SXSW Interactive Day One: 11th March

Speaker from: -

Location: Austin Convention Center 

Time: 2:00pm

Vote on:

- Rebooting Iceland: Crowdsourcing Innovation in Uncertain Times

In the US, social media innovators are changing the way people work and play. In Iceland, these innovators may offer the best hope of rescuing an entire nation. Iceland emerged in the 1990s as a financial powerhouse after a thousand years on the sidelines of global history. Icelanders became one of the world’s wealthiest and happiest nations. In 2008, three of its banks collapsed, sending the national economy into a tailspin and shattering the people’s trust in government and industry. The government was quickly replaced by one promising transparency and reforms, while a protest party headed by a comedian took control of the Reykjavik city council. This new cast of politicians is not alone in their efforts to move Iceland out from under the economic cloud. Members of the country's tech and entrepreneurial sector, which saw explosive growth in the lead-up to the collapse, have emerged as leaders in grassroots efforts to set Iceland on a sustainable path. In 2009, a loosely-organized group calling themselves the Anthill convened a “National Assembly” of 1,500 citizens. The day-long event, based on Agile methods and crowdsourcing theory, resulted in a coherent set of values, vision and ideas. A second National Assembly was held in 2010 as a preparatory step in the development of a new national constiution. Inspired by open-source processes and leaning heavily on social media technologies, these citizens are rapidly prototyping new forms of democracy utilizing the web and open innovation.

- Fireside Chat: Tim O'Reilly Interviewed by Jason Calacanis

In this intimate fireside chat, Calacanis interviews his personal publishing and pundit hero, Tim O'Reilly, about Tim O'Reilly. Typically Tim's the moderator or discussing a theory, but Tim's never discussed how he built O'Reilly, the Web 2.0 conference and himself, into the most respected technology publisher on the planet. Calacanis hopes to tease out the secrets of Tim's success, and how year-after-year, and decade-after-decade, he remains relevant and engaged. This panel is a first and a must for publishers, technologies, brand builders and thinkers.

- Programming and Minimalism: Lessons from Orwell & The Clash

Programming is writing. A programmer's job is to express abstract ideas in a specific language - just like the poet, the essayist, and the composer. But while writers and composers spend years improving their style, many programmers think style stops with "two-space indentation". This needs to change. This presentation will discuss style in music, writing, and software. We'll look at such diverse sources as George Orwell, Mozart, and punk music, and will find that much of art revolves around complexity and minimalism - just like software. Finally, we'll look at specific patterns and tools for writing software that is not just effective and efficient, but stylistically beautiful.

- How Not to Design Like a Developer

Open source projects, in particular, have long skimped on presentation and packaging (basically, they are the equivalent of "she has a great personality!" in the world of blind dating). This talk is on how designer (graphic, UI & UX, all deft ninjas of the visual and editorial) organize and contribute their visual hacks to open source projects, working in tandem with engineers. Specifically, we'll look at how designers can get involved with Mozilla's Creative Collective, as well as how developers can leverage some of lessons learned by Mozilla's workflow and community-organizing techniques to foster their own design communities and inspire individuals to contribute to other open source projects of all sizes. People who have contributed to or are working on an open source project, do so in an effort to create and distribute free software (free as in “free speech” v. free as in “drinks on me tonight!”*). This is a great opportunity to get involved with a team and movement (or start your own) that making a better and more awesome internet. As a bonus, contributing to open source is also a great way to enhance your portfolio, discover the brightest people, and create career-inspiring opportunities for yourself and your peers.

- Do agencies need to think like software companies?

Speaker from: Barbarian Group, Google, Tribal DDB

Location: Austin Convention Center Ballroom F

Time: 3:30pm

Description: 
Now that digital and mobile is a component of any innovative ad campaign, the question arises: How much do marketers need to know about technology? The truth is, advertisers and brand marketers are entering a brave new world -- one where code is on par with content. The 21st-century ad isn't something to be looked at, it's something to be used. Our reliance on mobile tools, such as apps, position them as the perfect vehicles for brands. "Consumers" are now "users." So are "marketers" now "developers"? Enter the hybrid marketer. More and more agencies are finding they need to educate and cultivate a new breed of people who understand tech from a marketing and brand perspective, and who have a consumer mindset. These creative technologists also lend a software company vibe around an agency. But should agencies really try this stuff at home? Should they be worrying about, say, the video capability of the latest iPhone? Or just stick to their core competencies and work with real software companies and development shops to realize their ideas? This panel will look at this new staffing paradigm and debate what the agency of the future should look like.

- Block Party Capitalism: Where Analog and Digital Intersect

Speaker from: -

Location: Austin Convention Center Ballroom F

Time: 5:00pm

Description:

What do pickles; vinyl records, urban chickens, Farmville, flea markets and Tumblr have in common? They are all part of 'block party capitalism,' built on the idea that old-fashioned values like provenance, commitment, quality and authenticity are finding renewed commercial and social relevance through new technologies. This next evolution of our digital world is where off and online intersect to make everyday life more economical, meaningful and pleasant. A pickle merchant in Brooklyn starts on a skateboard and through bloggers and hard work grows into a sustainable business. Vinyl records in San Francisco flourish as people showcase their passion for better sound and feel on Tumblr's Vinyl Sunday's. Backyard chicken farmers in Dallas suburbs multiply through an online community to share tips on raising coops, while flea markets across the U.S. grow into modern day malls driven in large part by the viral loops of mobile media. This panel includes start up founders, large companies and local entrepreneurs who work at the intersection of this analog and digital movement. They will help us explore how it’s changing the way we buy, sell and live.

Events after 6:
- The Mix at Six presented by SapientNitro
- Ignite SXSW - 2021 Vision of the Future
- Kick off Party at SXSW 2011 – Hosted by TechSet
- AMODA Digital Showcase