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Sessions at SXSW Interactive 2011 with notes

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Friday 11th March 2011

  • The Connected Car: Driving Technology

    by Nick Pudar, Joe Berry, Jessica Steel and Howard Wright

    Connectivity – or “telemetric” in the auto industry – is using a car to keep you connected while behind the wheel. Mostly the auto industry is focused on developing systems for infotainment and personal connectivity through Bluetooth. That’s cool stuff that makes the driving experience more fun and helps us stay connected on the road, but we’re pushing for a much broader approach.

    Your vehicle can be more than a smartphone on wheels – it can be a platform for data collection and sharing. With embedded technology, like OnStar, a vehicle can pull all kinds of data. Now connect that platform via cloud computing to the social media space and share data among multiple audiences. Smart software tools would analyze the cloud based on knowledge of drive including, equipment use, services used, etc., to make accurate predictions that could figure out intent.

    Having an intelligent “intent engine” that processes the cloud, you could access highly relevant and personalized information that enables the cloud to work for you. We’re on the cusp of something ginormous here and our partners too.

    What’s next for wireless communication, video conference and social interaction? How can these converge in a vehicle? How does OnStar leverage Verizon, Skype and Facebook to work in ways never thought possible?

    LEVEL: Beginner

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

    In Ballroom A, Austin Convention Center

    Coverage note

Saturday 12th March 2011

  • iPad Design Headaches (Take 2 Tablets, Call Me in the Morning)

    by Josh Clark

    The iPad and its entourage of Android tablets have introduced a new style of computing, confronting designers with unfamiliar aches and pains. Learn the symptoms (and fixes) for a range of new-to-the-world iPad interface ailments, including Greedy Pixel Syndrome, the dreaded Frankeninterface, and the "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" bait and switch. Explore practical techniques and eye-opening gotchas of tablet interface design, all grounded in the ergonomics, context, psychology, and nascent culture of these new devices (both iOS and Android). The presentation inoculates you against common problems with close-up looks at successful iPad apps from early sketches to final design. Genial bedside manner is administered by Josh Clark, author of the O'Reilly books "Tapworthy: Designing Great iPhone Apps" and "Best iPhone Apps: A Guide for Discriminating Downloaders."

    LEVEL: Advanced

  • It's Not Tv, It's Social Tv

    by Chloe Sladden, Fred Graver, Gavin Purcell, Lila King and Timothy Shey

    How is social media changing the TV experience for good? Over the past ten years, we've seen television become truly interactive, from SMS voting on American Idol to real-time audience feedback via Twitter and Facebook becoming a part of everything from CNN to Oprah to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon; at the same time, web series have built millions of viewers on places like YouTube, iTunes, and XBox Live. Now a new wave of always-connected mobile apps, set-top boxes, and gaming platforms are making entertainment more social, location-aware, and connected than ever. Our panel of television and web producers and representatives from top social networking platforms will talk about how they're enabling social viewing and collaboration between producers, stars, and audiences in real-time to create new kinds of TV experiences.

    LEVEL: Beginner

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

    In Hill Country AB, Hyatt Regency Austin

    Coverage note

  • Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better

    by Jane McGonigal

    LEVEL: Intermediate

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

    In Ballroom D, Austin Convention Center

  • The Behavior Change Checklist. Down With Gamefication

    by Aza Raskin

    At the end of 2010, I left my post as Creative Lead for Firefox to found Massive Health on the assumption that a design renaissance could help change people's behavior to make them a bit more healthy. That's rather an assumption. Behavior change is hard. Health is hard. It is yet to be seen if I'm an idiot. With all this talk of gameification, serious games, and social connectivity, what cognitive psychology principals underly all of this hype? What isn't anecdotal? What works? Whether it is health, finance, email, or games, this talk delves into the literature of behavior change to give you a checklist to use in your designs.

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

    In Town Lake Ballroom, Radisson Hotel & Suites Austin-Town Lake

    Coverage note

  • Metrics-Driven Design

    by Joshua Porter

    For every design change you make affecting your user’s experience, do you know if you’re having a positive or negative impact? Are you adding to your organization’s bottom line or eroding it? Are you sure? Or, are you like most design teams who release work through a ramshackle process made up of politics, prayer, and paralysis?

    The health of the business must be the highest priority for designers. With a plethora of fast and cheap analytics tools available that bring us the ability to measure almost anything, we have no excuse not to be measuring every design change we make. From a/b testing small interface tweaks to measuring time-on-site for new users to measuring user satisfaction over long time periods, we can know more about the people who use our software than ever before.

    In this talk, Joshua Porter will provide you with a simple, easy framework for metrics-driven design. By using a combination of research methods as well as powerful new tracking tools, Josh will show you how to align your design priorities with what keeps you in business. You will come away from this talk with a clear idea of what metrics are most important, which ones to focus on, and which ones to ignore. So don’t drive blindly: use metrics-driven design to make sure the impact you’re having is a positive one.

    LEVEL: Intermediate

    At 5:00pm to 6:00pm, Saturday 12th March

    In Ballroom A, Austin Convention Center

    Coverage note

Sunday 13th March 2011

  • The Future of Touch User Interface Design

    by Amish Patel and Kay Hofmeester

    Although touch user interfaces have been around since the 1960s, they did not take off in the consumer mainstream until 2007. The last five years have seen a widespread acceptation of touch user interfaces, and many mobile phone and PC manufacturers have launched their version of a touch user interface. However, all these user interfaces still feature a similar, somewhat limited touch interaction language. How will touch develop in the coming years? Will multi-user multi-touch become important? How does voice, stylus and even air evolve our vocabulary? Will 2D touch develop into 3D touch? This panel will discuss the possibilities, and make projections into the future. We encourage you to explore this and much more with us.. join the discussion!

    LEVEL: Intermediate

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

    In Ballroom A, Austin Convention Center

  • HTML5? The Web's Dead, Baby

    by Branden Hall, Emily Lewis, Erik Klimczak, Rick Barraza and Thomas Lewis

    Wired declared Web 3.0 the age of apps and that the Web was dead and the future is native apps. Insight or naiveté? We’ll discuss the current merits of HTML5, and which companies and technologies will accelerate its adoption among mainstream consumers and create new opportunities for developers. We’ll also discuss the impact this can have on current native application strategies for Windows, Windows Phone 7, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android by looking at the impressive work that is being done today with the Web and apps to deliver compelling consumer experiences. But we’ll also address the shortcomings and the reality of HTML and what Web and app designers and developers can and should be doing today.

    LEVEL: Intermediate

    At 3:30pm to 4:30pm, Sunday 13th March

    In Ballroom C, Austin Convention Center

Tuesday 15th March 2011

  • Unwritten Rules: Brands, Social Psychology and Social Media

    by Ben McAllister and Kate Canales

    When a friend invites you to dinner, you bring wine or flowers – not $100 cash – as a gesture of thanks. That goes without saying. But if a brand comes to dinner, what should they bring? When it comes to social media, there are unwritten rules for how to behave that many brands simply aren't getting.

    Brands are grappling with social media as they try to find a place at our virtual dinner table. Some brands get it, some gaffe it. The rules, it turns out, are hidden in basic social psychology. The established behaviors of friendship are the prevailing rules of the road in social media: sharing valuable information, entertaining one another, support in a crisis, celebration of a personal achievement. But the established behaviors of transactions (the way we historically interact with brands) can feel awkward and forced in social media. So how can brands build trust with their networks while being social like a friend? This session will look at social media behavior and what brands can do to become a delightful guest and valuable contributor at our virtual dinner party.

    LEVEL: Beginner

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

    In Ballroom F, Austin Convention Center

  • Freelancers: You're Five Products Away From Freedom

    by Thomas Myer

    If you're a freelancer, you know that your existence comes down to chasing after lots of client engagements, projects, gigs, whatever you want to call them. If you stop working for any reason (illness, travel, you just want or need a break) then the income stops.

    Adding products to the mix can be a really great way to add small (but potentially large!) streams of income that you can count on month after month. I'll talk about using your talents and strengths to create products (ebooks, themes/templates, photography/artwork, plugins/apps, membership sites) that will appeal to an audience and generate sales.

    Remember, even if you only create a $100/week product, it only takes 5 or 6 of those to really start making a big difference in the way you work and live. This isn't about creating a "four hour workweek" or some other hyped BS, this is about creating repeatable, realistic income streams.

    LEVEL: Beginner

    At 11:00am to 12:00pm, Tuesday 15th March

    In Salon A, Hilton Austin Downtown

  • Shaping the Future with Small Moves, Smartly Made

    by John Hagel

    Most companies are content to pursue adaptation strategies in times of high uncertainty – sense and respond quickly to events as they unfold. While adaptation is certainly valuable, it misses a much greater opportunity – the ability to shape entire markets or industries in ways that create significant advantage for the shaper. While most disruptive innovation strategies focus on a single company betting heavily on a disruptive approach to the market, shaping strategies emphasize the opportunity to mobilize a very large number (thousands and, in some case, millions) of other participants to leverage investment and accelerate learning. As a result, shaping strategies can succeed with small initial moves, smartly made, that set big things in motion. This talk will review examples of successful shapers in the past to determine the key elements that determine the success of shaping strategies.

    LEVEL: Intermediate

    At 11:00am to 12:00pm, Tuesday 15th March

    In Salon J, Hilton Austin Downtown

    Coverage note

  • Lean UX: Getting Out of the Deliverables Business

    by Jeff Gothelf

    Traditionally UX has been a deliverables practice. Wireframes, sitemaps, flow diagrams, content inventories, taxonomies etc defined the practice of UX Designers (IxD, UX Design, whatever, etc). While this work has helped define what an UX Designers do and the value the work brings to a business, it has also put us in the deliverables business - measured and compensated for the depth and breadth of their deliverables (instead of the quality and success of the experiences they design). Enter Lean UX. Inspired by Lean Product and Agile development theories, Lean UX is the practice of bringing the true nature of our work to light faster, with less emphasis on deliverables and greater focus on the actual experience being designed. This talk will explore how Lean UX manifests in terms of process, communication, documentation and team interaction. In addition, we'll take a look at how this philosophical shift can take root in any environment from large corporation to interactive agencies to startups.

    LEVEL: Intermediate

    At 3:30pm to 4:30pm, Tuesday 15th March

    In Ballroom B, Austin Convention Center

  • Voices From The HTML5 Trenches: Browser Wars IV

    by Alex Russell, Arun Ranganathan, Brendan Eich, John Hrvatin and Lars Erik Bolstad

    The term HTML5 now refers to the much-hyped kitchen sink of the web. It covers *everything* including things not officially part of the HTML5 specification. Yet "HTML5" is now the catch phrase to describe the new wave of platform competition on the web, and browser vendors vie to outdo each other on benchmark tests touting compliance and performance.

    Every major browser vendor -- Apple, Opera, IE, Chrome, and Firefox -- will have a significant browser release by SxSW 2011. Microsoft's recent IE9 press event suggests that they are "all in for HTML5." So if all of us browser vendors are "all in" for HTML5, what does this mean for web developers? And what's up with the dirty marketing buzz around tests and demo pages?

    This panel will expose the areas where we browser vendors cooperate as well as compete, and will push on the painful spots where we seem to disagree. We'll bring every major browser vendor to the table, and talk about open video on the web (and video codecs), what this all means to Flash, APIs (including contentious ones, like databases), CSS (including once hot areas like fonts) graphics, SVG vs. Canvas, WebGL, Device APIs, and security.

    This browser wars panel will be less like Inside Baseball, and more about the practical issues confronting web developers today. We'll poke at the raw spots that browser vendors need to discuss. As always, audience participation will account for a substantial chunk of time.

    LEVEL: Intermediate

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

    In Ballroom C, Austin Convention Center