PBJS/MSLGROUP senior creative director Mike Standish recaps his experiences at SXSW, with one big takeaway from each session, and some notes on what it’s like to attend SXSW Interactive.

1. My SXSWi 2014
Session Recaps
+ Other Notes
Mike Standish
Senior Creative Director
@MikeStandish

2. The Archetypes of SXSW Interactive
SXSW Interactive attendees fall into many categories, but there is one
predominant type of character, and apparently I’m it: The chunky-glasses-
wearing hipster. Here’s some proof from my Chicago colleague Whitney Beatty.
Perhaps, though, there’s a downside to my appearance.

3. SELECT SESSION
NOTES
MSLGROUP | PBJS

4. Visually Turning Complexity Into Clarity
One Takeaway:
Use hand-drawn sketches to get people
to embrace the notion that a design is
unfinished and malleable. Computer
renderings can be intimidating.
Useful People + Resources:
@Viegasf
Research Scientist, Google
@Grahaphics
Graphics/Multimedia Editor, NYT
@KarlGude
Graphics Editor
Michigan State U/Newsweek
Wind Visualization:
http://www.Hint.fm/wind/gallery
Mariano Rivera: King of Closers:
http://www.grahaphics.com/Mariano-Rivera-King-
of-the-Closers

5. Generation Mash-Up: Y Bother?
One Takeaway:
The technology you grow up using has a
profound effect on the way your brain
works, and the way you interact with
others.
Useful People + Resources:
@PeteCashmore
Founder, Mashable
@Fleurot5
CEO, MSLGROUP
@JoannaColes
Editor-in-Chief, Cosmopolitan

6. Edward Snowden: A Virtual Conversation
One Takeaway:
It’s not about preventing the NSA from
catching criminals. It’s about preventing
the bulk surveillance of citizens with no
cause.
Useful People + Resources:
@Csoghoian
Principal Technologist, ACLU
@BenWizner
Director, ACLU Speech/Privacy/Tech Project
CNN story and video:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/10/tech/web/edward-snowden-sxsw/

7. A Conversation with Neil deGrasse Tyson
One Takeaway:
“There is so much to be impressed
with in the universe, I don’t want you
to be distracted by what is not.”
Useful People + Resources:
@neiltyson
Astrophysicist
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey:
http://www.cosmosontv.com/
My MSL Blog/Recap:
http://northamerica.mslgroup.com/network/con
versations/2014/03/13/a-promise-to-remain-
curious-about-the-universe/

8. The New Digital Age
One Takeaway:
Autocratic governments have shifted
from trying to shut down the Internet to
instead attempting to infiltrate it in order
to manipulate their citizenry.
Useful People + Resources:
@JaredCohen
Director of Google Ideas
@EricSchmidt
Executive Chairman, Google
The New Digital Age: Transforming Nations,
Businesses, and Our Lives
http://www.amazon.com/New-Digital-Age-
Transforming-Businesses/dp/030794705X/

9. The Future of Genetics in Our Everyday Lives
One Takeaway:
There’s still a degree of GATTACA-like
fear involved in sending your DNA to a
testing company, but the personal and
cultural benefits may yield tremendous
benefits.
Useful People + Resources:
ANNE WOJCICKI
Anne Wojcicki is a biotech analyst, biologist,
and CEO of 23andMe, a consumer genetic-
testing startup.
@23andMe
23andMe.com
http://www.fastcompany.com/person/anne-
wojcicki

10. LEARNINGS
MSLGROUP | PBJS

11. Event Marketing Can Be …
… Weird

12. Don’t Even Bother Trying to Eat Healthy

13. Forget About Normal Sleep Patterns

14. Our Colleagues from Around the World are Awesome

15. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR, SXSW