SXSW Interactive 2014: Insiders' Guide

SXSW Interactive 2014:
Insiders’ Guide

@MSLGROUPNA
@MSL_GROUP
#MSLSXSW

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On Our Team at SXSW....
Congratulations. You’re attending SXSW Interactive, one of the top communications trend events
in the world. We recognize what you get out of your investment in time and resources is directly
proportional to your investment in preparation. So, we asked some of our veteran SXSWi attendees
what they think.

Stephanie Agresta
Stephanie is Global Director of Social Media and Digital at MSLGROUP.
She is busy building the next-generation agency. She has been recognized
as both a thought leader and hands-on counselor in social and digital
media for 15 years. Stephanie is a veteran of SXSW and the founder of the
Social Media Lounge (a hub for digital influencers inside the ACC).

Troy Brown
Troy Brown is currently Senior Vice President at MSLGROUP in Atlanta where
he leads DSM (Digital/Social/Mobile) strategy. He is a much heralded new
media executive with demonstrated skills in creative DSM insights, strategy,
campaign development & execution, branded content development &
distribution, strategic marketing, and business development.

Marcy Massura
Marcy Massura leads the digital and social operations of MSLGROUP’s
West Coast region. She also serves as a member of the agency’s digital
executive team and is the Influence and Community lead for MSLGROUP
in North America.

Mark McClennan, APR
Mark is a senior vice president at Schwartz MSL Boston where he heads
its Consumer Technology and Insights practice groups. He has been going
to SXSW for years. When not at SXSW, he provides strategic counsel for
clients including Ancestry.com, LifeLock, Fiserv and Epocrates.

Main Cover Photo Credit: Tricia Daniel / Shutterstock.com

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As You Are Planning and Packing…
SXSW Interactive is a big show in a small city. That creates the expected tension between
resources and need. There will be crowds, lines and waits. However, the show is manageable
if you keep some basic guidelines in mind as you prepare for your SXSW 2014 adventure:

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Bring comfortable shoes. You’ll be walking and standing more than you expect or plan.

Be prepared for some strategic socializing. The SXSW speakers and sessions are
incredible, but the lounges and parties are where you really learn and make connections.
Be courageous and remember to bring business cards!
Take along extra chargers and batteries. Don’t depend too much on technology being
available. What? Isn’t this a conference about technology? Right. But, the WiFi is still
almost always overloaded, signals will fade in and out and your battery will run out of
juice long before you do. The solution: bring extra batteries, a portable charger and
have the hutzpah to ask to borrow the technical fruits of others when you are desperate.
Also know that you can charge up at the lounges; striking up a conversation at a charging
station is a great way to meet new friends.
Bring your running shoes. The trails along the Colorado River are wonderfully flat, and
there is no better way to experience the Austin atmosphere than with an early morning
run or walk, before the city wakes up.
Keep your own stash of snacks and water. Stop at the Wag-A-Bag or another convenience
store on the way from the airport or on the outskirts of town or near the hotel. Or, better
yet, pack your luggage with some pretzels and water bottles. The lines for SXSW events
are long. You don’t want to miss your prime seat in the 10th row just because you need
libation.

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Be aware of the weather. Austin in March has a wide range of weather. Check the forecast
before going and pack accordingly.

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Download the 2014 SXSW GO app. This is the official app for SXSW, and it includes
schedules, events and SXSW keynotes, a map of locations, and the ability to sync with
your SXSW account.

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Surviving in Austin...
Austin is a very walkable city, especially if your hotel is downtown. Look for the SXSW
Interactive shuttle buses to help you get from location to location. However, here are some
additional things to keep in mind:

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If you are driving, use the secret garage. If you didn’t manage to snag a hotel within
walking distance of SXSW events don’t despair. There is a garage on 2nd street. If you get
there early, you can probably snag a spot. It’s just two blocks away from the convention
center. And then, when heading out to that evening gathering, it is an easy walk to your car
where can drop your gear.

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Grab a new friend and explore. Not literally, of course. But you should approach this
adventure as an opportunity to make and meet new friends and contacts. Especially
explore the music scene. There is live music every night all over Austin, so read the sign
posts, collect the postcards you’ll be handed at every street corner, explore and have fun!

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Keep time available for the random opportunity. Don’t overschedule your time. Leave
things relatively flexible. Permit yourself to indulge in that random and spontaneous
world that is SXSW 2014.

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Keep an ABC list of panels and SXSW speakers. First choice full? No prob if you have your
B list. You may even need your C list. The point is, make a list, tier your selections and
check it twice. This list strategy will become your lifeline to a productive schedule, even
when your priority plans fail.

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View a SXSW keynote from a satellite. Unless you feel a compelling need to take in a
keynote at the Convention Center, you may want to avoid the crowds. Most keynotes are
shown in satellite locations, often rooms where other interesting sessions will be held
immediately afterward. These locations are less crowded and give you quality networking
time with those having similar interests. Satellite keynote locations are in each of the
different venues.

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Follow the conversation on Twitter, but don’t let Twitter own your every move. At a party
and see tweets about another party across town? Do you bail and party hop? Or, do you
wait for things at your event to “open up”? Sometimes, it’s better not to become Twitterinsecure and spend your night chasing everyone else’s good time. Try to relax and enjoy.

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Hang at the convention center and its lounges. Build a
strategy to run into interesting people for unexpected
conversations that might inspire you. In particular, check
out The PayPal Social Media Lounge located on the 4th floor in Room 19 A/B. For the 7th
year in a row, TechSet celebrates the intersection of technology, creativity and influence
(plus some great Hollywood types that stop by). This year PayPal is adding even more
amenities. Also, for those whose passion point is people in social good, the Beacon is
a must do! See the full list of lounges here: SXSW Lounges

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Whether your goal is to gain career advice on women in leadership or to meet a new
friend, consider the Women 2.0 Meet-up. Some of the smartest women in business
today will discuss everything from the challenges of leadership to striking a healthy
work/ life balance.

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SXSW 2014 Keynotes and Featured Sessions...
SXSW Keynote Sessions are “must-see” events. SXSW Interactive has a long tradition of lining
up some of the world’s most inspiring speakers with innovative ideas and stories. The SXSW
keynote events run from 2-3 p.m. each day in Exhibit Hall 5 of the Austin Convention Center.
These presentations take the form of either a solo talk, an interview, or a conversation between
two individuals. This year, you will have the opportunity to see Austin Kleon, Dr. Neil deGrasse
Tyson, Anne Wojicki, Adam Savage and Chelsea Clinton. They are must-attend events for anyone
with a show badge. We especially look forward to legendary astrophysicist, author and science
communicator Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, who will be the featured keynote on Saturday, March 8.
We also encourage a Attendees are also encouraged to check out the Featured Sessions to
hear from the top names behind some of the industry’s most innovative trends and important
conversations. This year’s line-up of SXSW speakers includes Julian Assange of WikiLeaks, Jurgen
Klinsmann, the head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team that will compete in the 2014
FIFA World Cup, Randi Zuckerberg, Bob Mankoff, Rob Rhinehart, and Biz Stone. We would also
like to call special attention to a Featured Session with our own CEO. MSLGROUP CEO Olivier
Fleurot will join with Pete Cashmore, the founder and CEO of Mashable, and moderated by
Joanna Coles, Editor in Chief of Cosmopolitan at the Austin Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 5
at 12:30 p.m. for:

#sxsw
#yBother
moderated by Joanna Coles,
Editor in Chief of Cosmopolitan

Generation Mash-Up: Y Bother?
Never has the spotlight shined so brightly on a
single generation. But in today’s transformational
workplace, Generation Y not only gets the light,
they have the might; and through their social
media expertise, they claim the right to be the
center of the conversation. In a lively debate
about Gen Y at work, Pete Cashmore, the Scottish
Millennial who founded Mashable and is now its
CEO, joins together with the quintessential French
Baby Boomer, Olivier Fleurot, CEO of global PR
firm MSLGROUP, and former CEO of
The Financial Times.

Pete and Olivier are from different generations,
have different styles and their own strong
opinions on the values Generation Y brings to
the world of business, how to manage the Gen Y
geniuses in their midst and how Millennials are
changing business. While they may not agree
about the business impact that Millennials will
have on the future, Pete and Olivier are both
passionate about their own businesses and the
need for Millennials to make their mark.

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Photo Credits: Scott Beale / Shutterstock.com, Kris Krug / shutterstock.com, Dell’s Official Flickr Page

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SXSW Interactive Session Planning....
There are hundreds and hundreds of SXSW
Interactive speakers and panel sessions, and
nearly all of them are great. You have the
opportunity to be discerning. To maximize the
experience of attending SXSW 2014, study
the program guide and find those things that
seem of value to your work opportunities and
personal interests. Look for SXSW events
that might focus on upcoming trends. It is
110% acceptable to LEAVE a session if it is
under-delivering, or not what you thought it
would be. In fact, it is always good to have an
alternative nearby that you could pop into a
bit late. The real magic of SXSW is that there
is SO MUCH really great stuff. You can almost

Big data

Of course! Go discover your analytic super
powers and you will never look at the world
the same again.

content

Obviously, these sessions matter. SXSW
presents a great opportunity to learn about
some of the newest companies in the field, as
well as about new syndication opportunities
and broadcast models.

food

The food is one of the best parts of Austin and
SXSW (ask anyone!). The food industry and
technology have never been more intertwined
- SXSWi is where insects are food, ideas are
edible, and food is printable software. Ready
your appetite for the techy future of food.

literally fall into “great learning” without
over-planning. So, always leave time each
day to just discover a new session or talk that
you might hear about from others. Also, new
events are announced just a few days before
the festivities start.
As in the past, SXSW Interactive defines
panels as Beginner, Intermediate or
Advanced. These may be helpful guideposts
for you.
Before we get specific in our favorite panel
choices, we want to point out a few themes
we noticed this year in panel topics.

GLOBAL SOCIAL & DIGITAL

The social world respects few boundaries, especially
those that divide countries and culture. At the same
time, SXSW has become more of a global event than
ever before. Be sure to attend sessions that connect
digital and social opportunities to the broader world.

HEALTH

For the first time, SXSW 2014 has included a health
track with 23 different sessions on the topic of
technology and health care. Because of the variety of
regulatory and privacy issues, especially in the U.S.,
the health world has come later to social and digital
transformation than other industries. But health is
an industry where social and digital tools can solve
serious problems and improve people’s lives. The
inclusion of the health care track shows how rapidly
technology is becoming integral to the medical field.

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MILLENNIALS

This generation is making its mark on history and is
transforming the world. In a lot of ways, SXSW is a
show of, for and about Millennials. If you are interested
in self-discovery and building a greater understanding
about our place in the world, try attending a few of the
Millennial sessions. Or, if you are from another generation
and need some context, sneak into the back row.

MOBILE! MOBILE! MOBILE!

With Facebook’s heralded purchase of WhatsApp,
the world has taken notice and is asking “What’s
up with mobile?” Could 2014 be the year that the
mobile culture blossoms everywhere? It may be
a wise use of your time to explore the growing
mobile opportunity by attending mobile-themed
sessions at SXSW Interactive.

PASSION

Passion is one of the best parts of the online
culture. Who can’t appreciate when an individual
combines his or her personal passion for a topic with
digital and social innovation? The result is usually
great storytelling. Look for opportunities to attend
sessions on off-beat topics that stem from one’s own
deep interests. You may just be inspired.

Ripped from the Headlines

Passion is one of the best parts of the online culture.
Who can’t appreciate when an individual combines his or
her personal passion for a topic with digital and social
innovation? The result is usually great storytelling. Look for
opportunities to attend sessions on off-beat topics that stem
from one’s own deep interests. You may just be inspired.

Storytelling

There is a secret sauce to storytelling, indeed. Here you can
learn how to make stories addictive, inspiring and how to
narrate data.

tech

It’s why you come to SXSW Interactive in the first place,
right? You need to learn about the tech on the horizon and
there’s no better place in the world to do it.

TIP: Download the SXSW mobile app, SXSW GO (sxsw.com/mobile), to help keep

you on track during the week. It will help you find your panels and locate buildings,
rooms and SXSW keynotes.

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SXSW Interactive Session
Recommendations....

Big Data

Big Data Inverted:
The Best Candy from Strangers?
Maria Bezaitis, Principal Engineer at Intel; Chris Colborn,
EVP, Global Chief Experience Officer, R/GA; Dinkar Jain,
Prod Mgr at Google;Oren Michels, Co-Founder & Chief
Strategist, Mashery
Friday, March 7, 12:30PM - 1:30PM,
Sheraton Austin, Capitol EFGH
Intermediate:
http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_IAP24496
#sxsw #sxbigdata
In our increasingly digital and technology-driven world,
human social relationships are being transformed by data.
Your previous online behavior is dictating the news reports,
friends’ updates, products and advertisements you receive.
With algorithms are determining the content we’re exposed
to, people are beginning to unintentionally “barricade”
themselves from new experiences and information that don’t
fit the pattern of what they’ve already liked and experienced.

The Tyranny of Edward Tufte
Gabriel Schaffzin, Researcher & Designer & Builder, Skeptic
Sunday, March 9, 11:00AM - 12:00PM,
Four Seasons, Four Seasons Ballroom
Advanced:
#sxsw #TufTyranny
1. Collect all the data.
2. Design all the data with integrity.
3. ???
4. Achieve universal knowledge and understanding
When Edward Tufte tweets mockingly of the leaked NSA
slides, he does so as the self-anointed king of presenting
evidence. Empiricism’s head cheerleader, he has built an
empire on telling everyone fromlowly marketer to NASA
bigwig—what Truth looks like.
And we eat it up.

But he has also perpetuated a culture where power is held by
those with the data. As we shift our appreciation for discourse
In this panel, renowned researchers and digital
to those with the willingness and know-how to compress
anthropologists tackle this phenomenon to explore the
communication into bits and bytes of data-visualization and
implications of a “barricaded” society, dissect the current and
infographics, to what dangers do we open ourselves up? Do
future obstacles, identify the opportunity for innovation, and
we move toward a future where we communicate solely via
provide a call for technology to deliver us to what and who
visualization, swap talking for looking, and seek to represent
we need, even if it’s unfamiliar.
our own nuanced belief systems with universal iconography?

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Algorithms, Journalism & Democracy
GiladLotan, Chief Data Scientist, Betaworks; Kelly McBride,
Sr Faculty, The Poynter Institute
Sunday, March 9, 5:00PM - 6:00PM,
Austin Convention CenterRoom 12AB
Advanced:
#sxsw #scaryrithm
Why do crazy stories that aren’t true get so much traction,
while really important actual facts sink into oblivion?
Algorithms influence almost all the information you
consume, from news stories, to social media updates, to
movies, books, and television programs. Algorithms fuel the
marketplace of ideas and ultimately grease the wheels of
democracy. Algorithms can surface truths that improve our
understanding of the world. And algorithms can perpetuate
false information or distort the truth. In this session we
will look at some surprising ways that algorithms make life
better and some ways that algorithms distort our perception
of reality. Understanding how algorithms control and
manipulate your world is key to becoming truly literate in
today’s world.

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Recommendations....

Content

Content & Commerce:
The Digital Cronut

Communicating with Humor:
Perils & Best Practices

Ben Lerer, Co-Founder/CEO, Thrillist
Intermediate:
#sxsw #DigiCronut

Jon Flannery, Exec Creative Dir, Draftfcb Chicago; Sheri
Klein, VP, Dir of Research, Ad Council; MikeMcCammon,
Chief Community Officer, Water.org; Baratunde Thurston,
Co-Founder & CEO, Cultivated Wit
Beginner:
#sxsw #FunnyAds

The doughnut and croissant have operated alongside each
other for years, each awesome in their own way. Until one
day, you bring them together and witness the magic unfold
The Cronut. Content and Commerce is the next epic hybrid.
Publishers that have built trust with their audience can
monetize the intent they create through integrated
commerce that actually puts merchandise in the hands of
consumers. Browsers on the commerce side can be turned
into engaged readers, improving the chances of converting
them back into buyers, and monetizing their engagement
through ad dollars.
This is a discussion for any content or commerce brand
looking to propel their business forward. You’ll hear from
leading content/commerce brand, Thrillist Media Group’s
CEO Ben Lerer, as he describes the changing media and
e-commerce landscapes, best practices for adding a
content or commerce channel to your business, and what
thepotential benefits and risks will be.

If Winston Churchill had it right--a joke is actually a
“very serious thing.” And social good marketers are on
board. Increasingly, nonprofits are breaking through the
tried-and-true PSA fray by startling us with humor. From
McCann Melbourne’s “Dumb Ways to Die” on behalf of
Metro Trains to Matt Damon’s “Toilet Strike” on behalf of
Water.org, very serious issues, even matters of life and death,
are getting the humor treatment. But does funny have merit
outside of the initial guffaw? Can public service advertisers
effect real change by appealing to audiences’ funny bones?
This panel will examine recent success stories and best
practices for comedic delivery of important information,
when and why humor works and pitfalls to avoid.

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If Content Is King, Who Is Sheriff?
Kristina Eastham, Digital Strategist, Digitaria Interactive;
Robert Hernandez, Assoc Professor of Professional Practice,
USC Annenberg School for Communication; Gail Marie,
Editor, McKinney; Mike Schmidt, Multimedia Dir,
National Geographic
Monday, March 10, 9:30AM - 10:30AM,
Advanced:
#sxsw #SXsheriff
Thanks to the Internet, the proliferation of low-cost
publishing has changed what journalistic integrity means
to digital content, affecting the quality—and ethical
integrity—of online “news.”
With bad—and wrong—online content, readers don’t always
know what to believe online. “The problem with quotes on
the Internet is that it’s very hard to verify their authenticity,”
Abraham Lincoln said. Didn’t he? Readers can’t always tell
the difference between a “journalist” and a “blogger,” and it
may not matter. Technology can be leveraged to solve some
of the same problems it creates, by helping us navigate the
high seas of crap content or aiding content creators with
automated infringement protection.
This panel is for publishers wanting to understand unwritten
professional courtesy and rights, artists and writers looking
to protect their content, and readers wondering who—and
how—to trust online. A publisher, professor and marketer
debate: Who is the new sheriff in town?

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Content Changes Everything:
Even How We Shop
Mollie Chen, Editorial Dir, Birchbox; Jeff Pyatt, Head of
Global PR Initiatives & the Southeast, Outbrain
Monday, March 10, 9:30AM - 10:30AM,
Hyatt Regency Austin, Texas Ballroom 1-4
Beginner:
#sxsw #ContentROI
These days content is popping up in subtle, unexpected
places, extending far beyond the blogs magazines and
newspapers we traditionally rely on. As more and more
retailers are creating new mediums to directly interact and
share information with customers, we’ve come to view our
favorite brands in a whole new light. There are many unique
ways retailers and e-commerce sites are utilizing content and
now, thanks to quality, authentic content, company stories
are resonating with customers on an emotional and personal
level now more than ever. Sites rich with lifestyle content,
like Birchbox’s ‘The Magazine’, shape the role brands and
companies holistically play in a customer’s life by offering
how-to tips and advice that extend far beyond marketing a
product. In this session, experts will speak to the changing
consumer relationship and how effective storytelling can,
and oftentimes does, lead to strengthened brand loyalty.

Maker Culture & Digital Marketing
Richard Goldsmith, Dir, Digital & Social Media, Mark Anthony
Brands; Mike Senese, Exec Editor, Make Magazine
Monday, March 10, 11:00AM - 12:00PM,
Omni Downtown, Longhorn
Intermediate:
#sxsw #DIYMkt
Our culture has transitioned from the top-down consumer
culture of the ‘80s, ‘90s and early ‘00s to a one-to-one
DIY culture focused on Making. Younger consumers are
growing up in an era where they can immediately influence
brands through social media and can create physical objects
with 3-D printers. From coding digital dreams in HTML5
to crafting their own TV narratives on Twitter, consumers
expect the ability to produce personalized experiences
and products. So why should they care about your brand
when all the awesome they need can be made themselves?
We’ll outline the implications for brands trying to engage
with these consumers and provide principles and steps for
switching from top-down communications to collaborating
with consumers to make these products and experiences
better. And we’ll demonstrate the inherent possibilities of
this cultural shift with examples ranging from entertainment
to finance and apparel

Search Is Dead:
The Secret Sauce Behind Discovery
Hayley Barna, Co-Founder, Birchbox; Ruzwana Bashir, CEO &
Founder, Peek; Katrina Lake, Founder & CEO, Stitch Fix
Monday, March 10, 12:30PM - 1:30PM,
Driskill Hotel, Driskill Ballroom
Intermediate:
#sxsw #RIPSearch
Next Generation Recommendations: We live in a world
where search is dead. Consumers are most responsive
to personalized, content-driven and curated experiences
and are no longer as willing to take the time to search and
discover new brands, products, music, etc. on their own.
How is curated content impacting consumption patterns
and purchase decisions? How are retailers and vendors
responding to this shift and enhancing their offerings to
provide consumers the personalized experiences they
want? What’s the secret sauce behind their method, who will
come out on top and why? This panel of diverse business
leaders and industry experts will discuss the importance
of delivering a personalized, content-driven experience for
customers and why they chose to pursue a recommendation,
rather than search, based approach.

#EsuranceSave30:
Why 5 Million Tweeted in 36 Hours
Nancy Abraham, VP of Advertising, Esurance; Josh Raper,
Esurance
Tuesday, March 11, 11:00AM - 12:00PM,
Hilton Austin Downtown, Salon B
Intermediate:
On Super Bowl Sunday, the insurance company Esurance
purchased the first commercial after the game. In this ad,
actor John Krasinski announced that Esurance saved $1.5
million by purchasing this first spot and was going to give it
away in a Twitter sweepstakes. Within 36 hours, the hashtag
#esurancesave30 broke Twitter records. More than 5.4
million people used the hashtag, it received 2.6 billion social
impressions and Esurance gained 261,000 new followers.
And, it was the most Tweeted hashtag during the Super Bowl
and the top trend on Twitter for 2 days.
Join Esurance VP of Advertising Nancy Abraham and Leo
Burnett’s VP/Account Director Josh Raper as we give SXSW
delegates an exclusive look the most Tweeted about brand
in the Super Bowl. Attend this seminar to get a behind the
scenes look into what goes into creating, executing and
managing a real-time marketing initiative of this caliber.

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Recommendations....

food

Food + Tech Meet Up

The Future of Food Processing

Sharon Mays, Partner, ID Marketing
Sunday, March 9, 3:30PM - 4:30PM, Proof Annex
Beginner:
#sxsw #sxfoodtech

Ethan Brown, CEO & Founder, Beyond Meat; Andras Forgacs,
Founder and CEO, Modern Meadow; Robert Rhinehart, CEO,
Rosa Labs; Josh Tetrick, CEO,
Hampton Creek Foods
Hilton Austin Downtown, Salon H
Beginner:
#sxsw #foodtech

Technology continues to have a profound effect on how
and what we eat. In the 365 days since last year’s meetup
alone, much has happened in the Food + Tech world: 3D
printing, crowdsourcing restaurants, robot line cooks, GMOs,
and a plethora of new apps. The intersection of Food and
Food is hardware. The ways in which it is typically made
Technology has become more complex than posting reviews, currently are wasteful and unnecessary. We should embrace
snapping food porn and blogging.
food technology such as nutritional biochemistry, food
processing, and biotechnology to improve our food products
At this Food+Tech meetup, we’ll be discussing
over their natural forms.
•Food and nutritional as social issues, and how
technology is affecting them
•Sustainability and technology
•Trail-blazers and Innovations in the food industry
•We’ll also have time for open discussion of topics
brought up by the group
And of course some excellent networking, so come
prepared to hype your project or favorite food-tech app/
idea/innovation, make some new connections and catch up
with everyone from past SXSWi Food + Tech meetups.

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This will have a massive impact on the health and quality
of life of the typical consumer, as well as help alleviate food
insecurity around the world.

Future Foods:
New Cuisine for a New Age
Pablos Holman, Inventor, Intellectual Ventures;
Glenn Zorpette, Exec Editor, IEEE Spectrum
Radisson Town Lake Riverside Ballroom
Intermediate:
#sxsw #ieeefood
The term “processed food” is associated with Twinkies,
fluorescent orange cheese, awful additives and
heart-attack inducing trans fats, but it doesn’t have to be that
way. New technology and advancements in 3D food printing,
thermoplastic extrusion and bioreactor grown “test tube”
meat are producing some remarkable, tasty and healthy
delicacies that are as good for the planet as they are for your
body. Research has shown that meat production is wreaking
havoc on our planet. The future world of food will address
this, with better precision, compounds and machines and
practices, making room for organic and sustainably grown
fare. Imagine meats from extruders and bioreactors that
are indistinguishable from the real thing, yet contain no
saturated fat and require no animal sacrifice. Envision
portable kitchen appliances that can instantly deliver a
vast variety of dishes matched to your taste, health profile
and caloric requirements. Part of the IEEE Technology
for Humanity Series.

Hacking Meat:
Why Insects Are the Future of Food
Andrew Brentano, Co-Founder, Tiny Farms; Daniel
Imrie-Situnayake, Cofounder, Tiny Farms; Megan Miller,
Co-Founder, Chirp Farms; Harman Singh Johar, Founder,
World Ento
Tuesday, March 11, 12:30PM - 1:30PM,
Radisson Town Lake, Riverside Ballroom
Intermediate:
#sxsw #InsectFood
By 2050, there will be 2 billion more people on the
planet and food security experts say that at today’s rate of
production, there won’t be enough protein for everyone.
Innovators are racing to find solutions to the looming food
crisis with everything from lab-grown meat and synthetic
eggs to edible insects.
In May 2013, the U.N. released a 200-page report on
the potential of insects to solve the global food crisis.
The U.S. startup community is answering the call to action
with exciting new businesses at the forefront of the food
revolution.
In this session, you’ll mingle with the founders of
Bitty Foods, the cricket flour baked goods company,
insect-farm automation experts at Tiny Farms, and
exotic insect-food supplier World Ento. We’ll discuss
the environmental and health benefits of edible insects,
provide delicious foods to sample and answer all your
burning questions about insects and the future of protein.

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SXSW Interactive
Session Planning....

Global Social/
Digital
OMMA: Should Brands Be Part
of the Real-Time Convo?

OMMA: Instagram vs. Vine:
Real World Smackdown

NohaAbdalla, Dir, Social Media, Capital One; Natanya
Anderson, Dir, Social Media & Integrated Mktg, Whole Foods
Market; Bryan Jones, VP Marketing North America, Dell; Rick
Wion, Dir of Social Media, McDonald’s Corporation
Friday, March 7, 11:00AM - 12:00PM,
AT&T Conference CenterSalon ABCDE
Intermediate:
#sxsw #brandtrend

Katrina Craigwell, Mgr, Digital Mktg, GE; Dave Marsey, EVP &
Managing Dir,DigitasLBi; Mark W Smith, SrMgr, Social Media
Mktg, USA TODAY
Intermediate:
#sxsw #Smackdown

Since that famous “Oreo Moment” that turned a Super
Bowl blackout into a dubious marketing trend, more brands
seem to have failed than succeeded at riding the real time
zeitgeist. From Kenneth Cole to AT&T to Urban Outfitters,
the social media misfires just keep coming. Have marketers
learned anything about the dark art of inserting their brands
into the trending topic, the cultural moment? Are they just
geeks struggling to fit in with the cool kids? Or are we really
seeing brands become more human and finding voices
through these new direct-to-consumer channels?
Sponsored by Media Post.

18

The mobile social media titans Facebook and Twitter have
declared war over the branded video space. In this corner
Instagram with 15 second spots that mirror TV, the medium
agencies love. In the other corner vine, 6-second of
micro-messaging that has inspired high levels of novel
and creative executions. Now that brands have been flexing
their creative muscles in both we present some of the best
examples, followed by an expert discussion among agency
and brand executives. Finally our audience weighs in to vote
on the consumer favorite for getting branded messages.
Sponsored by Media Post.

China Tech 101 - Innovation &
Internationalization

Justin Tsang, Partner, Pacific Technology Ventures
Saturday, March 8, 11:30AM - 11:45AM,
Austin Convention Center Ballroom E
Intermediate:
#sxsw #chinatech
Today, China is already the world’s largest Internet,
smartphone and e-commerce market. Yet, most people
outside the “Great Firewall” would have difficulty naming
even 3 Chinese technology brands. Furthermore, there
are frequent misperceptions around China’s capacity for
innovation and creativity. Chinese technology companies
are not just derivative or inspired “copies” of US businesses.
Rather, they are increasingly pioneering indigenous
innovations and unique models that focus first at home,
and then globally. In a world of two Internets -- this talk will
demystify the technology landscape behind China’s Great
Firewall, debunk the myths of “cheap China” and explore
both the challenges and sizable opportunities of bridging
innovation between China and the US.

Forget BRIC! Middle East & Africa,
Please Stand Up
Amit Vyas, CEO, Nexa Dubai
Saturday, March 8, 1:00PM - 1:15PM,
Austin Convention CenterBallroom E
Beginner :
#sxsw #BoomMEA
In the last 3 years, there has been a unprecedented rise in
the availability and adoption of technology in the Middle East
and Africa. This sudden access to information, the ability to
voice opinions and communicate to a global audience has
had an almost unimaginable impact.

How Hyper-Developing Markets
Are Kicking Our Ass

Max Lenderman, Principal, School
Austin Convention Center Ballroom E
Beginner:
#sxsw #seethisnow
This isn’t a pessimistic rant about the lagging US economy,
sad projections for domestic innovation, or lamentation of
our declining cultural influence as a country. Instead, it is
a celebration of all the cool, rad and groundbreaking work
that is emanating from countries like Brazil, Russia, India,
China, Malaysia, South Africa and other so-called developing
nations.
Come find out how a vodka brand powered a bank, or how a
billboard solved a local water crisis, and a soccer team saved
thousands of lives. Fast-paced and illustrated with case
studies that have revolutionized marketing and advertising,
Max’s presentation is more cultural adventure than
marketing speech. If time, please put “Editor: Tim Koch”
at the bottom of the final page

From the public overthrowing of governments in Egypt and
Tunisia to important world-first innovations such as M-Pesa
in Kenya, a mobile payment system that allows users to
deposit, withdraw & transfer money with a mobile device, the
people within these regions truly value the difference that
technology has had on their lives.

The Opportunity

A population of 1.3 billion presents a market larger than
India, China, Europe& North America. Also consider a
average age in many countries of 21 or younger, widespread
use / understanding of English and we have the foundations
of a region about to flourish. In this session, I will share my
insights and experience to help you succeed in this exciting
market.

19

SXSW Interactive

Health

Patients First: Why Open Data
Can Save Healthcare

What Happens
When Health & Tech Meet Up?

Beverley Bryant, Dir of Strategic Systems & Technology,
NHS England; Gregory Downing, Exec Dir for Innovation
in the Immediate Office, US Department of Health and
Human Services
Saturday, March 8, 11:00AM - 12:00PM,
Hilton Austin DowntownSalon F
Advanced:
#sxsw #healthdata

Malay Gandhi, Chief Strategy Officer, Rock Health;
Ted Maidenberg, General Partner & Exec Officer, The
Social+Capital Partnership, Jenna Rose, Dir, Healthbox; Jack
Young, Dir of Qualcomm Life Fund
Sunday, March 9, 9:30AM - 10:30AM,
Hilton Austin DowntownSalon G
Intermediate:
#sxsw #HealthTech

The US and UK governments have put open data at
the heart of current health reforms. In both countries,
transparency has become a focal point for improvements in
clinical quality and the cost effectiveness of services. This
session is led by two of the architects of this transatlantic
Big Data revolution—Greg Downing, Executive Director
for Innovation at HHS, and Beverely Bryant, Director of
Strategic Systems and Technology at NHS England—who
argue that transparency has the power to transform patient
outcomes, drive digital innovation and create unprecedented
opportunities for science and economic growth. They will
describe plans to release vast amounts of new data and how
they propose to make this easy to access for entrepreneurs,
patients and professionals. The UK is launching Code for
Health, a new initiative to train clinicians and patients to
develop their own applications. Find out how you can join
the global data revolution in health.

For the first time in 50 years, the health care industry is
facing a major disruption and is moving toward an at-risk/
ACO model where opportunities are driven by transition.
With the growing aging population and increase in chronic
diseases in the U.S., health service providers are focusing
on collaborated and coordinated care to create efficiencies,
reduce readmissions, and ultimately lower costs. Innovative
medical technologies and big data will play a key role in the
continuum of care, providing a real-time and holistic view of
the patient’s health history to better inform decisions and
help manage care. As health and technology continue to
merge, investors have become more interested in funding
digital health, giving startups a great opportunity for growth.
In this panel session, some of the most prolific investors
in digital health will discuss what excites them about the
future of health care and why now is the time to reinvent the
industry through innovation and collaboration.

20

SXSW Interactive

Millennials

Generation Mash-Up: Y Bother?
Pete Cashmore, Founder & CEO, Mashable; Joanna Coles,
Editor in Chief, Cosmopolitan; Olivier Fleurot,
CEO, MSLGROUP
Monday, March 10, 12:30PM-1:30PM,
Austin Convention Center Exhibit Hall 5
Advanced:
#sxsw #YBother
Never has the spotlight shined so brightly on a single
generation. But in today’s transformational workplace,
Generation Y not only gets the light, they have the might;
and through their social media expertise, they claim the
right to be the center of the conversation. In a lively debate
about Gen Y at work, Pete Cashmore, the Scottish Millennial
who founded Mashable and is now its CEO, joins together
with the quintessential French Baby Boomer, Olivier Fleurot,
CEO of global PR firm MSLGROUP, and former CEO of The
Financial Times.
Pete and Olivier are from different generations, have
different styles and their own strong opinions on the values
Generation Y brings to the world of business, how to manage
the Gen Y geniuses in their midst and how Millennials are
changing business. While they may not agree about the
business impact that Millennials will have on the future, Pete
and Olivier are both passionate about their own businesses
and the need for Millennials to make their mark.

Star Power: Innovative
Ways to Engage Millennials
Alex Wagner, Anchor, MSNBC; Rosario Dawson, Chairwoman,
Voto Latino
Intermediate:
#sxsw #SXSWLatino
Engaging Millennials now takes more than just traditional
outreach methods. Innovative approaches such as leveraging
celebrity voices and platforms, new technologies and
culturally relevant messaging is critical for impacting the
social behavior of the fastest growing demographic. Join
actor and activist Rosario Dawson, co-founder of Voto Latino,
and moderator Alex Wagner, host of MSNBC’s “NOW with
Alex Wagner,” for a conversation about how to effectively
mobilize Latino Millennials to create social change in their
communities.

21

Equipping & Inspiring
the Next Generation
Dean Kamen, CEO, FIRST/DEKA
Research & Development Corporation
Austin Convention CenterExhibit Hall 5
Intermediate:
sxsw #ieeekamen
Join Dean Kamen, a master inventor, engineer and
humanitarian, compared to Edison for his contributions to
humanity, for an unforgettable and insightful hour. Inventor
of a host of groundbreaking inventions like the Auto Syringe,
Segway, revolutionary wheelchairs, assistive medical devices
and the “Luke” robotic arm, Kamen is on a mission to help
end world poverty with pioneering devices capable of
producing sustainable energy and purified water anywhere
in the world. He is also the founding father of FIRST® (For
Recognition and Inspiration of Science and Technology), his
investment in the world’s future. Designed to experientially
empower youth with essential project-based skills in science,
technology, engineering and math, FIRST® Robotics
competitions are tangibly changing lives and outcomes of
youth around the world. You’ll be inspired to contribute your
talent and resources to help make the next generation one
worth celebrating. Part of the IEEE Technology for
Humanity Series.

Do You Actually Know
How to Engage a Millennial?
Brian Reich, Managing Dir, little m media;
Kari Dunn Saratovsky, Founder, KDS Strategies
Austin Convention Center, Room 5ABC
Intermediate:
#sxsw #bigchange

Millennials have different expectations for their
involvement in social causes. In large part, Millennials are
post-institutional—they don’t rely on just government, just
nonprofits, or just the private sector to influence change.
They believe it takes a blending of sectors and approaches
in order to make impact. Sure, they crave openness and
transparency, but they have limited time, limited dollars and
limited attention spans — so, if you’re lucky enough to gain
any of these things, you better know what to do with it.
You can either be part of this conversation, or you can let it
leave you behind. Join us for some straight talk about how
to really motivate Millennials.

#NewRules for Reaching
Millennials Through Music

Javier Farfan, SrDir, Culture & Music, PepsiCo; Jake Katz,
VP, Audience Insights & Strategy, Revolt TV; Kevin McGurn,
Shazam
Tuesday, March 11, 9:30AM - 10:30AM,
Austin Convention CenterRoom 18ABC
http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_MP990972

There has been a lot of talk about engaging Millennials, with
a lack of focus on “how to do it.” REVOLT has embarked on
a massive ethnographic project, traveling across the country
interviewing young people, talking to agency execs and
music artists, and is on a mission to identify the #NewRules
They’re coddled, protected, and constantly connected — at
least that’s what the headlines read. But when it comes down of media engagement. Using music as a connection passion
point, find out what’s working, and what’s not, when it comes
to it, do you really know how to engage a Millennial? Based
on how most organizations market to and communicate with to best practices in marketing to millennials.
them, probably not. Something needs to change.

22

SXSW Interactive

Mobile! Mobile! Mobile!

Marketing as a Service

Helen Ectors, Sr VP, Global Dir Creative Business, Team
Detroit/Mindshare; Doug Stovall, EVP, Sales &Svcs,
Hipcricket; Jim McArthur, SVP, Digitaria Interactive
Friday, March 7, 12:30PM - 1:30PM, Wanderlust
Intermediate:
#sxsw #MobileEra
ATTENTION: Priority Seating is available for this session.
To take advantage of this opportunity, you will need to have
a valid SXSW badge, and an activated SXsocial account.
To get your priority seating, please go here:
https://sup.sxsw.com/schedule/IAP26574
The data stockpile is on. Mobile is entering a new era of
intelligence in which data is free to capture, for those who
know how to do it. This panel will detail how behavioral
intelligence and its associated technologies are changing
how mobile marketers are thinking about personalization.
Through the implementation of passive content progression,
or the passive collection and analysis of behavioral data,
marketers can begin to connect the dots of an individual’s
behavior and create more effective targeting strategies.
Sponsored by Team Detroit.

OMMA: What Do Marketers
Want from Mobile?

Keith Nyhouse, Head of Digital, Dish Network; Scott Carlis,
VP Digital & Social Media, AEG Global Partnerships; Donnie
Williams, Chief Digital Officer, Horizon
Intermediate:
#sxsw #FromMobile
Marketers are confronting an “omnichannel” world where
consumers consult multiple sources and screens, sometimes
making buying decisions in minutes. Brands need to be in
customer pockets to capture those impulses at all times, via
mobile apps, mobile commerce, mobile social presence, and
mobile loyalty. Devices have made it possible to enhance and
enrich the path to purchase down to and including the instore experience. But what have these brands learned about
the new mobilized consumer and what is in store for us next?

23

The Next Mobile Experience

Sung Kim, Founder, Gestures Inc
Beginner:
#sxsw #gestures
Today we are still using our mobile devices like the way we
used to on old computers with a mouse. We have limited
ourselves to only scrolling up, down, left, and right in most of
our mobile experiences, when our touchscreen devices allow
us to move freely in every direction we want.
We still design apps that require people to tap on tiny
little buttons to initiate some of the most basic functions,
when they can be done with simple gestures.And we allow
restrictive and outdated rules and templates to dictate our
digital experiences, when they should be limited only by our
imaginations. We need to change the way we use our mobile
devices at the fundamental level by losing our old habits and
outdated expectations that were developed around using
old technologies.
So what can we do to truly take advantage today’s
technologies and make our mobile experiences more
efficient and effortless?
My name is Sung Kim, and I would like to share with you
our next mobile experience.

Mobile Advertising
Needs a Paradigm Shift
Asif Khan, Founder &Pres, The LBMA; Damien Patton,
Founder/CEO, Banjo
Hilton Austin DowntownRoom 616AB
Advanced:
#sxsw #mobileads
Our cell phones are literally an extension of us. We rely on
them to keep us connected to friends, colleagues and the
online community we’ve never even met. They tell us where
to shop, where to eat, where to drive, when to sleep, when to
wake and we never leave home without them. Ever. We are
emotionally connected to our mobile device. No matter what
we need, there’s an app for that…and an ad for that. An ad
that is untimely, irrelevant and just plain annoying. It’s time
for a paradigm shift in Mobile Advertising.

24

As the platform with the largest location based social graph
in the world, Banjo has tremendous insight to understanding
mobile behavior. People post to different networks
depending on where they are, what they are doing and who
they are with. This also varies greatly by city, region, country,
and even time of day.
Join Damien Patton from Banjo and Asif Khan from The
LBMA as they reveal surprising insights and statistics from
mobile behavior around the world.

Can You Feel Me Now?
Cameron Clayton, Pres, Digital Division, The Weather
Channel; Gary Klassen, Principal Architect, BlackBerry;
Tara O’Donnell, VP, Text100;GiorgosZacharia, Chief Scientist,
Kayak Music
Austin Convention CenterBallroom BC
Advanced:
#sxsw #CanYouFeel
In today’s mobile-centric world, our lives have been
transformed to expect to discover and share almost every
aspect of our lives on the go. With these discoveries come
personal reactions through photos, videos, social media,
and mobile apps, fueled by a host of human emotions.
Companies are purposely developing mobile experiences
to spark a range of behaviors that help us live happier lives.
The panelists will highlight how they view the intersection of
psychology and technology and how that insight drives new
innovations in their mobile business.

SXSW Interactive

Passion

Online LEGO Fans & the People
Who Love Them

Brands Can Champion
the Power of Sport

Frederikke Hoff, Community Editor, LEGO Group; Sara
Moore, On-line Community Specialist, LEGO Group; David
Robertson, Professor of Practice, The Wharton School;
Glen Wadleigh, Blogger & Programmer, Brick-Hero
Austin Convention CenterRoom 18ABCD
Advanced:
#sxsw #LEGOFan

Simon Wardle, Chief Strategy Officer, Octagon Inc.
Driskill HotelJim Hogg room
Intermediate:
#sxsw #BrandSport

LEGO fans make up one of the most enthusiastic online
fan communities in existence. We don’t mean kids within
the product target group; we mean the teen and adult fans.
That’s right: Adult fans!
By nature, these fans build what appeals to grown-ups, and
that doesn’t always fit well with the company line. So how
does The LEGO Group nurture these online fans while not
pissing them off?
ReBrick.com and LEGO CUUSOO are LEGO Group online
communities for adult fans to share user-created LEGO
content (although there are many more fan-created
communities). It is created as a social collaboration between
the LEGO Group and the LEGO fans.
Every day, we balance between brand values and fan culture
within these online fan communities. As companies grow,
their fan base grows as well, and many companies aren’t
prepared for what that means. Do not kid yourself — fans
mean business!

Brands want to be loved. Consumers seek happiness.
Brands make consumers happy by creating strong emotional
connections to the things consumers are most passionate
about.
Sport is an inspirational power for good. Sport enhances the
lives of individuals, communities, countries and the entire
world. It promotes healthy living and teaches life lessons;
it has stopped wars and ended injustices.
From a brand perspective, the passion that consumers
have for sport represents one of the most underutilized
raw materials in marketing… especially for brand marketers
looking to make their brand more loved.
Simon Wardle, Octagon’s Chief Strategy Officer, will reveal
how Octagon research has quantified what drives fan
passion and how fans indulge their passion for sports. The
resulting insights will help brands use content, positioning,
messaging, timing and channel selection to harness the
power of sport… and make consumers fall in love with their
brand.
This session is part of the brand new SXsports programming
at SXSW 2014.

25

Super Fandom in the Digital Age
Andy Cohen, Host, Watch What Happens Live; Ze Frank,
EVP of Video, BuzzFeed; Grace Helbig, Internet Personality
& Comedian, Internet Personality; Tyler Oakley,
YouTube Channel Star
Friday, March 7, 5:00PM - 6:00PM, Austin Convention
CenterExhibit Hall 5
Beginner:
#sxsw #Bravo

How to Build Ultimate
Surprise & Delight Campaigns
Tom Zellman, CTO, Digital Roots
Saturday, March 8, 9:30AM - 10:30AM, Sheraton Austin,
Capitol View South
Intermediate:
#sxsw #Delight

We can bet you’ve been appalled and underwhelmed by
the level of customer service you’ve received by a company.
Moderated by Bravo’s Andy Cohen, host of Watch What
Have you ever been pleasantly surprised and delighted by
Happens Live, this panel will bring together two of YouTube’s a brand’s customer service?
hottest stars—Tyler Oakley and Grace Helbig—with
BuzzFeed’s EVP of Video, Ze Frank, to spark a discussion on Engineer a surprise & delight effort that will boost your
what it truly means to cultivate fandom across platforms. We reputation and leave your customers satisfied and draw your
prospects in. After some observation and testing, we’ve
will share research highlighting how Bravo has successfully
come up with an 8-prong attack to the surprise & delight
engaged with fans on all channels in real time, delve into
lessons learned and discuss how to drive deeper interaction campaign. It involves big data, incredible insight, strong
tools and the keen ability to pick out the perfect present.
with your communities. The panel will also address the
challenge of engaging fans in a constantly crowded media
Are you game?
space.
Your surprise & delight campaign will put you in the history
books with the likes of Albert Einstein and Constantine the
Great. Or at least pump up your customer retention, revenue
and brand loyalty. And probably rack up your Facebook fans
& Twitter followers.
If you’re interested in the secret sauce behind surprise &
delight programs, vote for us!
We will make you happy, we promise.

26

The LOLs of Nations:
Understanding Global Memes
Elena Agapie, Researcher, Microsoft Research; Andres
Monroy-Hernandez, Researcher, Microsoft Research; Katy
Pearce, Asst Prof, University of Washington; Ben Valentine,
Strategist/Contributing Author, The Civic Beat
Saturday, March 8, 11:00AM - 12:00PM, Austin
Convention CenterRoom 10AB
Intermediate:
#sxsw #LOLnations

One on One with Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban, Entrepreneur, HD Net/Dallas Mavericks;
Guy Kawasaki, Founder; Alltop
Saturday, March 8, 5:00PM - 6:00PM, Austin Convention
Center, Exhibit Hall 5
Intermediate:
#sxsw #markcuban
Internet pioneer, billionaire, angel investor, NBA team owner
assesses the current state of technology, innovation, and
entrepreneurship in a no-BS session with Silicon Valley
veteran Guy Kawasaki. The fun and in-depth conversation
between Cuban and Kawasaki is the perfect way to end your
first full day of SXSW Interactive 2014.

Global memes add snark and commentary to politics.
Memes have helped citizens around the world express
political support and dissent: from the meme that helped
a cat run for office in Mexico, to the goats that parodied
Obama’s visit to Uganda, to the Myanmar kitten that people
used to protest the cost of cellphone service. And sometimes
memes are used BY a government against dissent, as is the
Brandon Stanton, Photographer, Humans Of New York
case in Azerbaijan
Sunday, March 9, 11:15AM - 12:00PM, Austin Convention
Many memes stay within their culture, but advice animals,
CenterNext Stage EH 3/4
lolcats, and rage comics often get repurposed in surprising
http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_OE02845
ways outside their origin.
#sxsw #nextstage

Humans Of New York: The Trouble
With New Ideas

What are the barriers for cross cultural memes to spread,
and what is special about the ones that do? How are goat
and cat memes an easier mechanism for people to begin
to engage with international politics in an attempt to
understand the LOLs?

In just three years, Humans of New York has amassed an
audience of millions and become a #1 NYT bestselling book.
In this talk, Brandon Stanton will cover everything he’s
learned about audience building, crying alone in your
bedroom, and the magic of social media. He’ll talk about
the difficulties of standing out in a world where everyone
has something to “like” and “share.” He thinks he has some
special insight into building a large following around a
new idea. But he may have just gotten lucky, and could be
completely full of shit.

27

The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Ben Horowitz, Co-Founder & Partner, Andreessen Horowitz;
Nas, American rapper
Sunday, March 9, 3:30PM - 4:30PM, Austin Convention
Center, Exhibit Hall 5
Intermediate:
#sxsw #hardthings
The hard thing isn’t dreaming big. The hard thing is sweating
through the night when the dream turns into a nightmare.
Minimizing politics. Firing friends. Sustaining a CEO
mentality. Surviving the Struggle.

Shelves to Space:
What Images Say About Our World

While many people talk about how great it is to start a
business, very few are brutally honest about how difficult it is Ching-Yu Hu, Skybox Imaging;Harper Levine, Pres, Harper’s
to run one, and how to navigate all the inevitable pitfalls and Books; David Soloff, Co-Founder & CEO, Premise
stumbling blocks.
Omni DowntownLonghorn
Join Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and
Intermediate :
one of Silicon Valley’s most respected and experienced
entrepreneurs, for a lively conversation about building and
leading a business when there are no easy answers. Drawing #sxsw #shlf2space
from his storied career—as software engineer, cofounder,
CEO, and investor—Ben will share practical wisdom, insights, How does a photo of an onion in Delhi translate into
countrywide price inflation? Conversely, how can a video
and anecdotes from his own experience founding, running,
from 500 miles above the Earth’s surface shed light on
selling, buying, managing, and investing in technology
a humanitarian crisis unfolding in West Africa? From
companies.
the proliferation of high-res photography on millions of
smartphones worldwide to real-time video of the Earth’s
surface from space, rapid advancements in imaging are not
only changing how we share stories about the world around
us, but tearing open an entirely new source of data.
Lisa Murray, CMO, Octagon Inc
Sunday, March 9, 5:00PM - 6:00PM, Driskill HotelCitadel Premise co-founder David Soloff teams up with Skybox
Imaging co-founder Ching-Yu Hu for a panel moderated
Intermediate:
Harper Levine of Harper’s Books to discuss how advances in
imaging and technology are converging to unlock an entirely
#sxsw #fanpassion
new stream of information. They’ll discuss the collection of
Brands want to be loved. Consumers seek happiness.
image-based data streams from store shelves to space, and
Brands that make consumers happy will be more loved.
how they distill this data into transparent insights across a
Sport is an inspirational power for good. Sport enhances the myriad of fields from macroeconomics and disaster relief to
lives of individuals, communities, countries and the entire
the global transport of goods.
world. It promotes healthy living and teaches life lessons;
it has stopped wars and ended injustices. From a brand
perspective, the passion that consumers have for sport
represents one of the most underutilized raw materials in
marketing… especially for brand marketers. Lisa Murray,
Octagon’s Chief Marketing Officer, will host a meet up that
discusses how Octagon research has quantified what drives
fan passion and how fans indulge their passion for sports,
and how the resulting insights help brands harness the
power of sport to make consumers fall in love with
their brand.

Turning Fan Passion
into Brand Passion

28

Recommendations....

Ripped from the
Headlines
Marketing Ethics
in the Era of Openness
Rowan Benecke, Reg. Dir. North America, Text100 Global
Communications; Steve DelBianco, Exec. Dir., NetChoice;
Jodi Olson, Communications Partner, Google Ventures;
BurghardtTenderich, Associate Professor, University of
Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication
Courtyard MarriottRio Grande Ballroom
Beginner:
#sxsw #ethics
The globalization of human behavior & increasing the
channels where people can voice opinions is forcing
transparency & openness to its peak. In a world where
there’s no place to hide, how do organizations transcend the
complexities of a global workplace and reach the connected
consumer? There’s no easy answer, but an increasing
orientation toward ethics and values-based decision making
is enabling organizations to commit to a level of openness
that employees & consumers have been hoping for. For
marketers, globalization presents a number of challenges
and opportunities. A more connected, interdependent
world means more opportunity to reach stakeholders, affect
decisions, create change and build relationships. It also puts
more power in the hands of the consumer. We’ll examine the
increased scrutiny on ethics/values in the marketing industry
and the role marketers play to ensure brands behave
ethically, openly and transparently.

A Conversation with Julian Assange
Julian Assange, Founder, WikiLeaks; Benjamin Palmer, CoFounder & Chairman, The Barbarian Group
Austin Convention CenterExhibit Hall 5
Advanced:
#sxsw #JABP
With recent disclosures about online surveillance, Julian
Assange, founder of Wikileaks, continues his dedication to
the pursuit of individual privacy and transparency.
Labeled everything from martyr, anarchist, whistle-blower,
hero or tyrant, Assange has ignited international headlines
over the past six years, arguably becoming one of the most
polarizing and provocative figures of our time.
During this one-on-one conversation with The Barbarian
Group’s Benjamin Palmer, Assange will discuss the
importance of online privacy, the ethical and political
implications of releasing classified information into the
public realm, and the concept of the “Internet Nation”
The interview will also address subjects including the
relationship between government surveillance and national
security, the implications of online democracy, and the future
of the Internet.

29

Recommendations....

Storytelling

The Secret Sauce
of Real Time Storytelling

How Using Big Data
Can Tell Personalized Stories

Dustin Callif, Managing Partner Digital, Tool; Jason Nickel,
Interactive Dir/Technologist, Tool; Jason Zada, Dir, Tool
Intermediate:
#sxsw #secrtsauce

Francois Ajenstat, SrDir, Tableau Software; Eric Shoup,
EVP of Prod, Ancestry.com
Sheraton Austin, Capitol View South
Intermediate:
#sxsw #datastory

Real-time storytelling allows the audience to actively
participate in the making of a story or advertisement.
A recent example of ours, “Remote Control Tourist,”
exemplifies this concept. For this, we used Twitter and
Facebook to bring a global audience of 150 million people
together into a live-streaming experience in which they
navigated real-life tourists through an entire city. The
story’s end: the first of its kind crowdsourced city guide.

Big Data is a game changer for storytelling. Increased
pressure to find meaning in mounds of data—in real-time
and at scale—has given rise to technology that analyzes
and turns individual data points into bite-sized prose and,
in some cases, fascinating personal stories. Too often, the
data we pull is cold, factual, and dehumanized. We can bring
the humanity back into the bite-sized stories we tell with
data by seeking out, understanding, and incorporating the
inherent narratives within it. The Spanish Influenza killed
It’s this blend between show production, social media and
more than 20 million people worldwide, BUT what is the
interactivity that provides the model for the evolution of
story of patient zero? Imagine instantly weaving together a
storytelling. This panel will discuss the unique creative,
history about this man’s life and his family’s journey to the
social media and production methods used to create this
U.S. through technology that mines historical data kept in
type of show or advertisement. Tool is uniquely positioned to records. All of this leading up to the day he spread influenza
provide this kind of insight having produced several projects to over 100 men. Join this thought-provoking session around
in this category ranging from the interactive reality show
using context to bring depth and meaning to massive
“Screw*d” to the social documentary for the launch of
amounts of data and, in turn, stories presented to end users.
Gran Turismo 6 “First Love” to “Remote Control Tourist”.

30

The Secrets Behind
Addictive Storytelling

Scientist to Storyteller:
How to Narrate Data

Bob DeBitetto, Pres, Brand Strategy, Business Dev &
A&E Studios, A&E Television Networks; Joanna Coles,
Editor in Chief, Cosmopolitan; Jonathan Perelman, GM &
SVP, BuzzFeed; Terry Wood, Pres, Unscripted & Original
Syndication, One Three Media/a Hearst/Mark Burnett
Company; Troy Young, Pres, Hearst Magazines Digital Media
Austin Convention Center, Next Stage EH 3/4
http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_OE02848
#sxsw #nextstage

Eric Swayne, Prod Mgr/Analytics Dir, BuzzShift
Intermediate:
#sxsw #Sci2Story

It’s uncomfortable for me to admit this: Analysts aren’t paid
for the elegance of their Python, the resplendence of their
R, or even the complexity of their CSV files. But after years
of leading social analytics and research teams, and even
How can brands break through clutter, find an audience
architecting the platforms they use, I’ve come to a harsh
and forge lasting relationships?The secret is addictive
reality: I and my fellow Analysts are paid for the meeting
storytelling, with characters, voices and content that surprise, AFTER the report. The meeting where the C-suite actually
entertain and engage.
remembers what we said, why it was important, and decides
to apply it in a business decision.
Learn how the pros do it as Hearst Magazines Digital Media
President Troy Young talks with Cosmopolitan editor in
So join me in a session where we will start from the
chief Joanna Coles about how she’s reinvigorated the brand; analog human and work our way back to the digital data.
Bob DeBitetto of A+E Networks about finding original
We will unpack the biology, psychology, economics and
programming in the most unexpected places; BuzzFeed’s
Freakonomics that make humans tick. We will understand
Jonathan Perelman, about compelling content that gets
what a data-driven insight truly IS, and how we can help
users sharing and Terry Wood, of Mark Burnett’s One Three
organizations not only understand it, but act on it. We’ll
Media, about how real people in extraordinary situations
talk tools and tips, but most importantly, we’ll cover the
equals drama and ratings.
techniques you can use to become an Agent of Change,
rather than just a Janitor of Data

31

Storytelling,
Innovation, & Inspiration
Alex Cuthbert, Sr UX Designer, Google
AT&T Conference CenterClassroom 103
Intermediate:
#sxsw #mystory
This workshop showcases examples from a variety of web,
film, animation, and mobile design leaders as a starting
point for learning how to build stories about transformational
products and experiences. You will 1) understand the basic
dynamics of storytelling, engagement, and surprise, 2)
examine the mechanisms that make stories compelling
and meaningful, 3) gain hands-on experience constructing
a storyline by shifting perspective, audience, and story
structure, and 4) learn how to build connection, develop
product ideas, and drive innovation through the use of
stories.
At the end of this workshop, you will have a better
understanding of the art of storytelling and a set of tools
for applying it to product design.
ATTENTION: You must signup in advance to attend this
workshop. You will need to have a valid SXSW badge, and
an activated SXsocial account.

Visually Turning Complexity
into Clarity
Karl Gude, Graphics Editor in Residence, School of
Journalism at Michigan State University; Ronnie Lipton,
Info Design Author, Trainer, Consultant; Graham Roberts,
Graphics/Multimeda Editor, The New York Times; Fernanda
Viégas, Research Scientist, Google
Austin Convention CenterBallroom BC
Beginner:
#sxsw #Clarity
Dogbert says to Dilbert: “Information is gushing toward
your brain like a firehose aimed at a teacup!” An extremely
effective way to make sense of all this information is to find
stories in the data and visualize them, which can speed
comprehension, summarize the complex, show hidden
relationships, reveal patterns and more.
And this is happening across all industries, from scientific
and medical groups —who often have to explain complex
information to a lay audience— to PR firms and other
businesses who are looking for ways to engage, inform and
motivate their markets.
We are a unique gathering of professional visual
communicators who employ a wide variety of storytelling
platforms (print, interactive and motion graphics) and visual
tools (maps, graphs, diagrams, video, etc.) to do our jobs.
We will explain our process for finding visual stories in the
data, discuss the best technologies for doing what we do
and illustrate how we build, plan and execute graphics.

32

Recommendations....

Tech

SXSW Accelerator:
Wearable Technologies

SXSW Accelerator:
Social Technologies

Thomas Ball, General Partner, Austin Ventures; Casper
de Clercq, Partner, Norwest Venture Partners; Uri Minkoff,
Co-founder and CEO, Rebecca Minkoff; Laurie Segall, Tech
Correspondent, CNNMoney; Sonny Vu, CEO & Founder,
Misfit Wearables
Hilton Austin DowntownSalon D
Intermediate:
#sxsw #sxswaccel

Kevin Carter, Partner, SV Angel; Don Dodge, Developer Rel,
Google; John Malloy, General Partner, BlueRun Ventures;
Harry McCracken, Editor at Large, TIME; Maria Thomas, Chief
Consumer Officer, SmartThings
Hilton Austin DowntownSalon A
Intermediate:
#sxsw #sxswaccel

SXSW Accelerator pitch event presented by Oracle is a
platform to allow early stage technology startups to pitch
their product and/or services to industry technology experts,
high profiled media personnel, and Venture Capitalists
/ Angel Investors. Eight companies within the Wearable
Technologies category will dazzle a live audience, panel of
three judges and co-emcees with their ideas, innovations,
product and/or service on Saturday, March 8. Three of those
eight companies will be asked to return on day two, Sunday,
March 9, to present to a new group of co-emcees and judges.
A grand prize winner for each category will be selected at
the end of day two as part of the evening SXSW Accelerator
Awards Ceremony.
The Wearable Technologies category focuses on technology
worn on, in, or around the body. As this major technology
cycle advances, we will include all types of wearable
products that advance human performance and wellness,
as well as those involved in apparel, accessories, fashion
and lifestyle.

SXSW Accelerator pitch event presented by Oracle is a
platform to allow early stage technology startups to pitch
their product and/or services to industry technology experts,
high profiled media personnel, and Venture Capitalists
/ Angel Investors. Eight companies within the Social
Technologies category will dazzle a live audience, panel of
three judges and co-emcees with their ideas, innovations,
product and/or service on Saturday, March 8. Three of those
eight companies will be asked to return on day two, Sunday,
March 9, to present to a new group of co-emcees and judges.
A grand prize winner for each category will be selected at
the end of day two as part of the evening SXSW Accelerator
Awards Ceremony.
The Social Technologies category includes technologies that
enable personal connections. This category includes new
and interesting uses, cases, products and services that push
the boundaries of how we find, follow and share our lives
with others.

33

Why Didn’t a Tech Journalist
Break PRISM?
Martin Bryant, Editor-in-Chief, The Next Web; Kara Swisher,
Co-Exec Editor, AllThingsD; Alexia Tsotsis, Co-Editor,
TechCrunch
Monday, March 10, 11:00AM - 12:00PM,
Austin Convention CenterRoom 18ABCD
Intermediate:
#sxsw #techmedia
The tech story of 2013 — the PRISM revelations and their
fallout — wasn’t broken by technology journalists. Why was
that? Are most tech reporters too wrapped up in simple tasks
like rewriting press releases about new apps and reviewing
the latest hit smartphone to bother investigating real
scandals?
Do the economics of modern media mean that tech
reporting has become far too light and frothy? We talk to
a panel of journalists to find out.
Recode’s Kara Swisher has been reporting on technology
since 1997 and has seen the way the Web has transformed
journalism and Alexia Tsotsis is a ‘digital native’ journalist
making waves at TechCrunch.
Together with The Next Web’s Martin Bryant as moderator,
they’ll explore whether today’s tech journalism could do
with a serious injection of depth.

34

Manage Your Career at the 2014 SXSW
Interactive Festival
It’s always been true that attending SXSW events
give you the opportunity to make the perfect
connection to a great opportunity in the digital,
social and technology world. Remember to pack
your resume, business cards and portfolio and
organize your digital career links before you head
to Austin.
Last year, SXSW rolled out the Digital Creative Job
Market as a platform for talented tech workers to
find new employment opportunities in Austin and
around the world.This year, the platform moves to a
bigger space (Ballroom ABC on the first floor of the
Austin Convention Center) on March 6 and 7 from
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Digital Creative Job Market

features employers from dozens of exciting
tech-related companies and organizations across
a variety of industries.
Publicis Groupe, MSLGROUP’s parent company, we
are proud to say, is the presenting sponsor of this
event.Several Publicis Groupe brands will be there,
including Leo Burnett, MSLGROUP, Performics,
Saatchi & Saatchi, StarcomMediaVest and VivaKi.
Stop by the Lounge at the Job Market to meet the
Publicis Groupe team and other exciting digital
employersat SXSW 2014.

Parties @ SXSW Interactive...
SXSWInteractive...
Big parties are accessible if you have a badge, but
you might find that you’re spending more time
waiting to get in than you are partying. One solution
is to go at off-peak times and meet up with friends
afterward. Be open to where the night takes you.
For a list of all the parties at SXSW 2014:
SXSWi Parties
Our SXSW-official party recommendations are:
Interactive Opening Party– Friday
SXSW Film + Interactive Fusion Party - Saturday
MashBash at SXSW- Sunday
Interactive Closing Party– Tuesday (Kudos to you
if you’re still going strong on Tuesday after a party
every night. Not many people can do that)
There are many unofficial parties at SXSW – look
on Twitter for handles like @SXSWPartyList and @
sxswparty that aggregate party information and
tweet it out.
MSLGROUP is a sponsor of Friday night’s TechSet
party – we look forward to seeing you there!

35

Hungry? Here Are a Few Picks Near SXSW Interactive Events…
Breakfast/Brunch:

Lunch:

South Congress Café: Not only is South Congress
Café the greatest brunch spot in town, but it’s on the
South Congress strip – a popular spot for tourists.
Don’t leave without trying their famous Bloody Mary!

Torchy’s Tacos: Go to Torchy’s for the best breakfast
taco for lunch you’ll ever eat. Try out the Migas,
Brushfire, Baja Shrimp or make your own! Above all,
don’t miss out on the chips & green chilequeso as it’s
the FINEST in town.

Cisco’s: Migas and biscuits, what more could you
want? It’s a hole in the wall on East 6th Street. Don’t
go if you’re turned off by old tables and lack of décor,
but that’s what makes it so special.
Juan in a Million: If you’ve never had a breakfast
taco, then you’re in for a treat. Man vs. Food
attempted the “Don Juan” taco – Try to eat as
many Don Juan breakfast tacos as you can. Last we
checked, the record was eight!
Z Tejas: Check out this upscale southwestern
brunch or dinner spot on West 6th Street.
24 Diner: Not your typical diner food. The best
chicken and waffles in Austin.

Franklin Barbeque: If you want to get messy, check
out Franklin BBQ for brisket, ribs, pulled pork,
turkey, sausage and more. Don’t be scared away by
the line that wraps around the restaurant!
Perlas: Top patio spot in town for people watching
and known for their yummy seafood and oyster bar.
Fricanos: In the mood for a sandwich? Check out
one of the most delicious paninis you’ll find in
Austin. It’s right by UT Campus, so order to-go and
walk up Guadalupe Street.
Food Heads: Specialty sandwiches, soups, salads
and sides are all made from scratch, and they have
multiple tea flavors too.
Hula Hut: Hula Hut is Mexican food with a Tiki twist!
The restaurant sits on the lake, so ask for a prime
table on the back patio.
Hopdoddy: Known for their burgers and beer,
Hopdoddy offers the freshest, all-natural ingredients
with buns made from scratch and baked fresh twice
daily.

36

Dinner:
La Traviata: A delicious Italian bistro on Congress Ave known for a variety of pasta dishes! This one is owned
by a relative of someone in the home office. We highly encourage a visit.
Eddie V’s: The nicest seafood restaurant that downtown Austin has to offer. Order the Tuna Tartare to start,
the Hong Kong Style Sea Bass or Bone-in Filet for your entrée and don’t leave without tasting the Bananas
Foster Flambé for dessert.
Curra’s Grill: This place is an institution, andsome say the best Tex-Mex in the city. Order the avocado
margarita.
La Condesa: High-end takeon Mexican located in the 2nd Street district.
Vespaio: Italian at its finest. Vespaio is on South Congress and has authentic antipasti & salads, wood-fired
pizzas, pastas from light to robust, extraordinary entrees, and decadent desserts.
UchiorUchiko: Uchi is closer to downtown but Uchiko is larger, both offer Japanese small plates and sushi.
If you’re a Top Chef fan, you know that Paul Qui (winner of Season 9) is the executive chef at Uchiko.
Moonshine: Southern style American cooking on Red River Street. The Pecan Crusted Catfish and White
Chocolate Bread Pudding are staples!
Second Bar + Kitchen: Great cocktails with a delicious seasonal menu. The kitchen offers small plates and
large entrees perfect for sharing or keeping to yourself.
Lambert’s Downtown Barbeque: An inventive spin on Texas barbeque. Someone in your group should try
the Frito Pie.
Barley Swine: If you have a car and can get a reservation, this unique culinary experience is not to be
missed.
Our other favorites include Stubb’s BBQ, Iron Cactus, Hudson’s on the Bend (try the lobster & crab
quesadilla), and the scallops from Wink. If you’re feeling adventurous (and have transportation), make the
trek to The Salt Lick for the barbecue – you won’t be disappointed.
And in case you were wondering, we’ve tracked a few other things you need to know:

Food Trucks

Happy Hour

Activities

East Side Kings

219 West

LBJ Library

Hey Cupcake!

Iron Cactus

Bats on the Congress bridge

Mighty Cone

J Blacks Feel Good
Kitchen and Lounge

Townlake

Kebabalicious
G’RajMahal
Three Little Pigs

The Driskill Bar
Max’s Wine Dive

AlamaDrafthouse
Barton Springs Pool
Zilker Park

37

We look forward
to seeing you @SWSW!

@MSLGROUPNA
@MSL_GROUP
#MSLSXSW
Editor: Tim Koch

SXSW Interactive 2014: Insiders' Guide

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