SXSW® Interactive features five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders, the incredible new SXSW Trade Show and an unbeatable lineup of special programs showcasing the best new digital works, video games and innovative ideas the international community has to offer. An incubator of cutting-edge technologies, the SXSW Interactive Festival offers captivating keynote presentations, panel sessions, book readings, Salons and Core Conversations that provide hands-on training as well as big-picture analysis. In addition to the business opportunities at the Trade Show & Exhibition and the hands-on gaming fun at the ScreenBurn Arcade, SXSW Interactive provides an array of exciting evening events including the SXSW Interactive Awards Ceremony.
SapientNitro’s Opening Night Pre-Party at SXSW – Live Band/DJ
SapientNitro invites 2011 SXSW Interactive attendees to kick off their festival experience at the longest Mix at Six party ever. Our Carnival of Convergence will bring together the technologically mesmerizing with the freakishly entertaining. Another reason not to miss? The Pains of Being Pure at Heart will take the stage at 8:30, and starting at 10pm, DJ Spider will keep you dancing into the late, late night. Games, prizes, sideshows, appetizers … and open bar.
Friday, March 11th, 6:00 PM – 2:00 AM
Venue 222, 222 East 6th Street
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Thin is In. The Future ofDigital Wallets
Christina Nguyen White, SapientNitro
Friday, March 11th, 3:30 PM
Hilton (Salon J), 500 East 4th Street
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The growing hole in your back jeans pocket is getting a bit too personal. No need to swipe anymore. Just scan. When can we get rid of our wallets without losing the cash? We know mobile is here. Now learn how far we can take it. Digital wallets are within very close reach. With RFIDs, QR codes, and Big-Brother-like tracking, the technology is already in place. Checkout with your phone. Instantly grab coupons when you checkout. Scan your digital ticket at Friday’s ballgame. Digitally split the bill with your friends. The possibilities that we’ve always wished for are now within reach. Get a glimpse into how retailers are edging towards digital, understand the impact of how this will change the way we buy, and ultimately, as designers, understand how this will change the way we interact with our mobile phones.
Tag: #ThinIsIn
From this session: Live blog • Presentation deck
Designing Stuff Kids Will Use and Love Dan Willis – Panel Moderator, Consultant, Sapient Government Services
Saturday, March 12th, 9:30 AM
Austin Convention Center (Ballroom B), 500 E Cesar Chavez St
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PBS KIDS has been designing non-commercial websites and interactive games for kids for over 10 years. Making an interactive product that appeals, engages and is usable by a child is not as simple as using Comic Sans and replacing an “S” with a “Z”. Children’s abilities change rapidly and producers need to ensure that products are developmentally accessible. This session will focus on designing for two audiences: pre-readers (3-5) and readers (6-8), through four case-studies revealing how and why design choices were made based on experience, user testing and informed guesses.
Tag: #designingforkids
From this session: Audio recording (courtesy of SXSWi)
We Are Browncoats: Leveraging Fan Communities for CharitySteven Fisher, Big Damn Fan Films, Inc/SapientNitro
Saturday, March 12th, 11:00 AM
Hyatt (TX Ballroom 1), 208 Barton Springs Rd
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“One Film, Five Charities and No Sleep” is another great title for this panel discussing Browncoats: Redemption, the independent film based in the world of Firefly/Serenity created by Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible). The mission of the project is two-fold: create a new film making model and raise over $500,000 for five charities supported by the cast and creator of the original TV and movie. There is a desire for many to make films and for others to do charitable works. The creative team of the film project Browncoats: Redemption have found a way to leverage a passionate and dedicated community to call for volunteers, build a community, promote a film, and raise tons of money for charity. Over the last two years 160+ volunteers, many with film industry experience, have filled 200+ roles in different phases of the project. The thing that ties them all together is that they are fans of Firefly. They are Browncoats. The film’s creators will discuss the project along with how they leveraged online media distribution models and social media tools to build the community, recruit volunteers from all over the country to be a part of the production, and most important, grow the audience and momentum in preparation for the film’s release.
From this session: Audio recording (courtesy of SXSWi)
The Crisis of Trust in a Social Age: Issues and OpportunitiesGuy Gould-Davies & Kevin MacLean, SapientNitro
Saturday, March 12th, 12:30 PM
Hyatt (TX Ballroom 2-4), 208 Barton Springs Rd
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Culture is becoming ever more social as social media continues to explode. There’s been a casualty however. How much we trust other peoples’ opinions has massively dropped. We’ll examine the reasons it’s happened, dissect dimensions of trust and posit a way brands can be strategic and focused in how they earn back what’s been lost in this social age.
Tag: #quest4trust
From this session: Live blog • Presentation deck • Audio recording (courtesy of SXSWi)
All Grown-up:Brand Mascots in the Digital Age
Derek Fridman, SapientNitro & Emily Reid, IQ
Saturday, March 12th, 3:30 PM
Hilton (Salon E), 500 East 4th Street
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Why doesn’t Toucan Sam Twitter? Where’s the Pillsbury Doughboy to poke on my mobile phone? And which one of the Snuggle Bear Facebook pages is real? Join us for a pow-wow on how you take your brand characters out of the 1980′s TV commercials and place them in the social and interactive world. There’s no napping when your characters are in the digital age. We’ll talk about preparing your characters personality, environment and lingo for the demands of the “always-on” consumer. And what about the character’s of tomorrow? We’ll look at concept to completion, how a brand creates and introduces a new cast of characters ready for today’s digital stage and beyond. Similar to my grandmother who doesn’t understand these “crazy kids and their internets”, mascots need to take up residence in the digital world, make some friends, and tweet about their day.
Tag: #brandmascots
The Great Paywall Experiment: Evolving Digital Subscription ModelsDonald Chesnut, VP, SapientNitro
Saturday, March 12th, 5:00 PM
Sheraton (Capitol A-D), 701 East 11th St
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New devices, new experiences, and new ways for making money: the world of media and publishing is on fire. This panel will explore the rapid evolution of content subscription models that are bridging the worlds of offline and digital, presenting new models for customers to subscribe to content, and the opportunities to create new experiences based upon a more market-dynamic and mult-channel approach to subscriptions. All types of content are undergoing evolution as a result of the changing digital landscape: Magazines, newspapers, cable and broadcast tv stations, music… Each is experimenting with new ways to address the iPad, mobile, Web, iTV, and offline. Newer services like Zinio, HBO GO, MagHound, Hulu are part of the newer landscape, while longer-term players like Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal, Conde Nast, and Time Inc are continuing to evolve in their approach to content subscription and distribution. Looking at the landscape, who is innovating and leading the pack? What models are working better than others for both the content/media company AND the customer? How does the type of content change across distribution platform? And where do we think the concept of “subscriptions” is going? Intended for both experience designers or digital business innovators, this panel will bring together diverse leaders from the world of content, media, and publishing to share their thoughts on the emerging trends that are shaping the future of paid digital content.
Tag: #sxswpaywall
From this session: Live blog • Audio recording (courtesy of SXSWi)
Kiosks, Mobile and the Evolving Retail ExperienceHilding Anderson & FK Funderburke, SapientNitro
Monday, March 14th, 3:30 PM
Hilton (Salon C), 500 East 4th Street
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New opportunities for sophisticated in-store and digital interactive experiences are fundamentally changing the way retail stores connect with their customers. These changes – from interactive kiosks, sophisticated mobile devices, digital & interactive vending machines, and the wireless delivery of software – are creating opportunities for brands and marketers to connect and interact with their customers more richly. We will share how are clients are leveraging these tools, and our vision of where it is all going.
From this session: Presentation deck • Visual notes (courtesy of Ogilvy Notes)
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Dan Willis
