Sessions at SXSW Interactive 2011 about Culture

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Friday 11th March 2011

• Cultural Protectionism: Image Use at Burning Man

  by Andie Grace and Rosalie Barnes

  Burning Man – aided by volunteers from the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Creative Commons -- spent 2010 updating their terms of use as they relate to photo/media policies, amidst a wave of public attention to the desert event's unorthodox image use rules. They've incorporated fair use, Creative Commons licensing, and human readable language, but still maintain the right to use copyright to take down images in violation of their terms of use. Is this annual desert event a microcosm of creative culture or a copyright clusterf—ck? Anything goes at Burning Man--except when you've got a camera in your hand.

  LEVEL: Intermediate

  • Culture
  • Free Culture
  • Photography

  At 5:00pm to 6:00pm, Friday 11th March

  In Ballroom E, Austin Convention Center

Saturday 12th March 2011

• Lifecycles Tech & Society: Is 14yr Olds too Old?

  by Shireen Mitchell

  Social Tech has begun to move the conversation about the life cycles of technology. The more technology is integrated the more technology needs to adapt and change to current cultural norams. Clay Shirky's Book here comes everybody briefly discusses this but have we realized the full potential of “everybody” 's contribution in the social web. Will social media evolve to keep up with these changes or will we just just into the next New Tech tools. Will tech fix our social apps?

  LEVEL: Intermediate

  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Culture
  • Society

  At 1:15pm to 1:30pm, Saturday 12th March

  In Ballroom E, Austin Convention Center

Sunday 13th March 2011

• Disconnecting the Dots: How Our Devices are Divisive

  by Roy Christopher

  We drive cars to the gym to run miles on a treadmill. Inclement weather notwithstanding, why don’t we just run down the street? The activities are disconnected. We sit in close physical proximity with each other and text others far away. The activities are disconnected. Technological mediation creates a disconnection between physical goals and technology’s "help" in easing our workload.

  There are at least two types of disconnection enveloping our days: one between ourselves and our environment (e.g., pumping water vs. pumping iron) and one between ourselves and each other (e.g., individual distraction vs. global connection) with technology wedged in between in both cases. If our culture is essentially technology-driven, then what kind of culture emerges from such disconnections between our physical goals and our technologically enabled activities?

  LEVEL: Intermediate

  • Culture

  At 9:30am to 10:30am, Sunday 13th March

  In Room 6AB, Austin Convention Center

  Coverage slide deck

• A Media-Based Economy for Detroit's Future

  by Adriel Thornton, Benjamin Chodoroff, Diana J Nucera, Ilana Invincible and Mike Medow

  Detroit is what the rest of the world has to look forward to. This panel will explain why there's hope in that statement, when you consider the growing community of citizen journalists, culture producers, technologists and small-business owners who are building a media-based economy at the city's grassroots. Neighborhoods are building mesh wireless networks to expand Internet access through community-owned infrastructure. Hackers teach residents how to build computers from salvaged parts and run them with open source software. Musicians use online distribution to reach global audiences, and party promoters give young people a reason to stay in Detroit. Detroit's emerging media economy is nurtured by its legacy of independent music and culture; by the culture of engineering, building and fixing instilled by our experience with the auto industry; and by the creativity and cooperation that comes out of necessity. For the past four years, the annual Allied Media Conference has helped foster Detroit's media economy, convening thousands of media-makers, activists, artists and technologists in Detroit every summer for a weekend of skill-sharing and strategizing. This panel will offer insights from AMC organizers, and other leading innovators in Detroit's creative culture of art and technology. We invite discussion about what the rest of the world can learn from Detroit and vice versa.

  LEVEL: Intermediate

  • Cities
  • Culture
  • Media

  At 11:00am to 12:00pm, Sunday 13th March

  In Salon C, Hilton Austin Downtown

Monday 14th March 2011

• Communication and Innovation: Does Culture Still Matter?

  by Max Niederhofer

  An in-depth exploration from panellists on how innovation and communication differs from country to country. Panellists will discuss and provide insight into the barriers currently affecting innovation and communication in countries across the world and how we can learn from one another as we continue to move forward and evolve in these capacities at the global level.
  The panel will also discuss how the rise of the internet and related technologies have facilitated the ease of bridging any barriers affecting multicultural innovation and communication and how they have ultimately created a new set of rules for doing business.

  LEVEL: Beginner

  • Communication
  • Culture
  • Innovation

  At 5:00pm to 6:00pm, Monday 14th March

  In Rio Grande B, Marriott Courtyard Austin Downtown/Convention Center