Some friends and colleagues have asked me to let them know about my experience at SxSW 2014, so they can decide whether to go or not next year. Then, I made this presentation.

1. SxSW 2014:
some of what I’ve learned during
my first time there.
Carlos Henrique Vilela
Leucotron / unplanned.com.br / Cidade Criativa, Cidade Feliz

2. There are infinite possible experiences.
Each person has their own.

3. Spending a few days in the 21st century.

5. Different worlds collide at SxSW.

6. Different worlds collide at SxSW.

10. More than 10 official locations all over town.
+ several unofficial activities.

11. I arrived there with a lot of excitement...

12. Why so many simultaneous activities?
What if I miss something that I really want to attend?
Isn’t it too much?
What if I waste too much time in line and miss relevant stuff?
What about the concerts and parties? Is it work or skipping work?
What do music and movies have to do with tech?
Will I get useful and relevant knowledge?
Is it worth all the investment?
But wondering a few things…

13. Learning #1
It’s a transforming experience.
Not a sum of diverse presentations.

14. Official Activities

15. Unofficial Activities

16. Places for real connections

17. I avoided > long lines

18. Presentations and panels are ways to hear
new issues and interesting info.
But they are also triggers to start conversations with random people.

19. Meeting people and hearing their stories > the best of the SxSW experience.
Some of the world’s brightest minds
in technology and marketing are there.
It’s not about exchanging business cards. It’s about having
a drink and hanging out like good old friends.

20. Learning #2
Chaos is an essential part of
the SxSW experience.

22. You can either try to
follow your plans and go nuts...
Or turn on Direct Serendipity mode and have a great time.

23. I ended up attending some very interesting unexpected
panels just by looking for short lines.
The Next Steve Jobs May Be from Africa
Density: How to Create
Silicon Valley in Your City

24. Learning #3
While some are waiting for formulas and models for the future. The most inspiring ones are creating the future.

25. Sharing Economy is a reality in Austin.

26. The Maker Movement is really strong.

27. 3D
printing
is everywhere
for everything.

28. Experiences with 3D Bioprinting.

29. Partnering with nature.

30. Augmented Reality for
Cognitive Cooking

31. Augmented Reality for
National Security

33. Support for older people who live alone.

34. Lightwave >
your personal DJ.

35. Wearables everywhere
Far beyond Google Glass and SmartWatches.

36. DON > A connected hat that opens up exciting possibilities.

37. Fido helps dogs communicate with people.

38. NuMeterez > Heart sensing sports bra.

39. Wearables + Fashion

40. Solepower > generates energy from your walking.

41. Epidermal Eletronics > tattooed tech

42. Athos Fitness > allows you to fine-tune your workout and avoid injury.

43. Skully Helmets > fully integrated augmented reality motorcycle helmet.

44. Augmented reality to help people experience sports.

45. JUNE Bracelet > UV detector

46. Kineseowear > a stick-on artificial muscle.

47. Oujiband > An electronic counterweight strapped to your wrist that uses a gyroscope and a gimbal to sense your fine motor movements and smooth them out when needed.

48. Lalala > a noise-canceling headphone that helps you have talks in loud places.

49. Rift > the first real immersive virtual reality headset.

50. Adheretech > aid to help people remember to take their medications.

51. xNT > implantable NFC chips that hold passwords, personal data and keys.

52. Smart Pills > ingestible sensors.

53. Health is big business Prevention x Reaction
23andme > your genetic code mapped for $99 dollars.

54. Huggies > A pregnancy belt that lets expectant fathers feel their baby's kicks and movements.
Humanization of Technology

55. Affectiva > a facial expressions reader to measure the emotional connection people have to branded content.

56. Haptic Experiences > layers for recognizing objects through touch.

57. Senseg > making ordinary touch screens come alive with textures and edges that users can feel.

58. Affective Computing >
computational framework of affective-cognitive learning and decision making.

59. Sension > mapping up to 78 points on the face to find out what someone is feeling.

60. Muse > brain waves decoded into emotions.

61. Subway Think Fresh > a mind-controlled game.

62. Interaction Table >
tech as brain expansion.

63. Emotions and intuition to help making business decisions.

64. The Cartesian Trap > only trusting logic and ignoring the deep emotional aspects for decision making.

65. Less mainstream.
More options.
More curatorship.

68. Marketing challenge > to be itself more interesting than the rest of the event.

69. Marketing + Technology

70. Purpose + Marketing + Technology

72. Baked In Marketing
purpose + brand + service + hardware + software
= fantastic experiences

73. Main concerns > Security and Privacy

74. A new industry has emerged:
privacy-preserving applications and systems.

75. An existing tool to help you get more privacy right now.

76. Learning #4
Music: a huge marketing and business school.

77. Bands pitching like startups.

78. Figures that can impress the most powerful tech brands.

80. Two of the most inspiring presentations I had ever seen - on the internet.

81. Must-watch speeches for anyone in the business, marketing, advertising and branding worlds.

82. •SXSW Music Festival
•Music Meet Ups
•Demo Listening & Music Supervisor
•Pitch Sessions
•Music Keynotes
•Music Mentor Sessions
•Music Startup Village
•Artist Central
•Music Meet Ups
•Radio Day Stage
•International Day Stage
•Grulke Prize
•SXSW Music Hackathon Championship
•SXSW Music Gear Expo
•Next Stage
•Taco Meet Ups
•Flatstock 48
•Future of TV Sessions
•Convergence Day
•Convergence Meet Ups
•SXSW Comedy
•Future15s
•Film Screenings
•SXSW Film Awards
•Design Awards

83. Opportunity to hang out with really bright people from different industries. And to listen to their incredible stories.

84. It might be hard for some business people to understand that. But the music festival is as productive as the interactive one. It's worth spending a few more days in Austin.

85. Learning #5
Is attending SxSW a good
business / career investment?

86. The festival ‘keeps happening’ when you are home > articles, videos, conversations, new friends, new opportunities, new ideas.

87. But in order to spread and help create the future, nothing is better than really experiencing it – even for a few days.

88. Neither than really spending time with those who are already creating the future.

89. Afterwards, some information will be great for talking to friends.
You will forget a lot of what you hear there.
Some learnings will be good for presentations like this one.
But there’s a small part that will help you make real difference.

90. Why so many simultaneous activities?
What if I miss something that I really want to attend?
Isn’t it too much?
What if I waste too much time in line and miss relevant stuff?
What about the concerts and parties? Is it work or skipping work?
What do music and movies have to do with tech?
Will I get useful and relevant knowledge?
Is it worth all the investment (particularly for Brazilians)?
Getting back to my previous questions…

91. Interactive: March 13–17
Film: March 13–21
Music: March 17–22

92. http://sxsw.com/