Add an eventSessions at SXSW Interactive 2012 with audio on Sunday 11th March
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Big Data: Powering the Race for the White House
by Alex Lundry, Dan Siroker, Josh Hendler, Kristen Soltis and Patrick Ruffini
Despite the advent of new media, campaigns for President still measure the electorate in pretty much the same way they did 40 years ago, through traditional polls to landline phones. That could all change this year. The hottest job in today’s Presidential campaigns is the Data Mining Scientist -- whose job it is to sort through terabytes of data and billions of behaviors tracked in voter files, consumer databases, and site logs. They’ll use the numbers to uncover hidden patterns that predict how you’ll vote, if you’ll pony up with a donation, and if you’ll influence your friends to support a candidate. This panel will delve deep into the world of real-time data on Presidential campaigns, showing how it’ll be used to make decisions on everything from the layout of a signup form to where to spend millions of advertising dollars in the closing days of a campaign. Forget about which candidate has the most likes on Facebook or followers on Twitter -- and learn why 2012 will be the year of Big Data in American politics.
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Can Gaming Make the World Better?
by Adam Bosworth, Gabe Zichermann, George Weiner, Samantha Skey and Nadya Direkova
Let’s face it—games make our lives more fun, but can they also make a positive impact on the world? At the recent Games for Change Festival, Al Gore said “games are the new normal” and that “the gamification trend is really powerful” in helping to solve issues like climate change. Over the past year, we’ve seen an influx of startups using social gaming to motivate people to do good and change their lifestyles. Armed with the philosophy that it is only by inspiring a massive shift in consumer behavior that we can make a measurable impact on the world, these companies are using gaming mechanics and incentives to engage, educate and motivate a global audience. This panel will discuss if gaming for good can actually drive large-scale change, as SCVNGR’s Seth Priebatsch discussed last year at SXSW’s keynote, and examine how we can measure that impact.
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Companion Gaming: Strategies for Cross-Platform Releases
The rise of smartphones, tablets, and a diversity of casual and hardcore gaming platforms now means that there are a variety of places where an interested gamer can consume a game brand. It is increasingly likely that a player will have multiple of these devices and will use them all for gameplay. What are the ramifications that this new reality has on the development of a successful game brand? If you assume that a player is going to want to play the game on different platforms, how can you leverage the game properly for each market and technology? How should the different implementations relate? Where is a simple port needed, and where you need a completely new design? This panel explores the current experimentation and the future possibilities inherent with cross-platform game release.
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Excessive Enhancement: JavaScript's Dark Side
Are we being seduced by the animation and rich UI capabilities of modern browsers at the expense of the underlying platform of the Web?
The Web has entered a new phase in its evolution: The proliferation of a JavaScript enabled audience with increased processing grunt in their devices, better and more ambitious JavaScript developers, and users with an appetite for sophisticated experiences, all seem to be helping to move the web in a rich and exciting direction. Good developers understand about graceful degradation, progressive enhancement, unobtrusive JavaScript and the like, so why are we seeing big companies building web offerings with little apparent thought for their impact on the Web?
We'll explore this by looking at what the Web was, is now, and might become. We'll look at examples of exciting user interfaces and sophisticated interactions. We'll also examine some emerging techniques for providing rich user interactions without hurting the web or killing kittens.
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Fixing Broke(n) Governments Through Serious Games
by Luke Hohmann
It’s no secret. Local, state and federal governments face budget shortfalls, spending cuts and reduced service—in a political climate that favors gridlock. Serious games have emerged as a viable approach to budgeting that is both participatory and scalable. In this session, we’ll discuss why serious games are a particularly good tool for budgeting and their advantages over alternatives such as deliberative democracy, participatory budgeting, or majority voting through polls. Participants will learn to conduct in-person and online games built specifically for resolving multi-scalar budget problems. These models are based on Budget Games, which we designed and played in San Jose, CA, on Jan. 29, 2011 in which more than 100 community leaders collaboratively re-crafted the city’s proposed budget. Because the game revealed real consensus, San Jose officials were able to act on the game’s results with more confidence than traditional polling.
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Friending Pharma: Patients, Industry & New Media
by Alicia Staley, Allison Blass, Brian Reid, Kerri Sparling and Michele Polz
As more and more patients begin using social media as an information source and a support network, it's inevitable that they'll begin to interact with representatives of pharmaceutical companies looking to use new technologies to inform and educate. While consumer-industry interactions are not new -- Comcast crawls Twitter for those in need of tech support, and Gatorade sends electronic high-fives to high school athletes -- links between drug companies and those they serve are more fraught, with some patients celebrating dialogue and others warning that such relationships are intrinsically inappropriate. This panel -- including patients, advocates and industry -- will explore the ground rules of "friending" big pharma and the ground rules that biopharma firms must play by to ensure patients aren't taken advantage of.
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Killer App Design with Javascript and HTML 5
HTML5 paves the way for a browser-based universe, and javascript is its shining star. Go beyond rounded corners and <section> tags and bask in the glory of dynamic stylesheets, CSS3 and responsive UI! Wield the awesome power of web storage, web sockets and device access! Conquer your single page app with event-oriented programming and client-side MVC! Even if you're not launching spaceships from the Chrome Web Store, you'll work faster and code better with emerging technologies and tool sets designed to manage complex, browser-based apps, viewed on any device. Websites are for wusses. Web apps = world domination.
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Learn to Code and Make the Software You Want
by Nate Westheimer and Vinicius Vacanti
You're a "product person," the "idea guy," the "business gal." Let's face it: You don't know how to code and it's killing your creativity and your career. Learn from two people who went from "business guys" to lead developers of venture-backed startups in less than a year. After attending this talk, you will not only be convinced it's possible for you to learn to code but have a roadmap on how to do it. Attendees who bring their (Mac) laptops will also be given an opportunity to follow along, as they write tiny bits of code and take the first steps of their new life as people who don't ask for what they want, but make what they want !Come join us! Empower yourself! Learn to code.
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Make a Kinection: The Future of Interactive Design
by Amish Patel
Make the Kinection!
Microsoft Kinect is the technology which is undoubtedly poised to unlock the next generation of digital design and allows us to bridge the gaps between physical and digital.
As Kinect becomes more prevalent, more open and generally smarter we need to look at how this new technology expands our palette of interactive experiences.
Join members of the XBOX Design team in a conversation about the essence of Kinect, the power it holds, its unique challenges, capabilities and a glimpse into the future!
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Material Change-Tackling Human Rights with Artists
by Eve Blossom
Story-telling is a process for healing. As we hold in our hands the technology to address global problems, we can foster a new world of creativity & community through individual expression & shared visions. Globally, artists and technologists are empowering other artisans and creators by celebrating their spirit, talents and traditions - giving them a stronger voice for their future. Eve Blossom, founder of Lulan Artisans and author of Material Change, will share stories of her journey of creating a business that merges design and social change. Material Change offers actionable holistic models for designers and social entrepreneurs, and explains an open-source model for others to adapt, customize and share. Eve will debut We've, a digital extension of Lulan Artisans: a novel approach for buying, and selling artisanal goods through relationships and story. We've allows new forms of communication and business to evolve from communal creativity, capturing the zeitgeist of the planet.
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Multiplatform Storytelling: Frontline War Stories
by Brian Seth HURST, Dina Benadon, Lance Weiler, Tracy Fullerton and Jon Chu
While the academics preach of the wonders and promise and “mechanics” of “transmedia” storytelling, there are pioneering producers on the ground really doing it. There are good days and bad. There is money and there is not. And then there are the fans. What does it take to pull off successful multiplatform storytelling?
We are at the birth of a new industry, an inflection point, much like the history of film or radio or television or even the Internet where technology gives rise to a new means to tell stories. It is a time before the “institutionalization” of the multiplatform industry. And just like the history of film or TV the early pioneers are stepping out now and taking a lot of arrows. They are experimenting, learning what works and establishing best practices. They are master storytellers using and in some cases inventing new tools. They have failed and they have succeeded. And these are their stories.
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Pitching Start Ups to Ad Agencies and Clients
by James Cooper, John Laramie and David Tisch
The start up scene continues to thrive. You may have got funding and you may have an awesome product but how will you make those first key partnerships with clients and ad agencies? This is new territory for many blue chip clients and most ad agencies. They know they need to play in the start up space but they are afraid. All you guys are much younger, and cooler, you don't wear suits so how can we take you really seriously? How will I know whether you are the next FourSquare or the next pets.com? The panelists will be able to share all their different viewpoints. We have an investor and incubator, we have a recently funded start up making their first deals, we have an ad agency and we have the all important client who is making those purchasing decisions for her brand. We will hear from all of the panelists and then invite any start ups in the audience that would like some advice to ask questions. All the panelists are used to talking freely about the subject rather than inflicting death by powerpoint.
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Publishing Models Transforming the Book
by Brian Altounian, Jefferson Rabb, Molly Barton, Rachel Deahl and Swanna MacNair
By the end of 2011 it is projected that E-books will account for a quarter of frontlist book sales. Bricks and mortar stores are fighting for a fraction of the retail business. Publishers are being more selective about—and paying less money for—the books they acquire. In short, the publishing industry is changing dramatically. With change comes opportunity and everyone from legacy publishing houses to entrepreneurial individuals are creating new business models that locate talent and package content in new ways. Is the book dead? No—it’s being re-imagined and redefined by these very people.
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Socializing the Presidency: Digital Politics 2012
by Christina Bellantoni, Craig Newmark, Heather Smith, Maria Teresa Kumar and Mary Katharine Ham
What are the trends in social and digital media that will help shape the 2012 presidential election? What can we learn from grassroots election efforts like Rock the Vote, now in its 20th year, contrasted with the very short history and transformational social media tactics used in recent presidential politics? Is it a natural evolution of activism, is it disruptive? If so - how? Join PBS NewsHour moderator Christina Bellantoni and panelists Mary Katharine Ham (radio host/political commentator); Maria Teresa Kumar (founding executive director, Voto Latino); Craig Newmark (founder craigslist and craigconnects); Heather Smith (president, Rock the Vote); and others to be announced, for a wide-ranging, idea-generating, big-picture discussion of trends past, present and future on how the presidential election may be shaped and transformed by social media services such as Twitter and Facebook to new location based and mobile technologies.
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Stand with Planned Parenthood: A Crisis Response
by Amy Bryant, Gabriela Lazzaro, Nakia Hansen, Stephanie Lauf and Heather Holdridge
Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is no stranger to controversy. But when attacks on the nation’s leading provider of reproductive health care jumped beyond the usual suspects to include the majority of the House of Representatives in early 2011, the organization’s Online Advocacy and New Media teams snapped into crisis communications mode. Hear from a panel of current and former PPFA staffers as we discuss how we implemented an integrated strategy to inform the public, take control of the message, and flip a huge potential #Fail into the wildly successful “Stand With Planned Parenthood” advocacy and support campaign. Through PPFA’s story of what went right and not-so-right, learn how to defend your own organization using online and offline tactics while energizing your base to become your greatest advocates.
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Storytelling Beyond Words: New Forms of Journalism
by Aron Pilhofer, Bill Adair, Jim Brady and Stephen Buckley
We are in the midst of a digital revolution, and yet journalistic storytelling remains trapped in the Stone Age. We have all sorts of digital tools at our disposal -- video, social media, interactive graphics, etc. -- and still our stories are boring. Our panel will help you think in new ways about storytelling forms. Instead of sending users to a separate link for a video, why not embed video into the story at strategic points? Instead of writing long articles analyzing the accuracy of a politician's statements, why not invent a meter that allows the audience to quickly see that for themselves? We'll offer examples of how journalists harness digital tools to reinvent storytelling in ways that delight audiences, elucidate complex issues, improve communities and strengthen democracy. This panel is for geeks who care about storytelling; it's for storytellers who care about digital tools; and it's for anyone who cares about the future of journalism.
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Tech Detox: Can You Survive a Day w/o Technology?
by Ari Wallach, Courtney Holt, Dan Rollman and Rachel Sklar
Join us for a technology-free panel where we hear from industry leaders, entrepreneurs and tech titans as they share their secrets of unplugging, and how they're given more power in their day to day lives by creating sacred “no connection” time every week. Inspired by Reboot’s National Day of Unplugging, this is a tweet-free, in-the-moment event. Be there then, or never. http://www.causes.com/unplugpledge
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The Hispanic Persona Project
by José Villa
The Hispanic Persona Project provides innovative insights for marketers eager to tap the ever-expanding Hispanic population and its use of digital technology - Web, social media, mobile - to connect with family, friends and extended social circles. Hispanic marketers used customer research for decades to create segments that model the complex demographics of the U.S. Hispanic consumer. Similarly, software developers and digital marketers used ethnographic research to create Personas to understand the behavior and motivations of “users” to create optimal user experiences. The session will present the results of a comprehensive primary research study combining Hispanic demographic segmentation with digital ethnographic research in the form of comprehensive digital Personas for the U.S. Hispanic consumer market. Multicultural and digital marketing thought leader José Villa will introduce attendees to 4 Hispanic Personas and facilitate a thoughtful discussion on Hispanic digital behavior.
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The Mind & Consciousness As an Interface
by Julian Bleecker and Nicolas Nova
This session is about the role and form that brain interfaces might take on in coming years. It draws from the science, the facts, the fictions and products currently on the market.
As interfaces have evolved they’ve followed a predictable path of increasing directness, from keyboards to mice, touch, voice and gestures. As we peel away the layers between us, our bodies, our tools, and the objects we want to control, interactions become faster, less exerted, and more natural. If we follow the possible trajectories of user interfaces, where might we end up? Is the brain the evolution of the user interface? Are our thoughts the logical next step in natural interaction?
The brain user interface has played a role in design fiction and science fiction, and there are valuable insights in that world. And, the technologies that enable brain UI have become real and almost practical. But - in everyday interactions, what will brain interfaces actually be useful for? What will we and the world around us look, behave and interact like? How, where, and when will we use them? What are the opportunities, and what are the challenges in creating experiences for brain interaction?
This session will set out to answer questions about the evolution of user interfaces by exploring the speculative and real product applications that are ahead for brain interaction, and the design patterns that will emerge around them.
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The Potion for Motion: Interactive Interfaces/Apps
by Dan Simpkins
Decades ago, the mouse and graphical user interface (UI) transformed the computer industry, ushering in an easier and more efficient way to control the user experience. Consumers ultimately abandoned the “conventional” up-down-left-right arrow keys as the primary means to control the computer. The TV industry is on the verge of a similar transformation, as service providers face increasing pressure to make UIs better suited for interactive content coming from the Internet. This session will discuss key methodologies for improving the UI beyond today’s rudimentary navigation approaches, to discover choices buried under hierarchical layers of media and content menus. This session will explore the benefits of motion control and in-air pointing for common uses on TVs and next-gen devices, such as navigation, text entry and casual gaming. It will also compare contending technologies that enable pointer-based controls, including touchpad, camera-based and in-air pointing motion technology.
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The Social Network for Computers
In today's connected world, we humans are always on, always ready to switch to the next task at hand -- and *in* hand, on a multitude of powerful devices. Soon there will be up to a trillion connected devices on the Internet. To power the resulting massive computational need, our entire computer infrastructure is being redesigned. Moore's Law is not enough anymore. The requirements of new media on a global scale can only be supported by a powerful "Social Network for Computers" -- aka the Cloud. Through the cloud, servers quickly switch from one task to another, making efficient use of idle compute, storage and networking resources. Cloud computing is "fungible" - dynamically expanding and contracting to meet the world's compute load, and it is the only way to serve the growing Internet.
For those who are developing new innovative services, this emerging social network for computers means new challenges, new choices and new opportunities. In this talk we look into these changes and what they mean for the next generation of social and mobile apps and services.
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What Makes Asset Sharing Platforms Thrive?
by Christopher Lukezic, Jamie Shea, Neal Gorenflo, Reiko Ann Miura-ko and Shelby Clark
Zipcar and Netflix signaled its coming, and smart money bets on peer-to-peer platforms like Airbnb, RelayRides, Taskrabbit, ThredUp, and Zimride announced its arrival: the Sharing Economy is here.
And while many Internet startups have emerged to help citizens share a wide variety of physical assets, only a small handful have gotten serious traction. For sharing entrepreneurs and investors the question remains: what qualities make sharing platforms thrive?
This panel will explore this question with expert panelists, discussion with the audience, and research by Shareable Magazine and partners designed specifically to address this question. We'll focus on challenges unique to tech startups that help people share physical assets rather than startups in general. And look at the influence of a few key factors like reputation systems, community building, and asset categories on success.
With an increasing crowded planet and dwindling natural resources, there may be no more important challenge than making sharing sexy, fun, and scalable. The panelists will share their insights to help the SXSW community succeed in the sharing economy.
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The Power of Unpopular: Book Reading & Signing #SXSW
It's the official launch of The Power of Unpopular at SXSWi! A hangover-clearing book reading session at 10am on Sunday morning followed by a signing event (how vain, right!?) at the SXSW bookstore.
You probably never thought you'd want to build an unpopular brand, but branding rules have changed. Considering that every successful brand in history is inherently unpopular with a specific demographic, whom have YOU identified as the demographic that will never like you? Get introduced to author Erika Napoletano and the Power of Unpopular: a better way to run your business – and your life. Erika's the voice behind @RedheadWriting and RedheadWriting.com, as well as a monthly columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine and the author of two books. While she was never the prom queen (thank heavens), she's figured out how to leverage one word with seemingly negative implications into powerful fodder to build brands with staying power in the marketplace. You won't find case studies from corporate behemoths here - you'll find stories and advice from people just like you who want to wake up every day, do what they love, and do it for the people who will love them. Because that's who truly matters.
Learn more about Erika Napoletano at http://www.erikanapoletano.com
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140 Characters vs. 14000 Words: The New Long Form
by David Plotz and Evan Ratliff
In the age of shortened attention spans and journalism that exists in 140 characters or less, how does long-form journalism not only compete but prevail in the digital space? Slate editor David Plotz, creator of Slate’s noted fresca program, will showcase some of the latest and most engaging interactive features that are redefining long-form journalism on the web. Evan Ratliff, contributing editor at Wired and founder and editor of The Atavist, will present the newest opportunities for interactivity within long-form in-app. This isn’t your grandmother’s long-form -- the innovations showcased in this presentation move us to the next phase of the medium, helping to transform long-form journalism pieces into traffic success stories, and a boon for advertisers.
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A New Culture of Learning: Gaming, Tech, Design
by Heather Staker, Nicole Lazzaro and Scott Stropkay
Gaming, mentorship, increasing connection, and design thinking converge in a world of constant change -- and invite us to imagine a future of learning that is as powerful as it is optimistic. By exploring play, innovation, and the cultivation of the imagination as cornerstones of learning, we can create a vision that is achievable, scalable and one that grows along with the technology that fosters it and the people who engage with it.
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Barry Diller Interview: State of the Content Industry 2012
by Barry Diller and Ali Velshi
At the 2011 SXSW Interactive Festival, veteran IAC Chairman and media mogul Barry Diller implored the online community to rise up against proposed net neutrality legislation, in support of digital freedom and innovation. Join us one year later, on Sunday, March 11, to hear his latest insights on the current online content landscape, as well as his thoughts on where digital creatives should be focusing their passions in an insightful informative and savvy hour-long conversation with CNN Chief Business Correspondent Ali Velshi.
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Big Data for Everyman: Help Liberate the Data Serf
by Erik Swan and Michael Wilde
WTF is Big Data & Why Should I Care?Love that smartphone? Navigate with your GPS? Tweeting about this session? Everything other than brushing your teeth has is generating data. Every action we do generates data & a record of that action. According to a recent study by McKinsey, 15 out of 17 industry sectors in the US have more data stored per company than the Library of Congress. The sheer volume of data, driven by new devices & disparate data sources, requires a shift in how to capture & analyze information. If you could mine data generated by your audience, what questions might you ask? Improving your perspective on what users are doing or how they're interacting with you can yield some amazing returns. Analyzing big data can be as easy as surfing the web. We'll show some cool ways to ask questions, in realtime, to some fun data sources & get amazing answers. See how to turn data into information, information to knowledge & knowledge to action.
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Can a Social Web of Things Keep TV Cords Connected
by Alison Moore, Rhonda Lowry, Gilles BianRosa and Jack Flanagan
It's 2015 and over half of the devices in your home are connected to the Internet. On the drive home you consider taking a longer route, but when you ask for directions the GPS system reminds you that you need to get home soon - you have a viewing party.
The television recognizes you when you walk in the door and suggests that you pour a glass of wine since everyone else is online and waiting for you to join the Game of Thrones premier party. In response, the wine cooler switches on, illuminating the last bottle of red - a 2007 Scarecrow. You cringe but open it anyway.
Your HBO app automatically loads a summary of last season's characters since you still seem to have them confused, and then asks if you’d like to join the group video chat. “Go ahead”, you say, “I will catch up as we go.”
Join Rhonda and Allison as they think aloud about the future of media immersed in a world where everything is connected, and television becomes something that you live instead of just watch.
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Client-Side Templating in jQuery
by Fritz Onion
This session will review the options available today and in the future for client-side templating in jQuery. We will show the libraries available today, including jQuery Templates, knockout.js, and JsRender/JsViews.The past year has been rather tumultuous in the jQuery Templating space. Before the jQuery Templates plug-in even had a chance to come out of beta, the project was terminated in favor of newer templating libraries currently under development. However, even though it is still unclear which templating library is the best to use, the concept of client-side templating is too important to ignore or put off using. This talk will review the various options Web developers have today for performing client-side templating, and will present guidance on what to look for in the coming year as newer libraries are released.
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Community First: Lessons for Early-Stage Startups
by Chrysanthe Tenentes, David Noël, Ligaya Tichy and Diana Kimball
Tech startups have long known that a strong community will amplify a company’s successes, bolster growth, and make work worth waking up for. Today's unstoppable startups understand that putting community first means putting community management first. And yet, the field of online community management is still in its early days, and we haven’t stopped figuring it out as we go along. Through case studies and never-before-told stories of three veteran community managers from SoundCloud, Foursquare, and Airbnb, we’ll reveal what it takes to build a community to last.
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