs. If you can get an invite to someone’s list, it could be your one-stop-shop to all the party information you need.
Happy partying! Got other suggestions for finding and RSVPing to parties at the fest? Post them in the comments.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, SXSW, SXSW 2012
February 10, 2012
A map of all the SXSW Interactive 2012 campuses
One of the biggest challenges of navigating South by Southwest Interactive last year was actual navigation: knowing where panels were being held and planning ahead to give yourself enough time to walk, bike or shuttle there.
Though the official SXSW site offers a list of the venues, you’ll find above a map the American-Statesman created. Click on it for a larger version and use it for reference this year. We’ll be linking to it often as the festival approaches and it will run in print as well the week of the festival.
How will you be getting around SXSWi? Let us know in the comments. We could really use the tips.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Austin, SXSW, SXSW 2012
February 9, 2012
10 conversation starters you can have handy for SXSW Interactive
Attendees at SXSW Interactive 2011. Photo by Jay Janner / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
South by Southwest Interactive — the gigantic tech culture festival that has gone from spring break for geeks to spring break for anyone who uses a smart phone or Twitter — is a month away.
Starting March 9, downtown will be transformed into the epicenter of Wi-Fi-draining devices with screens, entrepreneurs hoping to strike it Facebook-rich and old-school hippie-techies complaining about everyone else.
It’ll be fun!
If you plan to attend the fest or at least lurk around the edges of it, you may be wondering what people will be talking about. Contrary to pop-culture portrayals, the tech-savvy are pretty social, especially when there’s lots of alcohol and karaoke around. We’ve come up with a list of 10 conversation-starters.
1. “So, when do you think this whole tech bubble’s gonna burst?” Perhaps you’re not afraid to be blunt or spoil the party. A tech crash reminiscent of the dot-com bust is one of the greatest fears of many attendees. It’s also the topic of the panel “Internet Bubble the Sequel: 1999 All Over Again?” And there are panels about “The Power of Fear in Networked Publics” and whether social media is ruining the way we communicate. It turns out terror can be a real motivator for tech innovation!
2. “My mind is getting a great workout, but boy, could I go for some yoga and a 10k run after all this is over!” The myth of the sedentary, unhealthy geek is due for a Jillian Michaels-style working over. An abundance of panels focus on health and fitness, from “Fit Together: How Fitness Goes High Tech + Social” to a panel featuring rapper Paul Wall and Quincy Jones III called “Feel Rich: Health is the New Wealth.” Popular speaker Jane McGonigal will talk about her new fitness game “SuperBetter,” created as the result of a brain injury she suffered. And there’ll be daily yoga sessions at the fest. Namaste!
3. “After SOPA, geeks can change anything with a good web protest!” The battle over piracy legislation between tech companies and online advocates that erupted recently will be much-discussed, with panels such as “American Copyright: Will Government Go Too Far?,” “Why Doesn’t Congress Grok the Internet?” and “Content As a Means for Social Change.” featuring Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.
4. “We need to get involved with some real-world protests, too!” One of the best panels I saw at 2011’s fest was about social media’s impact on the Arab Spring movement. There’ll be lots more panels on that topic, as well as sessions about stateside hot-button issues like, “Occupying Media: 24 Hour Protest People,” “Internet Power: After Cyber-Optimism and Pessimism” and the very timely “Stand with Planned Parenthood: A Crisis Response.”
5. “You know what’s gonna be big this year? Second-screen TV watching.” It’s never easy to predict what technology will have the most buzz at the fest, but there are enough panels around the trend of second, third, even fifth screens, that it’s worth keeping an eye on. “Second screen” could mean using a device with a screen (like an iPad or smart phone) while watching TV or having a screen in your car. Panels like “Integrating Brands into Social Television,” “3 Screen Minimum: Convergence of TV & Social Media” and “Why Your Car Will Be the 5th Screen in Your Life” will explore the trend.
6. “Did you see (name of celebrity) on that panel today?” It won’t be hard to spot stars at Interactive. Look for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator Joss Whedon, Tom Colicchio and Andy Cohen on a panel about TV’s “Top Chef,” actor Rainn Wilson, filmmaker and podcaster Kevin Smith, Segway inventor Dean Kamen, director Morgan Spurlock, actress Lisa Kudrow, Gawker’s Nick Denton and food celebrity Anthony Bourdain.
7. “I sure am hungry. Any food events going on at this thing?” In addition to lots of panels related to food trucks, food quality and regional cuisine, there’s also a Bacon Takedown cooking contest, a Taco Experiment competition and food blogger meetups. Food writer Addie Broyles has the details on her blog Relish Austin.
8. “Hey, nice canvas bag! Who designed it?” This year’s SXSW Interactive goodie bag, given to all registrants, was designed by Yiying Lu, who created Twitter’s iconic “Fail Whale” graphic. It features a cartoon mouse holding a tablet and it’s absolutely adorable.
9. “So many emails and status updates! I am so overloaded and could use a break!” It’s not just you. Lots of people feel overwhelmed by the amount of data we’re exposed to every day. Panels like “The Cloud as Skynet: Conquering Digital Overload,” “Digital Detox: Revealing Life Unplugged” and “Tech Detox: Can You Survive a Day Without Technology?” will offer tips and commiseration.
10. “I wonder if techies will affect in the 2012 elections.” Politics isn’t always a huge topic at SXSW, but this year it’s everywhere, from panels about tech in government (“Do People Really Want Participatory Government?,” “The Human Cost of Failed Government Technology,” “Sunspots: The Promise and Pitfalls of Gov 2.0”) to panels addressing the presidential race (“How Social Media Imperils Political Parties,” “Big Data: Powering the Race for the White House” and “Socializing the Presidency: Digital Politics 2012,” among others).
Other things to talk about: The Interactive Hall of Fame award, presented to web design pioneer Jeffrey Zeldman, is new this year. The Interactive Awards will be hosted by comics Jenny Slate (“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On”) and Gabe Liedman. There’s a proliferation of panels about sports and sportswriting. The ScreenBurn video-gaming track of the conference has been rebooted and relocated to Palmer Events Center. You can job hunt at the official SXSW Tech Career Expo, watch start-ups compete at the Accelerator event and hang out at the new Startup Village area. If all else fails, you can whine about how many campuses there are for the fest (14) and how much walking you’ve doing to get from place to place.
Let’s hope the real-world conversations are as lively and interesting as the ones that’ll surely be happening online during SXSW Interactive.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, SXSW, SXSW 2012, Videogames
February 6, 2012
The Linkdown for Monday, Feb. 6
The new SXSW Interactive swag bag, designed by Yiying Lu (of Twitter Fail Whale fame). Photo by Shawn O’Keefe, courtesy SXSW Inc.
The Linkdown engaged in some rare business travel last week, but is now caught up enough to provide you with a carefully curated list of events, links and SXSW Interactive news. Hey, wait a minute… this is that list! What a coincidence!
Events:
- Austin Forum on non-profits and social media with a focus on South by Southwest, Tuesday night.
- Wednesday Austin Technology Council event features Austin’s HomeAway.
- Kurt Lancaster HD DSLR workshop happens Friday at Austin School of Film.
- TEDxAustin 2012: Beyond Measure is on Saturday. I’ll be there!
- Accessibility Internet Rally, a web design competition, is open for registration. Deadline for submitting a URL is Feb. 15.
- FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics Tournament (qualifying round) happens on Feb 18.
- ProductCamp Austin 8 happens on Feb 18.
- ONA Austin meeting on broadcast TV and new media happens on Feb. 27.
- Austin Photowalk happens on Thursday.
- Next Juegos Rancheros meetup: Sunday.
- Girlstart has announced info for its 2012 summer camps.
Internet goodness:
- New CEO takes over at Micron after the tragic death of CEO Steve Appleton.
- Wired presents 100-word versions of the EULAs we all sign off on when using Twitter, Facebook and other services.
- Redbox finally announces plans to take on Netflix video streaming in a partnership with Verizon.
- Did the IRS contact you via email or social media? It’s a scam!
- How Twitter did during the Super Bowl.
- In anticipation of SXSW’s big lineup of comedy podcast shows, a New York Times piece on the phenomenon of shows like “WTF” and “Comedy Bang Bang.”
- Apple deletes a bunch of cloneish games from the App Store.
- There was a “Nurse-in” outside Facebook’s Austin offices today.
- Austinite Lyssa Myska Allen’s new website, DailyHap.
- Technology trends on the toilet.
- Pinterest is nearly matching Twitter and Google in referral traffic.
- New educational games from NASA (for iOS and on Facebook).
- RIP Peek email and Twitter devices.
- Every new HDTV: compared.
- Book or iPhone charger? How about both?
- “Breaking Bad”: the 8-bit RPG!
- “EverQuest” will go free-to-play in March.
- The male equivalent of Pinterest is called Gentlemint.
SXSW-related
- Check out the Interactive swag bag design, by Twitter Fail Whale creator Yiying Lu! (The bag is pictured at the top of this blog entry.)
- Social media and food at the fest, via Addie Broyles.
- Accelerator finalists were announced. They include six Austin companies.
- SXSWedu schedule is live.
- New late-breaking panels that have been added to the Interactive schedule.
- You can vote for the Interactive Awards’ People’s Choice here.
Got a Linkdown item we should include in a future update? E-mail it to us with “LINKDOWN:” in the subject line.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012, Videogames
January 27, 2012
The Linkdown for Friday, Jan. 27
The Linkdown was amused, but mostly disturbed, by the “Simpsons” episode where everybody crashed their cars because they were posting on SpringFace, a social network created by Lisa Simpsons (with help from Nelson and some computer geeks).
Watch that and then check out these important events, links and SXSW Interactive news:
Events:
- Data Privacy Day is tomorrow, but you’d know that if you had hacked into my computer earlier.
- Accessibility Internet Rally, a web design competition, is open for registration. Deadline for submitting a URL is Feb. 15.
- Geek Bowl trivia is coming on Saturday.
- SXSW Interactive ATX meetup is on Monday.
- Dad 2.0 Summit (which happens in March), is having a meetup on Wednesday at Cedar Door.
- The next BASHH Austin is on Thursday.
- Austin Codeathon planning meeting on Feb. 4.
- Upcoming GeekAustin class: Introduction to SQL using MYSQL (starts Feb. 6).
- Austin Photowalk happens on Feb. 9.
- Next Juegos Rancheros meetup: Feb. 12.
- Girlstart has announced info for its 2012 summer camps.
Internet goodness:
- Lisa creates a “D’OH-cial Network” on “The Simpsons.” (Embedded above.)
- Disturbing report from The New York Times about working conditions in China in the manufacture of products made for Apple and other tech companies.
- “Ultima”: most important video game series ever?
- First official trailer for Austin-developed “God of Blades” iOS game.
- Addie Broyles on “Cash-mobbing.” Is it the new Kickstarting?
- Will Twitter be censoring Tweets in other countries?
- Gamers! Valve releases a Steam beta app for iOS and Android. Unfortunately, beta means that you may not be able to use it yet.
- 10-year celebration for Austin’s Latinitas magazine.
- Nintendo’s tablet-like Wii U controller will include near-field communication (NFC) technology. There will also be (finally) a Nintendo Network.
- Google’s privacy policy update. More of your data spread across more of Google’s services.
- Ways to protect a cellphone against hackers.
- Is Amazon going to spin off its video-streaming service?
- The Earth, in HD, via NASA.
- Netflix says it’s nixing the idea of offering videogame rentals.
SXSW-related
- SXSW Interactive Award Finalists have been announced. One of them, Life Sushi, is Austin-based.
- Dewey Community Service Award honorees have been announced.
- Details on the SXSW Tech Career Expo.
- Marvel is expected to make an announcement during the fest at ScreenBurn Arcade.
- SXSocial is live.
- Sliderocket is offering free tools to SXSW presenters.
- Volunteers sought.
Got a Linkdown item we should include in a future update? E-mail it to us with “LINKDOWN:” in the subject line.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Computers, Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012, Videogames
January 19, 2012
The Linkdown for Thursday, Jan. 19
The Linkdown is enjoying the unseasonably warm weather by staying inside and keeping the air conditioner company. If you’re indoors, too, you should know about these events and web things:
Events:
- CapMac Austin’s iPhone SIG meeting is tonight (Thursday).
- Accessibility Internet Rally, a web design competition, is open for registration. Deadline for submitting a URL is Feb. 15.
- MomCom Austin is on Saturday.
- Volunteers are being sought for Saturday’s LEGO League Invitational tourney.
- Austin Startup Olympics happen on Saturday. It’s a private event, but there’s a public afterparty at Club DeVille that night.
- Clockwork Con steampunk convention is in town this weekend.
- America’s Future Scientist fundraiser/event happens Sunday.
- A Future of Videogames in Austin panel will be held on Wednesday at the Texas Advanced Computing Center.
- The first Transmedia Austin meetup happens next Thursday. The topic is Transmedia in Music.
- Geek Bowl trivia is coming on Jan. 28.
- SXSW Interactive ATX meetup is on Jan. 30.
- Girlstart has announced info for its 2012 summer camps.
- Upcoming GeekAustin class: Introduction to SQL using MYSQL (starts Feb. 6).
- Next Juegos Rancheros meetup: Feb. 12.
Internet goodness:
- AT&T is changing data rate plans (guess in which direction) and data limits.
- Intriguing new wearable gadget: Nike+ FuelBand.
- Doodle 4 Google contest is now open for students.
- Austin’s DadLabs wins an International Academy of Web Television Award for Best Educational Series.
- Austin-developed “Starhawk” for PlayStation 3 will be released on May 8. The public beta has already started.
- Apple’s big education/e-textbooks announcement from Thursday.
- Two former Dell employees implicated in insider trading scheme.
- Samsung apparently still doing some big expanding in its Austin operations.
- Why I won’t be calling new PC laptop “Ultrabooks” anymore. Sorry, Intel.
- Megaupload busted.
SXSW-related
- The official Interactive schedule is up on the SXSW website.
- Interactive Award finalists will be announced on Monday.
- Rainn Wilson will be doing a Saturday Interactive panel about his website SoulPancake.com.
- TechKaraoke has been announced for March 10. You can already register.
- Thomas Dolby is bringing his steampunky Time Capsule Tour to SXSW.
- Volunteers sought.
Got a Linkdown item we should include in a future update? E-mail it to us with “LINKDOWN:” in the subject line.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW 2012
January 13, 2012
The Linkdown for Friday, Jan. 13
The Linkdown mostly stayed out of the gigantic, fire-breathing, head-hurting noxious blast of news from the Consumer Electronics Show, but here’s some of the events, CES news and other Internet links you should be checking out this week anyway:
Events:
- MomCom Austin is on Jan. 21.
- Volunteers are being sought for Jan. 21 LEGO League Invitational tourney.
- America’s Future Scientist fundraiser/event happens Jan. 22.
- The first Transmedia Austin meetup happens Jan. 26. The topic is Transmedia in Music.
- SXSW Interactive ATX meetup is on Jan. 30.
- Girlstart has announced info for its 2012 summer camps.
- Upcoming GeekAustin class: Introduction to SQL using MYSQL (starts Feb. 6).
- Next Juegos Rancheros meetup: Feb. 12.
Internet goodness:
- Too cool: The Restart Page.
- Austin’s Chaotic Moon stormed CES with its Kinect-controlled skateboard (Video above).
- Speaking of Chaotic Moon, their game with Certain Affinity, “Age of Booty,” is coming to iOS and Android soon.
- One more about those guys: their news app “The Daily” is coming to Android.
- NPR and Ford team up for in-car listening.
- KLRU now has its own iPhone/iPad apps.
- How long do you have to wait for Warner Bros. DVDs to get to Netflix? Longer.
- Reddit will go black for 12 hours on Jan. 18 to protest SOPA.
- Ultrabooks were hot at CES… but what are they?
- Austin-developed “Starhawk” beta is going public soon.
- Sony is pushing its own mobile music streaming service.
- OnLive Desktop streams Windows apps to your iPad.
- “Everquest II” is doing well so far with that whole free-to-play strategy.
- Target is adding Apple mini-shopping areas to its stores.
- If the idea doesn’t terrify you, Internet-connected cars and cars with apps were all the rage at CES.
- Austin’s Freescale is creating some of the technology for such on-the-road gear.
- The sad tale of the ringtone that interrupted the New York City Philharmonic.
- Kerfuffle over Google’s new tweaks to its search, which include Google+ info.
- Game update already announced for “Star Wars: The Old Republic.” It’s scheduled for Tuesday.
- BBB lists the biggest scams of 2011.
- Google Science Fair is open for submissions!
- Nominations for American Technology Awards are being sought.
- Hey, Wi-FI baby scale!
SXSW-related
- Registration prices for SXSW Interactive go up after today (Friday).
- TechKaraoke has been announced for March 10. You can already register.
- U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will be a keynote speaker at SXSWedu.
- In case you missed it, the hosts of the Interactive Awards were announced this week.
- Volunteers sought.
Got a Linkdown item we should include in a future update? E-mail it to us with “LINKDOWN:” in the subject line.
Permalink | | Categories: Gadgets, Internet, SXSW 2012
January 10, 2012
Gabe & Jenny to host Interactive Awards
Gabe Liedman and Jenny Slate, also known as comedy duo Gabe & Jenny, will host the 15th Annual SXSW Interactive Awards Ceremony on March 13, the festival has announced.
Slate, a “Saturday Night Live” alumna, was in Austin in November to promote her book “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.” Liedman has been heard on “This American Life.”
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
December 21, 2011
The Linkdown for Wednesday, Dec. 21
The Linkdown is on vacation starting Friday and won’t be back until the scary apocalyptic year 2012. Have a safe and wonderful holiday. The following links are best viewed while soused on eggnog:
Events:
- Green Bank’s used computer drive starts today and runs through Jan. 6. You can donate in Austin, Houston or Dallas. In Austin, Green Bank is working with Goodwill Computer Works.
- StoryCorps will begin recording stories of Austin communities on Jan. 6 through February, but you can reserve a slot here.
- Springbox’s holiday interactive display is still up at 708 Congress Ave. You can create a custom snowflake!
Internet goodness:
- Did you like that movie “Face/Off?” Microsoft did, too.
- Yes, that was a national Verizon 4G wireless outage that happened last night. (They say it’s now up and running.)
- More analysts weigh in on what Austin-developed “Star Wars: The Old Republic” might have cost and what it’ll need to be profitable.
- Austin’s Calendars.com is using QR codes to try to spur sales at the Austin airport.
- On the same tip, 44doors is working with the Hallmark Channel on a QR Code campaign.
- Speaking of QR codes…
- Is digital photography taking another step backward in terms of image quality?
- “Indie Game: The Movie” will be playing at SXSW Interactive 2012.
- YouTube announces the most popular online videos of 2011.
- Five predictions from IBM for the next five years.
- Skype is offering free airport Wi-Fi in some cities (none of them in Texas, unfortunately).
- Study says people like viewing HDTV on the side (or rather from the side).
- Nintendo 3DS helps you learn about art at the Louvre.
- In addition to some Kindle Fire updates that make it more usable, Amazon has also added some interesting new features to its iOS Kindle app.
- Time Warner Cable releases some apps for Android.
- The STEM council at Austin’s Skillpoint Alliance is a Stage One Winner for the Lifelong Learning — HASTAC/MacArthur Foundation Digital Media & Learning Competition.
- What happens when you Google “Let is snow.”
- Google gets called on the floor for disabling the email accounts of kids under 13.
- Advice for what to do if your smart phone gives out before your wireless contract does.
- Super Bowl to be streamed online and to some mobile devices for the first time.
- GSD&M employees want to pick a snowball fight with you.
- Announced: “LEGO Lord of the Rings.”
Got a Linkdown item we should include in a future update? E-mail it to us with “LINKDOWN:” in the subject line.
Permalink | | Categories: Applications, Austin, Gadgets, Internet, SXSW 2012, Videogames
December 12, 2011
SXSW Interactive releases last set of panels for 2012
South by Southwest Interactive today released its final large-scale list of programming for the 2012 festival. About 295 panels are included in the blog post on the official site, including 14 new featured sessions with notables like Foursquare’s Dennis Crowley, author and researcher Jane McGonigal, writer Steven Levy and Flickr founder Caterina Fake.
The festival typically adds a few last-minute sessions in the months leading up to the fest (including panels geared to world events), but this’ll be the last big set of panel announcements.
Separately, the festival also announced the long list of judges for its Accelerator event and last week announced the winners of the SXSW Interactive Scholarship.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, SXSW, SXSW 2012
December 9, 2011
Hugh Forrest among Austinites of the Year
Hugh Forrest, the long-time director of the South by Southwest Interactive Festival, has been named one of four Austinites of the Year for their work with SXSW, Gary Dinges of the American-Statesman reports.
The honor is from the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. Forrest and festival founders Nick Barbaro, Louis Black and Roland Swenson will be honored at an annual meeting on Feb. 1.
More details in the American-Statesman story and the press release (PDF format) is here.
SXSW Interactive 2012 runs March 9-13.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW 2012
December 8, 2011
The Linkdown for Thursday, Dec. 8
“Ultimate Collector: Garage Sale,” a new game announced from Richard Garriott’s Portalarium game studio.
The Linkdown is trying to get some sort of holiday card thing going, but it seems like an awful lot of work. Can’t we just drink eggnog and throw out a few celebratory Tweets? No? All right, then. Here’s what you should be checking out (or attending):
Events:
- Looking to get hired? Rackspace is hosting a “Rackerpalooza Network Security Edition” at its Austin offices Saturday.
- Trey Ratcliff hosts another Austin PhotoWalk, also on Saturday.
- The Refresh Austin Web Bash is on Tuesday.
- Austin Social Media Club holiday party is on Dec. 15.
- December BASHH has been cancelled. It will return in January, the organizers say.
- Girlstart’s Winter Wonderland Extravaganza happens on Dec. 17 at the Bob Bullock museum.
- Springbox’s holiday interactive display is still up at 708 Congress Ave. You can create a custom snowflake!
Internet goodness:
- New social game from Richard Garriott’s Portalarium studio announced: “Ultimate Collector: Garage Sale.” It should be out early next year.
- “Reality is Broken” author Jane McGonigal has been added as a featured speaker to the SXSW 2012 lineup.
- Xbox Live companion app hits Windows Phones, and, surprisingly, iOS devices, too!
- KFC is giving away college money to high school students who Tweet a photo illustrating that they’re deserving of the scholarship.
- How’s that new Ultraviolet Blu-ray/streaming technology coming along? Roughly, say people who’ve tried it.
- “Everquest II” is now free-to-play.
- “Blogazine” about what happens to your digital data when you die.
- Did you hear about the whole PayPal / Regretsy kerfuffle? Here are five timely alternatives to PayPal if you find yourself looking for another way to send/receive money online.
- Twitter’s rolling out a new site design.
- “Tweet seats” taking off.
- Efren Salinas, a graduate student in the UT Journalism Department, offers up this video he did about Austin’s Arcade UFO (also embedded at the end of this blog entry).
- CNET slams Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign for its handling of a YouTube video.
- The Telecommunications Industry Association’s (TIA) annual Conference and Exhibition will happen in early June in Dallas.
- Profanity-free streaming music service launches, targets parents who have kids with sensitive ears.
- So how did Gowalla’s investors make out in that whole Facebook deal? It might not matter.
- Speaking of Gowalla, an ode to their logo and sense of design.
- Major League Gaming is still going, gaining audience.
- Consumer Reports says AT&T is its lowest-rated wireless carrier in customer satisfaction.
- Sexting among teens may not be as widespread as feared.
- The caveats on why you might think twice about buying a PlayStation Vita keep growing.
- Dell appears to be getting off the Android tablet train (at least for the U.S.) and boarding the Microsoft Windows Tablet Express.
- Lytro photos, which allow you to focus on different parts of an image and zoom in after the photo is shot, are pretty amazing.
Got a Linkdown item we should include in a future update? E-mail it to us with “LINKDOWN:” in the subject line.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW 2012, Videogames
December 5, 2011
Final SXSWi keynote speaker chosen: Code for America's Jennifer Pahlka
South by Southwest Interactive today announced its final keynote speaker for the 2012 festival: Jennifer Pahlka, founder and executive director of Code for America, will speak at 2 p.m., Tuesday March 13.
Code for America is a San Francisco-based nonprofit that “enlists the talent of the web industry into public service to use their skills to solve core problems facing our communities,” according to the organization’s website.
Pahlka definitely falls into SXSW Interactive’s ongoing interest in using technology for the greater good.
Pahlka joins previously announced keynote speakers Ray Kurzweil, cyber anthropologist Amber Case and humorist/writer Baratunde Thurston for the festival.
(Image courtesy SXSW and Code for America.)
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW 2012
November 21, 2011
SXSWi announces Ray Kurzweil as 2012 keynote speaker
South by Southwest Interactive has added another keynote speaker to its March 2012 festival lineup. This time, it’s Ray Kurzweil, inventor and author of “The Singularity is Near,” a book about the future of artificial intelligence.
The talk, called, “Expanding Our Intelligence Without Limit: A Keynote Conversation with Ray Kurzweil and Lev Grossman” will be an interview conducted by grossman, a senior writer for TIME. The keynote news was broken this morning by that publication in an online story at Techland.
The keynote happens 2 p.m. Monday, March 12.
Kurzweil joins other SXSW Interactive keynote speakers previously announced including cyborg anthropologist Amber Case and humorist Baratunde Thurston.
(Photo by Helene DeLillo. Courtesy of Kurzweil Technologies, Inc. and SXSW Interactive.)
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Austin, SXSW, SXSW 2012
November 17, 2011
Updates: SXSW Interactive continues slow roll toward March 2012 gigantitude
Jeffrey Zeldman. Photo by Tony Quartarolo, via SXSW.com
South by Southwest Interactive 2012 news continues to trickle out like chocolate from a … chocolate fountain? Here are some of the highlights:
- The festival has announced that it will award its first-ever Hall of Fame Award to Jeffrey Zeldman, a web design standard pioneer. The award will be given on March 13 at the Interactive Web Awards.
- Speaking of which, the deadline for submissions for those awards is Friday.
- Ditto the SXSW Accelerator. Friday deadline. Sometimes these deadlines are extended, but better safe than sorry if you’re serious about putting your application through.
- Dropbox founder Drew Houston has been added to the feature speaker lineup.
- Game design guru Katie Salen has also been added to the lineup. You can read an interview with her on the SXSW site.
- The deadline for LAUNCHedu company submissions is Dec. 2.
Got all that? See you in March.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW 2012
November 9, 2011
The Linkdown for Wednesday, Nov. 9
The Linkdown has returned from vacation with a bounty of pre-Thanksgiving tasty treats. Sure, you can’t eat them, but they’re still nourishing if you like news and local tech events.
Here’s what you should be checking out online:
Events:
- Freelance Austin is hosting an interactive elevator pitch meeting tonight.
- “Red vs. Blue” Season 9 premiere screening happens Thursday at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown. Unfortunately, it’s sold out.
- “Scandemonium” Movember urban scavenger hunt and concert happens Saturday.
- Startup Weekend happens next week across 50 U.S. cities.
- Next BASHH (happy hour) is on Nov. 17.
- Skillpoint Alliance is looking for some volunteers for upcoming LEGO League Tournaments.
- Pinballz Arcade is hosting a big first-anniversary celebration on Nov. 20.
Internet goodness:
- “LEGO Universe” is shutting down in January.
- Steve Jobs claims posthumous victory: Adobe is discontinuing Flash Player on mobile devices.
- Austin’s Hilah Johnson chosen for YouTube Next Chef.
- SXSW Interactive’s ScreenBurn Arcade has announced its Advisory Board.
- Meanwhile, SXSWedu has announced its Distinguished Speakers for the 2012 conference.
- One more: ever wonder what the SXSW Interactive speaker agreement sounds like? Here’s the full text.
- Source Your City has now added Austin to its service.
- UT alumni can now get a utexas.edu email address for life.
- Dell places second (behind HP) in Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics guide.
- Get Google to do a barrel roll for you (if your browser supports that).
- Google+ opens up its doors to businesses, organizations and pretty much anything else that someone thinks merits its own page.
- National Science Foundation’s fascinating look at cyberbullying. Very interesting research.
- In time for the holidays: PriceGrabber’s trending products.
- Austin’s Mass Relevance signs impressive deal with Twitter.
- Austin-developed “Wizard 101” is expanding to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau next year.
- Consumer Reports believes the iPhone 4S has fixed that pesky antenna issue that kept them from recommending the iPhone 4.
- Barnes & Noble follows Amazon into the Android tablet fray with a new Nook.
- “DC Universe Online” is now free-to-play.
- You may soon be able to snitch on parking scofflaws using TECHNOLOGY!
Got a Linkdown item we should include in a future update? E-mail it to us with “LINKDOWN:” in the subject line.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW 2012, Videogames
November 1, 2011
Huffington out for SXSW 2012, Lorre still a possibility
The South by Southwest Interactive festival say it’s no longer expecting to host Arianna Huffington, who had been listed as a participant in a Featured Session on the SXSW website.
The Huffington Post founder had been expected to speak on the topic of “Content as a Means for Social Change,” but fest organizers now say that Huffington has cancelled.
Also missing from the original list is “Two and a Half Men” creator Chuck Lorre, who was scheduled to do a book reading. The fest says it’s still working to secure Lorre as a speaker for the festival.
Other participants who are still listed in featured presentations include Gawker Media’s Nick Denton, Stephen Wolfram and Anthony Bourdain in addition to previously announced keynote speakers Baratunde Thurston and Amber Case.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Austin, SXSW, SXSW 2012
October 31, 2011
SXSW Interactive's ScreenBurn Arcade moving to new location for 2012
As we report in today’s Austin American-Statesman, SXSW Interactive’s ScreenBurn Arcade, which is free and open to the public, is changing locations for the 2012 festival to Palmer Events Center.
You can read all about it here or check out the official SXSW site announcement.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW, SXSW 2012
October 24, 2011
Huffington, Lorre, Bourdain Denton among SXSW Interactive speakers announced Monday
In addition to previously announced keynote speakers Amber Case and Baratunde Thurston, the festival has now posted the majority of the programming for next year’s fest, with some room to add a few more before its self-imposed deadline of Dec. 19.
Other notable featured speakers include LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman, former TV producer Ben Silverman (now with Electus), breakout keynote speaker from 2011 Seth Priebatsch of the location-based gaming company SCVNGR, Frank Warren of PostSecret.com, author Bruce Sterling, Ken Park of Spotify and Stephen Wolfram of Wolfram | Alpha.
The festival says there’ll be 13 hotels and meeting spaces as part of the campuses where programming will take place. New for this year is a “Startup Village” area at the Downtown Hilton Austin. Also reflecting the start-up emphasis at the whole festival this year, SXSWedu announced separately last week that there’ll be a LAUNCHedu event similar to SXSW’s Accelerator program to highlight entrepreneurism in education. SXSWedu takes place March 6-8, before the main Interactive festival.
SXSW Interactive runs March 9-13.
The sessions are categorized by the following topics and locations:
Keynotes and Featured Sessions (at the Austin Convention Center)
Better Tomorrow (Convention Center)
Book Readings (Convention Center)
Branding and Marketing (at the Stephen F. Austin hotel)
Convergence (Convention Center)
Design and Development (Convention Center)
Emerging (Downtown Hilton Austin)
Future of Work (Courtyard by Marriott)
Government and Global Issues (AT&T Conference Center)
Health and Education (AT&T Conference Center)
Journalism and Online Content (Sheraton)
Latin America (Hilton Garden Inn)
Lifestyles and Sports (location TBA)
ScreenBurn and Gaming (location TBA)
Social Networks (Omni)
Startup Village (Downtown Hilton Austin)
Workshops (Radisson)
Last year, the festival had tremendous growth and the spread-apart campus format proved to be a logistical challenge for the fest and for attendees.
Edited at 3 p.m. to add programming topics and locations.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: Austin, SXSW, SXSW 2012
October 17, 2011
'Cyborg anthropologist' Amber Case announced as second SXSWi keynote speaker
Amber Case, a frequent speaker at South by Southwest Interactive in past years, has been named a keynote speaker for the 2012 event.
Case, a Portland, Ore.-based anthropologist and user interface designer, is the co-founder of Geoloqi, a location-based platform company, and founder of CyborgCamp, which deals with humans and technology.
She’s also been named one of Fast Company’s Most Influential Women in Tech.
What’s “Cyborg Anthropology?” “A way of understanding how we live as technosocially connected citizens in the modern era. Our cell phones, cars and laptops have turned us into cyborgs. What does it mean to extend the body into hyperspace? What are the implications to privacy, information and the formation of identity? Now that we have a second self, how do we protect it?” she says on her website.
In July, the festival announced the first SXSWi keynote for 2012, humorist and writer Baratunde Thurston.
Interactive runs March 9-13.
(Photo by Kris Krug, provided by SXSW)
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, SXSW, SXSW 2012
September 22, 2011
The Linkdown for Thursday, Sept. 22
The Linkdown is busy and overwhelmed today, but never too busy to feed you the nurturing IV drip of Internet reading material.
Here’s what you should be checking out online:
Events:
- Fantastic Arcade begins today. It’s free to the public.
- Door64 happy hour tonight (Thursday).
- “Street Fighter III” tournament happening in Round Rock Friday night.
- BlackBerry Developers Group has its first meeting Saturday.
- Geekaustin has a Beginning PHP class coming up.
- Door 64 Tech Fair happens Monday.
- LinkedIn Austin group meets Tuesday.
- Blogathon ATX happens Oct. 1.
- CoCreate marketing series for creative professionals starts Oct. 5.
- Friday Night Hacks happens on Oct. 15. Tickets are already available.
Internet goodness:
- Check out the finalists of the AMD Game Zone Whyville Game Design Contest. The video above shows one of the winners.
- Mixed, mostly negative, reaction to Facebook’s recent design changes. The company unveiled “Timeline,” a new way to display profile information and “the story of your life.”
- Uh oh. Anonymous is planning a Day of Vengeance on Saturday. Good thing I’ll be offline that day!
- Ken Burns documentary “Prohibition” will debut on iPhone/iPad before it hits TV.
- Amazon is opening up its Kindle device to library ebook loans.
- Feeling burned by Netflix’s recent changes? Here are some alternative services.
- The next version of the iPhone could be announced by Apple CEO Tim Cook on Oct. 4.
- The new version of Gowalla for iOS and Android has gone live.
- New Pandora design has gone live for everyone, too.
- “Reading Rainbow” comes out with a new app. I imagine LeVar Burton will be talking about that at SXSW.edu.
- PBS Kids has a new “Sid’s Science Fair” app.
- Extra Life, a 24-hour gaming marathon to benefit children’s hospitals. Happens Oct. 15.
- Petty small-town gossip thrives online. Yay!
- Justice Dept. and “Full Tilt Poker” tangle over Ponzi scheme accusations.
- Microsoft is discounting hardware and software for low-income students.
- Speaking of which, a study says 17 million U.S. children don’t have broadband in their homes.
- Instagram 2.0 with live filters and high-res photos (finally!) has been released.
- “What Was There” app reveals what used to be at your favorite spots.
Got a Linkdown item we should include in a future update? E-mail it to us with “LINKDOWN:” in the subject line.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW 2012
September 15, 2011
SXSWedu site launches; Startup Village announced for Interactive
Two bits of news hit this week on the South by Southwester Interactive front.
First, the official site for the big education-themed conference SXSWedu has gone live. The event, which takes place March 6-8, will be at the Austin Hilton and has its own PanelPicker process, which is currently underway. The keynote speaker should excite even those who don’t plan to attend: It’s LeVar Burton. More info on SXSWedu here.
The other big news, especially for entrepreneurs, is that a six-day Startup Village will be held during the festival from March 9-15, with its own programming and, presumably, the Accelerator event. You can find out more about it here.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, SXSW 2012
August 19, 2011
The Linkdown for Friday, Aug. 19
The school year is starting and that HP TouchPad tablet that we half-heartedly recommended in our recent back-to-school guide is already being discontinued! So much change! Keep your head on straight and let The Linkdown guide you through this tumultuous time of transition with these events and links:
Events:
- Big Data Love happy hour on Friday.
- Austin’s Lamebook hosts a concert/legal fundraiser on Saturday. They’re also celebrating the launch of a new site, UHpinions.
- Hidden Room Theatre’s experimental two-location Skype-enabled performance, half of which takes place in Austin, continues through August here and in Edinburgh, Scotland. We wrote about it before South by Southwest Interactive this year, where it was presented.
- On Aug. 24 author/filmmaker Ernie Cline of “Fanboys” fame will present his video game-themed book “Ready Player One” at Austin Books & Comics.
- Austin School of Film has lots of digital filmmaking classes coming up.
- Redbox is giving away a free movie rental good on Aug. 25 via Facebook.
Internet goodness:
- As we mentioned above, HP is discontinuing the TouchPad tablet, killing off webOS and considering spinning off its consumer products division.
- Recreating stock photos: the new planking?
- AT&T will only have one texting plan for wireless customers: $20 a month for unlimited, or 20 cents per text without a plan. If you’re an existing customer, you can keep your current texting plan. Changes go into effect this weekend.
- Austin-developed “Wizard 101,” which already has 20 million players, is expanding into China.
- Evernote, quickly growing, acquires photo service Skitch.
- Houston woman kicked out of a bar for Tweeting about the bartender.
- Matthew Odam tells us about 2-D converter glasses that allow you to go see 3-D movies and bypass the 3-D.
- IBM makes new chips modeled after the human brain.
- Students: Newegg is discounting college textbooks up to 90 percent.
- Foursquare adds event check-ins to its service.
- Two visualizations of SXSW Interactive 2012 panel proposals. This one is huge. This one is a category breakdown.
- Hatch chiles app is hot.
- $20,000 scholarships from AP and Google for tech-focused journalists. Just don’t take my job, OK?
- Not surprising: mobile wireless data use is exploding just as the carrier are curbing unlimited plans and throttling some data use.
- Austin’s “Intergalactic Nemesis” live graphic novel is starting a world tour.
- Wired profiles prolific filmmaker Robert Rodriguez.
- PlayStation 3 $50 price drop.
- Lengthy New York Times Magazine profile of the Gregory Brothers, who played SXSW Interactive’s Web Awards this year.
Got a Linkdown item we should include in a future update? E-mail it to us with “LINKDOWN:” in the subject line.
Permalink | | Categories: Applications, Austin, Gadgets, Internet, Phones, SXSW 2012
August 15, 2011
Back to school with e-books and SXSW PanelPicker voting
Two stories you might have missed from the print edition of the American-Statesman this weekend: first off, a Sunday back-to-school tech gift guide for college students.
This year, we focused on tablets and e-book readers, devices that allow university students to access a wide range of course work and e-textbooks, often at a discount. There’s been a flurry of activity in this space the last couple of weeks as Amazon and Barnes & Noble have sweetened their deals and, of course, the iPad is still white hot in the tablet space. In the feature, we discuss options for e-book readers, tablets and accessories.
And in the Monday edition, the Digital Savant column is focused on the South by Southwest PanelPicker. At 2 p.m. Monday afternoon, voting is scheduled to open up to the public for panels that have been submitted.
About 3,800 panels will be available for voting, a big jump from last year’s 2,400, which has prompted some changes in the vetting process. You can read fest director Hugh Forrest’s rundown of what’s new with the PanelPicker this year and learn about a Facebook group devoted to discussing the process and promoting individual sessions.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, SXSW 2012, Shopping
August 9, 2011
SXSW Interactive to award five scholarship in essay competition
If the rising price of registering for 2012’s South by Southwest Interactive Festival is a deal-breaker for you, there’s a chance you could write your way into attending.
On Monday, the festival and CauseShift announced the rules for its scholarship program, which will award five badges to essay writers who (in 300 words) best answer the question, “Who is using technology or new media to do the most innovative work for good within their community?”
Essays are due 11:59 p.m. Aug. 26th and must be sent to interwebcontent@sxsw.com with the subject line, “SXSW Interactive Scholarship Program.”
The festival said that this year, those entering need not be limited to people working at nonprofits:
While last year’s scholarship program was limited to nonprofits, this year’s iteration expands its focus to recognize individuals from all sectors and from anywhere in the world who are using new media to push the boundaries of tackling community problems. Nonprofit leaders, grassroots organizers, individual citizens and civic-minded entrepreneurs are all eligible.
For more details, CauseShift visit the scholarship page on the official site.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012
July 29, 2011
SXSW Interactive registration prices spike again for 2012
Click for a larger version of this graph.
For the second year in a row, South by Southwest Interactive registration prices have increased sharply in comparison to the rest of the festival. For 2012, early-bird registration, which ends on Sept. 23, went up from $450 to $595, an increase of about 32 percent. Walk-up rates for Interactive again rose $200, from $750 to $950, a nearly 27 percent increase over 2011 rates. For the first time, Interactive and music early-bird registration cost the same and this year, Interactive walk-up rates outpace Music by $200.
Music registration for 2012 stayed flat, $595 for early-bird registration and $750 for walk-up. Film registration rates rose slightly from $375 to $395 for early-bird registration and $550 to $595 over 2011.
The Interactive rate increase apparently affects Gold and Platinum badge registration. Gold early-bird goes from $650 to $795, but walk-up increases from $950 to $1,150. Platinum increases from $900 to $995 for early-bird and from $1,250 to $1,395 for walk-up, a nearly 12 percent increase.
Director of the festival Hugh Forrest explained the rate increases in an interview with the American-Statesman on Friday, saying that they reflect Interactive’s place in relation to other high-profile tech festivals.
The SXSW site was on Friday in “soft launch” and was already showing off a new design as well as registration rates. It’s also accepting Interactive Awards nominations. On Thursday, SXSW announced its first Interactive keynote speaker, Baratunde Thurston. The site officially goes live on Monday.
Last year, the festival said the rate hikes were in part an attempt to get people to register early and to avoid a surge of late registration, which made for crowded conditions at the 2010 festival. 2011 was no less busy, with record registration and talk of possibly capping attendance at the festival even before it started. That may come again for 2012.
Edited at 10:30 p.m. Sunday to add link to new story on SXSW pricing and to edit information about fest director Hugh Forrest, who spoke to the American-Statesman about this story on Friday. A correction has been added to the original story.
Past registration prices:
2009
Interactive: $375 early-bird, $495 walk-up
Film: $300 early-bird, $450 walk-up
Music: $550 early-bird, $695 walk-up
Gold: $550 early-bird, $695 walk-up
Platinum: $850 early-bird, $1,145 walk-up
2010
Interactive: $395 early-bird, $550 walk-up
Film: $325 early-bird, $475 walk-up
Music: $595 early-bird, $750 walk-up
Gold: $595 early-bird, $750 walk-up
Platinum: $920 early-bird, $1,225 walk-up
2011
Interactive: $450 early-bird, $750 walk-up
Film: $375 early-bird, $550 walk-up
Music: $595 early-bird, $750 walk-up
Gold: $650 early-bird, $950 walk-up
Platinum: $900 early-bird, $1,250 walk-up
2012
Interactive: $595 early-bird, $950 walk-up
Film: $395 early-bird, $595 walk-up
Music: $595 early-bird, $750 walk-up
Gold: $795 early-bird, $1,150 walk-up
Platinum: $995 early-bird, $1,395 walk-up
Edited 10:30 a.m. Saturday to fix Gold early-bird pricing for 2012 in blog entry and in the chart.
Permalink | Comments (9) | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW, SXSW 2012
July 28, 2011
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.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, SXSW 2012
July 5, 2011
Digital Savant Podcast #5: GigaOm's Stacey Higginbotham
Stacey Higginbotham, who covers broadband, the FCC, infrastructure and more as an Austin-based senior reporter for GigaOm.com stopped in to chat with us this week for the Digital Savant Podcast.
In Episode 5, we talk about our impressions of Google+, the seeming inevitability of AT&T’s purchase of T-Mobile, bandwidth caps and what happened to Stacey at South by Southwest Interactive (it involves food poisoning and a broken nose, in that order).
You can now subscribe to the Digital Savant podcast on iTunes, or click below for MP3 or AAC (podcast-formatted) versions of this week’s episode.
Listen to Digital Savant Podcast #5 (AAC/iTunes format)
Listen to Digital Savant Podcast #5 (MP3 format)
Show notes:
- Stacey Higginbotham on Twitter and on GigaOm.
- My first impressions of Google+.
- Some of GigaOm’s AT&T/T-Mobile merger coverage.
- More AT&T/T-Mobile fine print?
- AT&T’s home bandwidth Internet use caps, which rolled out in May..
- One of Stacey’s dispatches from SXSW 2011.
What’s in the podcast:
0:06 — Introduction.
0:20 — Introducing Stacey Higginbotham.
2:50 — What’s a GigaOm?
3:26 — Google+.
6:05 — Google+ Circles and Hangouts.
10:58 — AT&T and T-Mobile get to mergin’.
14:53— AT&T bandwidth capping; will we see more of this?
20:25 — Time Warner Cable’s DOCSIS 3/Wideband.
21:39 — Stacey’s SXSW 2011 story.
23:30 — Wrapping things up.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Internet, Phones, Podcasts, SXSW 2012
June 24, 2011
Women in tech (and networking): the struggle continues
Four days ago, I attended the South by Southwest PanelPicker Mixer. It’s been a while since I’ve been to an evening event (I’ve dubbed it The Summer Where I Act Like a Real Dad and Come Home Every Night at a Decent Hour). But I was able to stop in for about an hour and a half and catch up with people I rarely get to see in person otherwise.
Three different women told me separately that they were interested in either organizing or being a part of a “Women in Tech”-style conference in town and complained that there’s not enough of that here. One of them is already in the planning stages for an event like that. (I’ll let you know about it when the details are firmed up).
There simply aren’t enough tech events in town geared toward women, they told me, and historically, panel-style events in town often exclude or underrepresent women entrepreneurs and tech workers as panelists.
Three days later, Carla Thompson at Sharp Skirts points out in a post called “Sausage Fest, Austin Style,” that an event on Tuesday, RISE Fast Pitch being held at the Alamo Drafthouse is yet another example of a high-profile public tech event with an all-male panel. She’s been seeking out comment on Twitter from the organizers since the item was posted.
And last night, Katrina Tolentino posted on her blog an embarrassing, frank list of things men at local networking events have said and done to her recently. Katrina is a fixture on the local social network scene and the blog post, “10 Things You Should Never Say Or Do To A Woman At A Networking Event” is alarming in that it makes you wonder the kinds of things men say and do to women who aren’t as high-profile as Katrina. It’s not hard to image that some women who go to networking events get turned off to the whole scene if that’s the way they’re approached.
It’s also not hard to imagine that boozed-up, grabassy social media douchebags are simply extending the boorish behavior they display on Twitter and Facebook and that the freewheeling social media scene has been lax in calling them out on such behavior.
So how about it? Does Austin’s tech scene have a problem with giving women fair representation on panels and basic respect at mixer? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Edited to add: Michelle Greer, a prior overall winner of the American-Statesman’s Texas Social Media Award, has posted a thoughtful response to Tolentino’s blog post.
Permalink | Comments (9) | Categories: Austin, Internet, SXSW 2012
June 20, 2011
SXSW PanelPicker 2012 is live, getting feted tonight
The South by Southwest PanelPicker, the process by which roughly eleventy billion panels are chosen each year for Music, Film and Interactive festivals, has launched today for the 2012 events.
July 15 is the deadline for idea submissions (although submission deadlines are frequently extended by the fest) and voting is expected to begin in August. By October, we should start seeing an initial list of chosen programming.
SXSW Interactive runs March 9-13 next year.
Tonight, 6 to 8 p.m., the fest is hosting a PanelPicker party (if you want to be really cool, you should walk around calling it “3 to the P” but don’t tell anyone I suggested you do that) at Hangar Lounge. You can RSVP to the party, where staffers will be on hand to answer questions about PanelPicker.
