(L-R) Sheila Scarborough, Liz Danzico, and Kris Krug

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 Kris Krug of kriskrug.com, Liz Danzico of School of Visual Arts and Sheila Scarborough of Tourism Currents the following question...

"What are you most excited about for SXSW Interactive 2013?"

Keynotes

Liz Danzico: Tina Roth Eisenberg. Because no one – in a room big or small – should ever miss a chance to hear what Tina has to say.

Featured Sessions

Liz: Probably Ask NASA Astronauts Live from Space because it's something I've never seen before.

Sheila Scarborough: Drawing Conclusions: Why Everyone Should Draw on Monday. I've been thinking a lot lately about getting back to our childhood willingness to create things with our hands; I miss scribbling and creating without getting all perfectionist about it.

Workshops

Liz: How to Build a Financial Model, because I've avoided it long enough.

By Date: Saturday, March 9 sessions

Kris Krug: Have you heard this mofo Dave McClure speak? Check out LEAN STARTUP SXSW w/ Dave McClure & Eric Ries. Dave's totally irreverent, insightful and fun. Piratey to his very core with wisdom and experience in what it takes to make startups succeed.

Sheila: I can't miss A Home on the Web: The State of Blogging in 2013. The speakers are Matt Mullenweg (the guy who created WordPress) and Kara Swisher (top journalist on the digital beat and an excellent speaker, too.) A self-hosted blog is the most powerful communications tool we have, AND the blogger has complete control of it. Nope, it's far from dead.

By Date: Tuesday, March 12 sessions

Kris: Activists, Rockstars & Startups—Building Movements covers lots of my converging interests and features a sweet lineup of panelists including Eli Pariser & DJ Spooky.

What I am looking forward to at the Trade Show

Sheila: I always walk the Trade Show floor just to see who forked over big bucks to get a booth and get in front of the Interactive crowd. There are always companies there that surprise me. I remember seeing Zappos one year and thinking, WTF?

People I am most excited to connect with

Kris: Amber Case, Dave Olson, Jeffrey Zeldman, Violet Blue, Bre Pettis, Drew Olanoff, Mickey Krimmel, Hugh Forrest, John Biehler, Kelly Clay, Ken Brady, Dave McClure, Ben Metcalfe, Robert Michael Murray, and Desiree Kane.

Networking event that I am most excited about

Kris: The Media Temple wrap party is not to be missed. A couple years ago The Foo Fighters dropped their brand new album on all us geeks. Who knows what they got up their sleeve this year, but I'll be there.

Diversity-related session

Sheila: The one featuring the Jon Stewart of the Arab World. That's pretty intriguing.

Venue where I am most likely to hang out

Liz: Austin Convention Center (Community and Activism), Austin Convention Center (Content and Distribution), Austin Convention Center (Design and Development), Austin Convention Center (Diversity and Emerging Markets), Austin Convention Center (Featured Sessions), and Austin Convention Center (Government and Civic Engagement). Why so much Austin Convention Center for me? Habit, or the predictability of the location and format.

What trend / meme / idea / product will emerge from SXSW 2013?

Liz: Big data

Thanks to Liz, Sheila and Kris 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...