Sessions at SXSW Interactive 2012 about Big Data and Privacy

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Friday 9th March 2012

• The Cloud as Skynet: Conquering Digital Overload

  by Steve Rosenbaum

  Everybody talks about the “cloud” as if it is a digital savior. A beautiful white fluffy (free) cloud on a blue-sky day. Sounds nice, huh? But what if it’s a storm cloud? Today – there is a mad rush to move pictures, video, and event private data to the cloud. We live in a world today of constant connection. We’re blessed with unlimited access to pervasive communications. We are, in fact, shifting from an era of mere content abundance to an avalanche of undifferentiated data. Our hard drives runneth over. So - you can't blame your self for wanting to move to the cloud. Unlimited space for all your crap - and free. Who wouldn't sign up? Today the noisy web has resulted in the emergence of a handful of private, walled garden webs. A closed web. Will our cloud providers become information overloads? Can we save the web from privatization, and regain control over our data and our identities? Only if we move fast. Before ‘Big Data’ becomes ‘Big Government.’ Find out how digital ‘overload’ can insure power in the human web.

  • Big Data
  • Cloud
  • Privacy

  At 2:00pm to 3:00pm, Friday 9th March

  In Ballroom EF, Austin Convention Center

  Coverage sketch note audio clip

Sunday 11th March 2012

• Big Data: Privacy Threat or Business Model?

  by Declan Mccullagh, Molly Wood, Will DeVries, Jay Stanley and Lillie Coney

  Technological innovation has dramatically increased the types andvolume of personal information created and captured. Social networks,mobile devices, thermostats, cars, even kitchen appliances collect andaggregate data from and about users. Personal data is among the mostvaluable assets for the current crop of tech startups. On the darkside, consumers have very little conception of the amount of data theyare creating and sharing and little appreciation of the potential risksand harms. On the bright side, data-based innovation can lead to newproducts, more efficiency, and lower costs. How can we protectourselves, without overreacting, in the age of data abundance? Can wetrust in the market to deliver the appropriate controls and usereducation, or do we need regulatory intervention? This session is sponsored by CNET / CBS Interactive.

  • Big Data
  • Privacy

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

  In Longhorn, Omni Downtown

  Coverage audio clip

Tuesday 13th March 2012

• How the Wallet Was Won: The End of Paper Receipts

  by Colleen Taylor, David Barrett, Jae Kim and Scott Brady

  Our wallets are one of the last remaining bastions of a pre-digital lifestyle, relics of an era of payment that has since come and gone.

  Coupons are now Groupons, rewards cards are digitally stored on our smartphones and Square wants to power all our payments. With all these new ways to slim down and streamline our wallets, why are we still getting a paper receipt every time we check out at the grocery store? With so much progress, why are men still sporting the infamous Costanza bulge and women toting around pocketbooks that look like small filing cabinets? As more commerce shifts from offline to online, and even offline retailers are experimenting with digital marketing & transactions, the Costanza wallet is due for a makeover.

  What are the brands and startups that are changing how we think about receipts? What will the implications of Big Data and privacy be in this transition? And what systems will ultimately come to define how we all chronicle our shopping experiences moving forward?

  Our wallets have been ceding themselves over to the digital age for quite some time now. It’s about time we took that final leap and made the upgrade to Wallet 2.0.

  • Big Data
  • Digital
  • Mobile Wallet
  • Money
  • Payments
  • Privacy
  • Receipts

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

  In Rio Grande, Hilton Garden Inn Austin Downtown