(L-R) Joel Bush, Andy Budd, Kelly Goto
The SXSW Interactive Festival Advisory Board consists of industry experts, as well as veteran members of the community that come together in Austin each spring. Advisory Board members are very involved in helping select the best of the best proposals, which SXSW receives each year through the SXSW PanelPicker. We asked Advisory Board members Kelly Goto of gotomedia, Andy Budd of Clearleft, and Joel Bush of Amplifier the following question...
"What are you most excited about for SXSW Interactive 2013?"
Keynotes
Kelly Goto: Wow. This is a hard one. I have to put my vote towards the Oatmeal. I have been a fan for years now and the comic always hits the mark. Now to find out Matthew is raising funds for Tesla and other good endeavors using humor and genius marketing...I want to hear what he has to say. What motivates him. How he comes up with the ideas he is able to so cleverly put down on paper. In a digital medium, this hand drawn and genius portrayal of our technological lives is the perfect reality mirror.
Andy Budd: As much as I love swissmiss, it's gotta be Elon Musk of SpaceX. If only because I'm a big fan of James Bond and want to see the real life Ernst Stavro Blofeld in person.
Joel Bush: Matthew Inman thrives by connecting directly with his community.
Featured Sessions
Andy: Ben Huh is always entertaining so I suspect The Art of Making Fun of Yourself will be a good laugh. The New Serendipity? with Kevin Rose and Joi Ito could be fun, if only to see Mr. Ito forced to down Jager Bombs while a room full of brogrammers chant "Joi, Joi" over and over again. I'll be going to see Why Tiny Habits Give Big Results with BJ Fogg, but that's sort of my thing. Oh, and if you enjoyed the session with Chuck Lorre and identify with the characters in The Big Bang Theory, you may want to check out Hey, Where's My Robot Girlfriend?.
Workshops, Book Readings, Meet Ups
Kelly: Definitely Yes, and.. A Design Thinking Bootcamp workshop. Bring nothing. RSVP Required. Prototyping is a key tool behind the D. School design process. Sign me up!
Joel: I'm looking forward to hearing what Jessica Hagy has to say at her book reading. I might swing by the Hacking Transportation Meet Up. Cool topic.
By Date: Friday, March 8 sessions
Kelly: I think the Art of Akira is the most random and enticing for me. As an Akira fan when it first came out on laserdisk nearly two decades ago, this movie exposed a whole new side of anime to a generation.
By Date: Saturday, March 9 sessions
Andy: I may have to attend Successful Wi-Fi at Large Events because I now run four conferences in the UK and conferences really can't sort that shit out over here. I thought Front End Legos: Reusable HTML & CSS looked interesting for anybody into modular design and development. Josh Clark is always good value so, Beyond Mobile: Where No Geek Has Gone Before. My top recommendation for SXSW is to go to sessions you know nothing about, which is why The Next Frontier of Interactive: Smart Fashion piqued my interest. What self respecting geek doesn't want to go to Area 51, so Taboo Travel is definitely on my list.
By Date: Sunday, March 10 sessions
Andy: I'd be interested to see Airbnb's Brian Chesky Talks with Fortune. I'm aiming to pop along to The Real Responsive Process? Jonty Sharples is an excellent speaker and I highly recommend his Arrogance & Confidence in Design talk. @NASA: The User Experience of a Space Station looks intriguing.
By Date: Monday, March 11 sessions
Kelly: Embracing Analog: Why Physical Is Hot. This is my theme, the anti-technology, stop blogging and twittering theme. It is the new normal as far as I am concerned.
By Date: Tuesday, March 12 sessions
Andy: Fancy a bit of insider trading? Then check out Esther Dyson, Release 0.9 to see what this serial angel investor thinks is going to be the next big thing. I saw Tony Fadell speak at Brooklyn Beta last year and he was excellent, so I'm definitely going to Breaking the Mold with Meaningful Design.
What trend / meme / idea / product will emerge from SXSW 2013?
Kelly: I think questions around AI technology and balancing 'assisting' with 'controlling' will emerge. There are several sessions around this – SRI's Secrets to Successful Innovation, A Robot in Your Pocket, How AI is Enhancing the User Experience, and more. Currently, AI is often inaccurate and forgiving. How might perception shift and change as the technology becomes uncannily accurate?
Most memorable serendipitous encounter at SXSW?
Joel: I have too many stories to count. Just keep saying "Hi" to folks. It's a friendly place. My favorite moments every year are giving Hugh Forrest a high five of gratitude every time I see him.
Thanks to Joel, Andy and Kelly for contributing to this post. Stay tuned to the blog, follow us, friend us, or add us for more Advisory Board recommendations in the coming days...
