10 things I want to see on the SECOND day of SXSWi
Posted by drocolate on March 2nd, 2010
Let’s dig into day two!
Just as a bit of a refresher to those of you who are just now jumping in: Every day this week I’ll be listing ten things that I think sound like can’t-miss events from a specific day at SXSWi. Unfortunately a lot of my selected events actually overlap in the schedule (12:30 on this day is absurd) so I won’t be able to attend them all (unless my clone arrives before then), but I wanted to give them some love regardless. In some cases I even reached out to one of the people who put the panel or core conversation together to get some of their feedback on what to expect.
If you’d like to check out what I had to say about day one, go HERE.
YES! Let’s keep this going.
Drocolate’s 10 things for Saturday, March 13th
Oh, and just like yesterday — despite being numbered, these are presented in no order of importance. I’m judging most of them based solely on a blurb on the SXSW website’s schedule maker, so it really wouldn’t be cool for me to start ranking them. Yet.
Ok, let’s do it.
1. Citizen Journalism Brigade – Making Your Voice Matter
11:00am/Hilton J/Rondo Estrello, Colin Alsheimer
The future of Journalism lies in your hands. Citizen journalists from coast to coast are launching websites so THEY can write about their interests. But does it work? Can you make money? Where is it going and will it be around in a few years? These questions, and more will be answered during SXSW 2010!
This core conversation will be the single greatest and best thing at the entire SXSWi festival. It will be so informative and insightful and fun and tweetable and sexy. Just thinking about it gives me chills.
I’m kidding. Kind of. As any followers of this blog know by now, this is our big SXSW moment. Our very own rondostar and Colin from Five O’Clock Dallas will be leading an hour-long conversation about all things citizen journalism. Where the talk goes is totally up to you guys, so come armed with any questions you have about the topic.
And if you’re looking for some sort of a jumping-off point, just think about this seemingly simple question:
What is citizen journalism?
Ponder that and we’ll see you there.
2. Shameless Self Promotion Without Looking Like an @#$%^&!
12:30pm/Hilton E/Twanna Hines, Patrick O’keefe
Too often, individuals and businesses take advantage of someone else’s turf and excuse it as “shameless self promotion.” It’s not acceptable and it can lead to you being labeled a spammer or worse. In this panel, we’ll tell you how to promote yourself without turning others off.
Uhhhh… after my writeup of event #1 this is kind of awkward.
I don’t think I look like a “@#$%^&”, but I’ll probably be attending this core conversation just to make sure.
In all seriousness though, this one sounds awesome. We here at ITE constantly struggle with how much self promotion (or as we lovingly call it: whoring) is too much. Maybe this convo can help us find a sweet, sweet balance.
3. Crowdsourcing: The Ensemble’s Experience With the Netflix Prize
12:30pm/Austin Convention Center Ballroom A/Greg McAlpin
Over 5,100 teams of scientists and engineers worked for almost three years to find a solution to the $1,000,000 Netflix Prize. How did the top two teams meet the challenge? Why did so many teams fail? A member of the leading team shares the inside story on crowdsourcing technical challenges.
SCIENCE! NETFLIX! TECHNICAL STUFF! SOURCING!
If you don’t know anything about the Netflix prize program, then I really recommend you check this one out. And if you do know about it, I still recommend stopping by to hear how it all shook out. On the surface it may sound kind of stale, but there’s really something awesome about seeing science go from start to million-dollar finish.
Plus, Netflix is awesome.
4. RIP Jeff Goldblum: Truth vs. Web BS
Hoaxes, rumors, and misleading stories thrive in a real-time multi-sourced online environment. How do you suss out newsy signals from uninformed, promotional, or ill-intentioned noise? Learn the best ways to cast a critical eye on your media consumption and how to quickly recognize and share only the authentic.
So timely. It seems like every week I log onto Twitter and see that a new celebrity has died. I think that Justin Bieber kid has died 30 or 40 times now. This session is going to look at the celeb death hoax fad from the blogger’s perspective, which is rad because you really want to be sure before you launch www.imsofuckingsorryyoudiedjustinbieber.com.
This one should be fun. And, like Netflix, Jeff Goldblum is awesome. Brundlefly FTW!
5. Is WordPress Killing Web Design
Is WordPress killing web design? Leading creatives from the world of web design debate whether CMS tools have made designers lazy, and created a new set of design conventions that designers feel obliged to follow.
I’m a big fan of Wordpress, but a lot of my love for it comes from the fact that I’m a writer with an extremely limited design background (I know how to clone stamp and magnetic lasso… and that’s about it). I think it’ll be interesting to hear the back and forth as Wordpress lovers (some of whom are bound to be more competent designers than me) and haters argue over what the content management system is doing to the overall world of design.
I’m assuming a fist fight will break out at some point, and honestly if that’s not worth an hour of your day I don’t know what is.
6. Celebrity, Microcelebrity, and the Future of Internet Fame
Today, anyone can build a persona and an audience using social media. Simultaneously, traditionally famous people are reaching out directly to fans, without managers or agents. Celebrity is something we do, not something we are. What’s prompted this change? What are its implications? And what’s the future of “internet fame”?
Last year I enjoyed some Internet fame in the world of rabid, Creed-loving, homophobic, super-Americans. Of course I was more infamous than famous but the entire experience still left a lasting impression on me. The things we write or tweet or upload can be accessed by so many these days that people can really become famous for anything, which is equal parts awesome and pathetic.
Yeah, this one will be interesting.
7. Citizen Journalism and the Little NGO that Could.
12:30pm/Hilton J/Amanda Koster, Amanda Rose
See what happens when citizen journalists (you) team up with International NGOs (non-government organizations), create and share media projects with their online and offline communities. We will present projects created by travelers from our India and Vietnam trips, what they did with their content and what happened next.
Another citizen journalism convo? Really? Hell yeah, really! Citizen Journalism is a huge topic so I’m glad there’s more than one session pertaining to it. The more the merrier!
To better explain this particular CJ core conversation, I reached out to its organizer, Amanda Koster.
4 Questions with Amanda Koster
1. Why should I attend your core conversation at SXSW?
“One example. Compare the velocity of media and societies response of Katrina to Haiti.
Listen to THIS.
Let’s see how far can we take this.”
2. What makes you the right person to be conducting this convo?
“I’m an outsider. I’m not from the tech arena. When I presented at Gnomedex in 2008, I did not have an iPhone, Twitter account nor did Facebook make much sense to me. I thought FB was innovative online dating. Since then I have been able to harness storytelling, social media and passion all for social change. If I can do that, anyone can.
The passion to tell a story is the jet fuel behind citizen journalism. And it has been passion, not assignments, that got me here right now. I’ve been working as a photojournalist, writer, author for about 15 years though it has been my personal projects, again not assignments, that propelled my career and life beyond where I ever thought it could go.
Citizen journalism is more powerful than it could have ever been imagined and this is growing. The pendulum is swinging far to the left, and is still swinging.
Because I believe in these things makes me the perfect person (and Amanda Rose of Twestival) to lead this conversation.”
3. What advice would you give to aspiring citizen journalists (other than attending your convo at SXSW, of course)?
“Your personal stories and perspectives are more valuable than ever. Make GOOD content and get it out to a relevant audience. And, there’s more to it than that:
Have a plan. SalaamGarage builds relationships/projects/plans with NGOs far in advance. We do not advocate what I call ‘drive-by-shootings’ (just showing up, shooting photos, then jet).
Be authentic. We want intimacy. I think people are tired of the slick, heavily produced story. We see through it. With the wildfire of social media and intentionally constructed social communities, impersonal, glossy stories delivered by a generic, safe personality is rapidly losing ground.
Be relevant. Not worth telling a story about t-shirts to a dog trainer. Even if it’s the most compelling t-shirt story ever. Be relevant and focused.
Know your audience. Tell them a story 1) you care about and 2) they want to hear.
Care. There are ‘hot’ stories to tell, but you outta care about it. I travel all over the world all the time with SalaamGarage and as a freelance journalist. There are stories that resonate with me, and others that just don’t. The advantage of being a citizen journalist is that you get to choose your story, versus being assigned something that is not dear to you.
DO SOMETHING with it. Share. Everyone is sitting on a novel, but if a tree falls in the woods… I’ll leave it at that.
I am very passionate about this and have a lot more (not big on advice) ideas around this topic, though, this is the topic of our conversation so come join the conversation.”
4. Where is your dream location to take a citizen journalism project? Antarctica? Atlantis? Detroit? Where?
“The White House.”
–
Thanks, Amanda! Your answer to that third question is inspiring stuff. Everyone go and check this one out. Do it!
8. Does My Sh*t-Talking Really Help Your Brand?
5:00pm/Hilton D/Ivan Askwith, Amber Case, Emily Yellin, Michael Monello, Sam Ford
We’ve heard that ”all press is good press.” But during SXSW 2009, several panels provoked heated audience debates over a new variation: is social marketing successful if people talk about it? Controversial campaigns such as Whopper Sacrifice warrant a discussion about what really makes social media successful… and what doesn’t.
I know this may come as a shock to some of you, but i really enjoy talking shit. So, with that in mind, this panel really pops out to me. The idea that the days of “all press is good press” could be coming to an end is really intriguing to me, both as a consumer and as a shit-talker.
9. Playing with Place: Location-Based Games and Services
Location based games and services are finally ready to go mainstream. This panel of professionals explores how to creatively craft the experiences and business models for different types of places like backyards, cities, towns, suburbs, exurbs, hiking trails, parks, and deserts.
Hold on one second.
I need to check in from my desk in my bedroom in my apartment in my complex in my city in my state. I’m super close to getting the “stalking myself” badge.
All joking aside, location-based stuff (for lack of a better word) is sweeping the nation. Foursquare and Gowalla come to mind first but it’s so much more than that. I recommend checking out this panel, or at least checking into it from foursquare. I wanna be the mayor!
10. How To Make A Living As A Blogger
11:00am/Austin Convention Center 19B/Brian Fairbanks, Colleen Kane
We keep hearing that bloggers, with their successful followings, web ads, and endless heaps of publicity, still don’t make much more than a paper delivery route. Then there’s the other 99%, with budding blogs, trying to go from $50 a month to at least something in the four-figures/month. This panel will help push people in the right direction.
Do I really need to explain the appeal of this one? This is the Holy Grail of bloggerdom. The ability to live off of your blog, off of this thing you’ve created and love, is the dream. Hopefully this session will help show us all how to make that dream a reality.
Yes.
–
There it is. Day two is a wrap. Tune in tomorrow for my unfortunately-interviewless day three coverage.
Tags: citizen journalism, SXSW, SXSWi
[...] you’d like to check out what I had to say about day one, go HERE. And go HERE for day [...]
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[...] DAY TWO [...]
Thank you for your interest in the “Shameless Self Promotion” session.
I appreciate it.
Patrick