Session Spotlight
Interactive Session Spotlight: Book Reading Program
From Malcolm Gladwell to Gary Vaynerchuck, authors have always been a big part of the SXSW Interactive Festival. The SXSW Interactive Book Reading program showcases some of the most interesting new titles related to emerging media and gives select authors 20 minutes to talk about their new book.
One of the many stellar book readings we have scheduled for SXSW 2012 is, "HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything."
Film Conference Spotlight: “Beginners Guide to SXSW”
It's okay to be a little overwhelmed at all SXSW has to offer. If you're unsure how to get around Austin, where to find the best eats, or how to network like a pro then this is the panel for you.
At Beginner's Guide to SXSW, moderated by Austin Film Society's Agnes Varnum (pictured), veteran SXSW participants will be ready to answer all your questions in this fantastic how-to. Bring your questions and start your festival experience off right.
Interactive Session Spotlight: "Don't Just Sell Things: Change the World"
Join the panel "Don't Just Sell Things: Change the World" on Sunday, March 11th at the InterContinental Stephen F Austin. Is earning a profit for profit's sake is becoming dangerously irresponsible? Hosted by Matthew Bishop from The Economist, this panel will explore the intersection of ethics and economics, and look at why driving for social good has become the guiding principle for the world's leading innovators. Click here for the full panel schedule for the 2012 SXSW Interactive Festival.
Startup Village Showcases: DreamIt Ventures
The Startup Village programming at the Downtown Hilton (Friday, March 9 through Tuesday, March 13) is open to all SXSW Interactive, Gold, and Platinum badge-holders. Industry leaders, technology innovators, investors, startups are some of the individuals who would benefit from participating in the SXSW Startup Village events; including programming hosted by DreamIt Ventures. The goal at DreamIt is simple: Help great people build great companies. DreamIt is designed to catapult early stage ventures forward by providing startups all the resources they need to succeed in a compressed period of time.
Interactive Session Spotlight: "Design from the Gut: Dangerous or Differentiator?"
"Go with your gut" is sound advice. And while our intuition is very often correct, how does one appropriately design with his or her instinct in a data-soaked world full of analytics, user research and strict parameters like the bottom line? Join panelists Phil Coffman (Element), William Couch (Twitter), Naz Hamid (Weightshift), Laurel Hechanova (Apocalypse OK) and Jane Leibrock (Facebook) as they share past experiences and weigh in on the topic. "Design from the Gut: Dangerous or Differentiator?" is scheduled for 3:30pm on Friday, March 9 in Ballroom BC of the Austin Convention Center.
Interactive Session Spotlight: "Net Smarts: Essential Skills for Thriving Online"
Consider the impact of modern media's distortion of information with Howard Rheingold at his session on Monday, March 12 at 11:00 am at the Austin Convention Center. Learn what is necessary to improve the accuracy of online information and how to view online information more effectively. Click here for the full panel schedule for the 2012 SXSW Interactive Festival.
Film Conference Spotlight: “Filmmakers Guide to Capitol Hill Politics”
We live in a time of political turmoil. Now more than ever filmmakers have an opportunity to impact public policies and laws with a compelling story, but the world of politics can be tricky to navigate.
Join a bipartisan panel of high powered Congressional staffers in Filmmakers Guide to Capitol Hill Politics for a behind the scenes look at how laws and policies are made in Washington, how to connect with the right people and how to position your film for maximum political impact. The session will be moderated by Jody Arlington (pictured) of Impact Arts + Film Fund.
SXSW Interactive Session Spotlight: A Carlin Home Companion
Comedy Showcases have long been a fixture of the SXSW Music Festival. In 2011 they became a popular feature of the Film and Interactive Festival evening lineups as well. Now in 2012, comedy programming makes its appearance in SXSW's daytime offerings with daily events on the Next Stage in the SXSW Trade Show, and SXSW Interactive Festival sessions in the Convergence Theme at the Austin Convention Center.
SXSW Session Spotlight: The Positive Power of Sports
When people think about how sports can improve your position in life, most people think about the rags-to-riches stories of poor kids growing up to be famous professional athletes. But what if there's more to it? What if sports can simply help you improve your quality of life, without ever making it to the pros? That's the idea of the SXSW Interactive session "The Positive Power of Sports." This presentation will occur on Sunday, March 11 in the Driskill Ballroom at the Driskill Hotel. This panel will feature RC Buford of the San Antonio Spurs, filmmaker Anne Buford and Brendan Tuohey of PeacePlayers International.
Interactive Session Spotlight: What's 'The Next Big Thing' in Social Networking?
Hyperlocal has been a hot topic at SXSW Interactive and this year is no different. And chances are, if you're coming to SXSW Interactive, you are coming to meet new people around you (and of course, attend cool panels). If you're interested in learning about the future of location-based social networking, check out the session, "What's 'The Next Big Thing' in Social Networking" by Founder and CEO of Blendr/Grindr, Joel Simkhai. As the leading all-male mobile location-based social network in the world, Grindr has created a global brand that in the past two years has amassed a user base of over 3 million users in 192 countries. The Grindr teams hope to evolve this mobile GPS experience with Blendr–a new location-based mobile app for everyone in the world that lets you discover, meet, and interact with the people around you.
