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#SXSW Interactive
2015
Session Highlights
Austin Texas
March 13-17th
@garymonk

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Some images and highlights from SXSW
interactive 2015 in Austin Texas, with personal
commentary and opinion
Introduction
Note: links to event
in bottom right
corner of slides

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The Innovator's DNA: The
Five Innovation Skills
• Anyone can innovate – only 1/3 of an
innovators skills are genetic
• 95% of your ideas will suck – bring in
outside thinking
• Future communications will be sensitive
to our mood
• Teachers ask questions, students
answer. We are not taught to ask the
right questions
• Innovation now comes from teams not
individuals
• Novelty is rarely innovation
• Process and metrics are good words
Event link:Hal Gregersen
The 5 skills
1) Associational thinking
2) Questioning
3) Observing
4) Networking
5) Experimenting

4.
Biz Stone on Creativity
and Redefining Success
• Whatever you do, you need to have
100% emotional investment and you
will have indefatigable drive
• Mindfulness is key to creativity
• The future of marketing is philanthropy
– people are attracted to meaning
• If you want to be able to succeed
spectacularly you need to be able to fail
spectacularly
Event link:
Biz Stone

5.
Hacking the Brain: What's Next
for Neuro-Health?
• Fascinating discussion of the use of sensors to
measure cognition and deterioration (e.g.
Alzheimers)
• Example of a disabled patient controlling a plane
(flight simulator) intuitively using thought,
unencumbered by motor function
• In the future robots won’t be autonomous – we will
control them directly with sensors in our brains
Event link:
Geoffrey Ling
(DARPA)

6.
How Is Big Pharma Interacting with Tech Startups?
• A session for start ups on how to approach and navigate the maze of ‘Big Pharma’
• Finding the decision makers is tough and IF you get a deal expect to put some ‘skin in the
game’
• Partner with trusted agencies to understand pharma and approach them
• Megan Lopresto claimed Boehringer is more innovative being privately owned and not
answering to shareholders
Event link:

7.
Innovation- Healthcare Beyond Medical Devices
• Sensors in, on or around our bodies will evolve into passive, silent monitors to active treaters
of disease
• The price of privacy - Jon Werner (Adidas) talked how the need for encryption causes latency
and reduced service levels
• The power of big data combined with sensors - predictive analytics and sensors will offer an
alert before an elderly person falls.
Event link:

8.
Paid Editing of Wikipedia: Getting Past "Gotcha”
• Big companies struggle with Wikipedia’s lack of hierarchy and speed to implement changes
‘There is no deadline!’
• Self editing of pages of conflicted pages is a no-no unless repairing vandalism or working in
some non english speaking country pages
• Some useful resources here
Event link:

9.
Creating A Digital
Engagement Strategy
for Leaders
• Authentic leadership example of Telstra
CEO David Thodey jumping into
customer service tweets
• Thodey also asked his staff
spontaneously, to give examples of
time wasting processes, promising they
would be removed or explained
• Social media leadership is not about
trying to be perfect, rather accepting
failure and learning
• Essentially around a culture of sharing
and relationships
Event link:
Charlene Li
(Altimeter)

10.
Advocates vs Agitators:
the Social Influence
• In social media you need to be
available 24/7, obvious? Not to some
banks who take 2 days to respond
• Southwestern airlines cite great
relationship between customer
advocacy and legal teams to improve
service via social media
• Don’t give the persistent detractors the
oxygen of a response – that is what
they want
• Social is ready to grow up in business –
connecting with customers and
delivering more revenue
Event link:

11.
Race to the Fifth Screen
• Is the 5th screen on a table, as watch or is it really a screen at all?
• It is not numbers of screens but ensuring the current ones are integrated
• Using augmented reality to get content on any screen and make anything a screen
Event link:

12.
Magical UX and the
Internet of Things
• The phone is the first ‘internet of things’
object for everyone
• Interactivity between screens and
seamlessly moving objects around.
Nice video example
• Its not about screens but about
ubiquitous computing
• Automation can have its dark side
• How smart does your bed have to be
before you are afraid to sleep in it
• The problem with google glass – it was
a technology project. The computer
should be as invisible as possible
Event link:
Josh Clark
(Global Moxie)

13.
Evolve or Die: The Traditional Agency Revolution
• Will social and digital job titles exist in 2 years? Should they?
• Digital is a great opportunity to create stuff (that actually matters)
• A risk tolerance towards failure is required
• Move away from the full service ‘do-it-all’ agency to a range of partners
• Form strong media relationships and partnerships with Google, Facebook, You Tube etc
• Oh and make sure your culture is fun
Event link:

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thank you
twitter: @garymonk
linked in: www.linkedin.com/in/garywmonk
Blog: garymonk.com