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  • Posted by Jason Hensel at
    12:00AM 02/13/2013 • 0 Comments

    Discover Great Tech Apps at SXSW Interactive

    SXSW Interactive is one of the world's best conferences, and you should make plans to attend it at least once in your lifetime. I've been a couple of times and came home with new event ideas and connections—innovative seating and participation structures, captivating speakers, and technology advancements, just to name a few.  

    Considering technology, conference organizers recently named the SXSW 2013 Accelerator finalists. SXSW Accelerator takes place in front of a live audience and a panel of expert judges. Forty-eight companies will present March 11 the latest advancements in social media, mobile, and Web technologies. The group will then whittle down to 18 companies on March 12, with winners announced at the end of the day.

    Some of the finalists look interesting from a meeting profession point of view:

    Plotter
    Cleveland, OH
    plotterapp.com
    Plotter is the first social network for maps. Not only does it bring much needed features to mobile maps like viewing multiple plotted locations at once, it lets you crowd source and discover maps from friends and experts. Finally, a map app that does more than search and directions.

    Present.me
    London, UK
    present.me
    Think YouTube meets Slideshare. Whether it's a conference presentation, pitching for business, updating your team, setting assignments for students or applying for a job, Present.me allows you to record and share your ideas, knowledge or messages online, simply and cost effectively.

    Charlie
    Northbrook, IL
    charliehq.com
    Charlie preps you on people before you see them. With access to your calendar Charlie knows who you are going to meet and before a meeting Charlie filters through the web to present you with any commonalties between you and your connection, breaking news on their company and social updates.

    Sprezzat
    Brooklyn, NY
    sprezzat.com
    Sprezzat, helps users customize their incoming call screen by streaming dynamic content from their favorite applications. Our flagship application Thread, is an innovative caller-ID and contact management application. Users personalize their incoming call screen and address book with a consolidated view of the caller's recent communications and social network updates.

    Check out the SXSW Interactive Accelerator page for finalists, and please let us know in the comments which ones you're excited about (or if you're attending SXSW Interactive).



  • Posted by Michael Pinchera at
    12:00AM 05/01/2012 • 0 Comments

    SXSW Eco 2012 Announced

    Following an overwhelmingly positive inaugural endeavor, SXSW Eco dates have been announced for 2012, so book for flights to Austin for Oct. 3-5.

    I met many unparalleled sources for eco-smarts and innovativeness at SXSW Eco 2011--check out this month's One+ feature on Employee Engagement and Sustainability to hear from some of them (story will be live online later this week).

    So back to this year's SXSW Eco. Only one keynote speaker has been announced (director Annie Leonard), but considering how the event was pulled off last year, I'm not concerned about their speaker quality.

    Now, about curating the event...that's your task:

    Programming proposals are now being accepted through the popular PanelPicker interface, an innovative online tool that allows the SXSW Eco community to have a significant voice in programming the upcoming conference activities. PanelPicker is a two-step online system. Step one encourages the community to submit proposals for programming through the online interface. Submissions will be accepted from May 1 - June 1. Step two allows the community to browse all of the ideas and rate which of the proposals will best fit the October event. Voting will begin on June. 11. The major themes for SXSW Eco 2012 will be "Replicating Success: Solutions that Scale;" "The Social Sphere: Activating Cultures and Institutions;" "Engineering Advancement: Technology and Design;" "People, Planet, Profit: Economies that Work;" and "A Better Future: Vision and Opportunity."



  • Posted by Michael Pinchera at
    12:00AM 10/06/2011 • 0 Comments

    Incentives Stay Strong

    Performance-based incentives remain a powerful tool for employers, according to a live poll taken at SXSW Eco—the inaugural sustainability-focused event currently residing at the Hilton Austin.

    During the session "Trends and Strategies: Employee Engagement and Sustainability," hundreds of attendees participated in a poll, devised by panelist Jim Walker, director of sustainability at the University of Texas at Austin, using polleverywhere.com, which sought to identify the top two trends that influence employee engagement. Attendees responded via smartphone or laptop with text messages and Twitter.

    The figures, fluctuating as votes were cast, stabilized to reveal a valuable conclusion. The following results showed the top trends influencing employee engagement.

    • 24 percent employee-driven initiatives
    • 21 percent performance-based incentives
    • 15 percent digital tools
    • 15 percent social recognition
    • 13 percent face-to-face interaction
    • 9 percent talent demands it
    • 3 percent other

    Earlier, another poll during the same session showed how employee engagement is driven at attendees' companies.

    • 40 percent top-down
    • 36 percent employee-driven
    • 9 percent digital
    • 8 percent face-to-face
    • 7 percent other

    This impressive session included a wealth of insightful panelists in addition to Walker: Andrew Bryson, vice president of Saatchi & Saatchi S; Lee Matecko, global vice president of store development for Whole Foods Market; Erin Meezan, vice president of sustainability for Interface Inc.; and Tim Mohin, director of corporate responsibility for AMD.



  • Posted by Jason Hensel at
    12:00AM 03/17/2011 • 0 Comments

    SXSWi: Chris Brogan is the Champ

    PeopleBroswr crowns Chris Brogan champion of champions this year for SXSW, a conference he didn't even attend.  

    "Chris has the highest number of followers who are interested in SXSW," Jodee Rich wrote on the O'Reilly Radar. "His followers are having conversations about SXSW and often tweet SXSW mentions and news. Chris is an influencer for SXSW because he has a high number of engaged connections who are interested in this topic. He is a brand champion for SXSW because of his potential influence in the SXSW interest-based community."

    SXSW influential individuals year after year

    PeopleBroswr conducted a human sentiment analysis for further insights into upcoming One+ columnist Brogan's influence. 

    "Chris' tweets mainly focus on awareness and capturing attention, reviewing emerging tech and startups, and big picture ideas," Rich wrote. "Chris is a positive tweeter—even his negative comments have a nice tone."

    PeopleBroswr also created brand champion scorecards. 

    Please read the full story on the O'Reilly Radar for more charts and discussion of other SXSW 2011 influencers. 



  • Posted by Jason Hensel at
    12:00AM 03/15/2011 • 0 Comments

    SXSWi: Observations

    Here are a few final observations (some random, some from notes) about SXSW Interactive 2011. No theme, just thoughts.

    • TOMS shoes everywhere. Is that because founder Blake Myscoskie was speaking (he was excellent, by the way) or because this is Austin, Texas? I'm leaning more toward because it's Austin.
    • The trade show is not dead. At least not in this industry. And there's a block party on the trade show floor where a lot exhibitors offer free food and adult beverages. 
    • I'm going to say it again, if you don't like standing in lines, don't attend SXSW. 
    • That said, lines are the best networking opportunities available at SXSW.
    • I thought all the pedicab operators would have enormous thighs. No, they're just normal thighs. 
    • Don't worry about not getting into a session because it has reached capacity. Just go to another one close by. I bet you'll learn something you didn't know you wanted to learn or discover a great speaker.
    • Core conversations are more fun and informative than panels. 
    • Lanyrd.com, look it up. Use it. 
    • Electrical outlets may just be more popular than free beer. Oh, what am I saying? Let the phone die, free beer!
    • I really need to buy a portable phone charger.
    • Speaking of freebies--it's possible to attend and not pay for any food or drinks while here. Just one more perk to throw on the ROI pile for your boss.
    • I feel inadequate, because I don't have a start-up. 
    • Content strategy is a hot topic. It's also a life cycle. It's also not a business asset. 
    • I met more Australians here than native Texans. 
    • Bloggers are the return of the repressed.
    • Anthony Jeselnik is a funny comedian. 
    • "You should never do a good job at a job you don't want to do." -- Malcolm Gladwell (not here; quoted during a session)
    • You should hired based on a mindset and not a skill set.
    • How to be a Badass Online was one of the best 15-minute sessions. One attendee said it alone was worth the US$750 registration fee.
    • "The role of events is to sometimes bestow status on a person or an idea." -- Tim O'Reilly
    • Love will go a long way to ensuring a conference is successful. 


  • Posted by Jason Hensel at
    12:00AM 03/15/2011 • 0 Comments

    SXSWi: South By Bingo

    The Dallas Observer created some bingo cards for SXSW. Below is the one specifically for Interactive, though just by looking at it, you could apply the card to almost any conference. 



  • Posted by Jason Hensel at
    12:00AM 03/15/2011 • 0 Comments

    SXSWi: Humans are Back in Style

    It's the last day of SXSW Interactive, and over the last few days the most talked about subjects have been location and gaming and how those two intersect. But as actress and producer Felicia Day said during her keynote, social media is not a magic wand. No matter how much technology you use or gaming aspects you incorporate into your operation or business models, if you don't make an emotional connection with users, you're a lame horse out the gate. 

    It comes down to gut reactions, which is really an emotional action. Day said she went with her gut reactions when choosing co-workers on her film; Paul Reubens said he went with his gut when he decided to stick with the Pee Wee Herman character over 15 other characters he had worked on in his career. They both just knew that the right thing to do wasn't based in data or financial reports; it was based on feeling.

    And that's what this year's Interactive has really been about--getting back to the humanization of business. 

    It was brought up in one session that people are always connected by a shared object. For example, Flickr's shared object is photos. Facebook's shared object is status, and Foursquare's shared object is places. For SXSWi, the shared object is humans. I don't think it's never been about humans. This year, though, it's about them more than ever. It's a great reassurance that humanity will never go out of style no matter what types of technology emerge. 



  • Posted by Michael Pinchera at
    12:00AM 03/14/2011 • 0 Comments

    A Planner, Envy of SXSW

    The latest evidence that event planners love their gadgets: "Sweet" John Muehlbauer, an event planner for Austin, Texas-based Revolving Events, was the first person to buy the new iPad 2 at Apple's temporary SXSW shop (and he only waited 10 1/2 hours)! (via TechCrunch)


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    Tags: iPad SXSW



  • Posted by Jason Hensel at
    12:00AM 03/14/2011 • 0 Comments

    SXSWi: I am a Patient Boy

    One thing you should know about SXSWi is that there's a lot of waiting around. People wait to get into sessions, to see celebrity appearances, and of course, for coffee. I know I've mentioned this before, but it still amazes me that people have such patience. Maybe I'm amazed because I rarely display such patience.

    What's in store for the future in publishing and content strategy is a waiting game, too. That's not to say people don't make plans, but over and over I've been in core conversations where more than once attendees have said phrases such as, "We don't know exactly what's going to happen. We're just going to keep doing what we do and wait it out." 

    Core conversations here are more about asking questions than definitive answers. Concerning content strategy, though, the important thing is value, that strategy should show how valuable an organization's business assets are. 

    Christopher "moot" Poole, founder of 4chan.org, talked about content yesterday. He said that the primary reason 4chan is so popular is because it values content over creator, that people are judged by what they create rather than who they are. 

    That philosophy falls in line with another point made at a session, in that there needs to be a less hierarchic system in content strategy. There, in fact, need to be communities and teams working together across the company. That way, it's not one person shouldering the blame or praise; it's a group effort. 

    Now, I'm off to get in another line for another session.



  • Posted by Jason Hensel at
    12:00AM 03/12/2011 • 0 Comments

    SXSWi: Hallway Inspiration

    I overheard a conversation where one person said that SXSW now makes more money on the Interactive portion than the Music event. That doesn't surprise me. I mean, it's right there in the name--Interactive. People are excited about meeting up with old friends, making new business deals or waiting in 30-minute lines for ice cream cookies. And waiting in the line means you meet more people. It's inspiring to be around such excitement. 

    In the "Conference Startups" session, attendees stressed over and over that they want to be inspired by experts. Nowadays, the definition of an expert is blurring, so people don't necessarily want to be talked at anymore. They want to engage. Panel discussions are on their death beds, and core conversations are the preferred path to success for conferences. 

    Another point attendees talked about at the session was the value of hallway meetings. In fact, most attendees find them more valuable than sessions themselves. And that's pretty evident here at SXSWi. With 30-minutes between sessions, people are given time to meet up and talk. 

    Or if they're hungry, find one of the several food trucks offering free food. And with that, I'm off to lunch. 

    NOTE: Click here to read our case study about the SXSW music festival.



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