Sessions at SXSW Interactive 2011 about Science Fiction

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Saturday 12th March 2011

• So Long, and Thanks for All the Babelfish

  by Tim Holden

  Will 2011 be the year of the Universal Translator? As this science fiction dream teeters over the horizon, what can and should we do now to prepare for a time when the translation robot, not the search engine, becomes the single most important audience for your site? Will SEO give way to TEO? Does language need its own subtext markup? And when on Earth is Microsoft Word going to replace its 'Bold' button with a 'Strong' one? Lay aside your Google Goggles and iLingual apps (just for 60 minutes or so), and enjoy a session that's packed full of accessible translation theory, insight into the working processes of web copywriters, and more than the occasional riff on Douglas Adams.

  • Copywriting
  • Localization
  • Science Fiction
  • Social Media
  • Translation

  At 9:30am to 10:30am, Saturday 12th March

  In Capitol A-D, Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol

• How Does SciFi Influence Our Future Cities?

  by Igor Schwarzmann, Jo Guldi and Adam Greenfield

  How do you imagine the future of our cities?

  Flying cars like in 5th Element or maybe fully automatic car systems like in Minority Report? A lot of green spaces like on the Star Trek version of future Earth or maybe more like the dark, wet streets in Blade Runner? Will we live on a planet that resembles Star Wars' Coruscant city-planet idea or will it be something stick to our mix of urban and rural environments? Is something like Cisco's New Songdo in South Korea more fiction or reality? How would most people perceive IBM's Smart Cities plans?

  Currently, there is almost no topic discussed as intensely as the future of urban environments. No wonder, since studies show the projection that by 2050 almost 75 percent of the then 9 billion people on this planet will live in megacities. We want to compare the current developments with the ones we know from fiction, because we're highly influenced by those science fiction images that swirl in our heads.

  LEVEL: Intermediate

  • Cities
  • Future
  • Science Fiction

  At 3:30pm to 4:30pm, Saturday 12th March

  In Salon F/G, Hilton Austin Downtown

Sunday 13th March 2011

• Social Media Is Science Fiction

  by Annalee Newitz, Charlie Jane Anders, Matt Thompson, Maureen McHugh and Molly Crabapple

  What do science fiction stories tell us about how social networking and user-generated content will evolve? How it will affect us as a civilization? Futurists and SF writers will explore real possibilities for the next fifty years of social media - and debunk bad futurism that predicts either total abundance or complete apocalypse.

  LEVEL: Beginner

  • Science Fiction
  • Social Media

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

  In TX Ballroom 1, Hyatt Regency Austin

• How To Live Safely In a Science Fictional Universe

  by Charles Yu

  • Science Fiction

  At 12:30pm to 1:30pm, Sunday 13th March

  In Ballroom G, Austin Convention Center

• Charles Yu

  by Charles Yu

  Charles Yu will be stopping by the SX Bookstore to greet registrants and sign copies of his novel, How To Live Safely in a Science Fiction Universe.

  • Science Fiction

  At 12:50pm to 1:05pm, Sunday 13th March

  In Ballroom D Foyer, Austin Convention Center

Monday 14th March 2011

• New Worlds: Creating Online Sci-fi and Fantasy Experiences

  by Felicia Day, Chris Preksta, Craig Engler, George Ruiz and Ryan Copple

  LEVEL: Intermediate

  • Games
  • Science Fiction

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

  In Ballroom A, Austin Convention Center

Tuesday 15th March 2011

• Made It So (Interface Makers in Movies)

  by Christopher Noessel and Mark Coleran

  To conclude their trilogy of successful presentations at SxSW about the analysis of interfaces in science fiction, the authors of Make it So will invite a collection of production designers who have been responsible for on screen interfaces to share and discuss their work. (This panel had to be canceled last year. Consider it a comeback.)

  LEVEL: Beginner

  • Interaction Design
  • Science Fiction

  At 9:30am to 10:30am, Tuesday 15th March

  In Ballroom B, Austin Convention Center

• Closing Speaker: Bruce Sterling

  by Bruce Sterling

  LEVEL: Intermediate

  • Science Fiction

  At 5:00pm to 6:00pm, Tuesday 15th March

  In Ballroom D, Austin Convention Center

  Coverage audio clip write-up