SXSWi… A Branding and Social Media Conference?

by Jessica Barnett on August 12, 2010 in Event, Technology with 3 Comments

I’ve had a lot of conversations about the content of and possible improvement of SXSW, specifically the Interactive portion (and really, tech conferences in general)…

How SXSWi describe themselves: “brightest minds in emerging technology”… “the best new digital works, video games and innovative ideas the international community has to offer.”

Quote from the SXSW site:

17. Do you have any specific programming needs for the 2011 event?
- SXSW Interactive is specifically looking for more advanced-level ideas, as well as more sessions that cover technical issues. We are also interested in seeing more solo and dual presentations.

Interesting! So… What are the topics which have been submitted? Surely some technical stuff, right?

Below is the top 10 submitted panel topics as taken from their site a few minutes ago:

Submitted Panel Topic #
Branding / Marketing / Publicity 175
Social Networking 132
Entrepreneurism / Monetization 111
Community / Online Community 109
New Technology / Next Generation 107
User Experience 99
Accessibility 91
Career / Work Concerns 88
Health 82
Design Thinking 81
Advertising 74
Social Issues 62
Education 61
Mobile Applications 50
Content 49
Mobile / Wireless 49
Journalism 48
Self-Help / Self-Improvement 44
Interface / Interaction Design 41
Government and Technology 36

You can also take a look at the full list sorted by # submissions per topic… Also, of the 2346 submitted, only 208 are listed as Advanced. (LOL-worthy?)

What do you think? Will you be going this year? For all you techies who say no, where will you be going instead?

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  • http://www.punkave.com/ Tom Boutell

    Good question. I submitted a panel on PHP performance – how to get your Drupal/Wordpress/Symfony/etc. websites to run faster without rewriting them. It’s a solid technical topic without being hopelessly obscure.

    If panels like mine – not necessarily mine – make it through the process and are on the menu I’ll be excited to go.

    If not… enh. I *am* interested in other areas, but I need to be able to justify my time there at least somewhat in terms of material that relates more directly to what I do, and I’m not in marketing.

    There’s a decent chance that my panel will make it, because I am rocking the twitters and blogging the bloggers and generally making an agreeable nuisance of myself. I know how to play that game. But I wonder how much good content will be missed because the presenter is a good educator but not an amateur marketer. With thousands of submissions it just isn’t possible to read through them all and make intelligent decisions.

    I guess this is what November 4th would be like if we decided every single issue by ballot initiative.

  • http://www.punkave.com/ Tom Boutell

    Also: the beginner/intermediate/advanced thing is a bit arbitrary. My panel is technical but is categorized as intermediate. Is that appropriate? Sure, if you’re skimming the material to learn what to expect from a hosting company or a new system administrator. There are probably other panels that are “intermediate” not because they are wimpy but because they are presented in a way that accommodates different levels of engagement.

  • http://www.redheadjessica.com Jessica

    “I know how to play that game. But I wonder how much good content will be missed because the presenter is a good educator but not an amateur marketer. ”

    … See, that’s what the issue is here. Just because people listen to you on Twitter, that doesn’t NECESSARILY mean you have good content. I think part of the problem is the fact that people are playing the game, and overwhelming those who don’t. (Not that I wouldn’t do the same… haha) I hope the board and staff handle it well and actively try to get more balance there.

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