SXSW 2010 was held in Austin, TX and focused on digital culture, new media, and emerging technologies. It attracted over 15,000 interactive participants from 31 countries, a 40% increase from the previous year. Notable attendees included Ashton Kutcher, Evan Williams of Twitter, and Gary Vaynerchuk. Sessions focused on social media and business, user experience, and how technology is accelerating cultural and societal changes. Emerging apps like Foursquare and Gowalla that leverage people's locations using mobile devices were discussed. The effectiveness of using new technologies like quick response codes and social media for real-time feedback was also examined.

1. SxSW 2010
Austin, TX

2. South what?

3. ❝
Often dubbed the Sundance of new
❞
media, SXSWi is the bellwether for what
lies ahead for digital culture.
– Advertising Age, March 24, 2009

4. ❝Welcome to Austin, a city where, for
the time being, everybody is famous,
the economy is rocking, and the grid
❞
is groaning under an influx of the
digitally interested.
– New York Times, March 23, 2009

5. facts and figures
• First sxsw in 1987, all about music
• First sxsw multimedia in 1994
• Became sxsw interactive in 1999
This year:
• Interactive participants: 15,000+ (40% ↑ YOY)
• 40% more registrations than sxsw music 2010
• Countries represented: 31

6. personas
Ashton Kutcher
Scott Heiferman,
Evan Williams, Meetup.com
Twitter
Guy Kawasaki
Jeff Jervis,
Gary Vaynerchuk The Buzz Machine
Danah Boyd Wine Library
Social Media Researcher @ Microsoft

7. today
#1 : social [media+business];
today’s connective tissue
#2 : UX
#3 : on steroids
#4 : practical philosophy

8. #1
social [media+business];
today’s connective
tissue
8

9. Question:
How different was this event from others, when
you say ‘connective tissue’ ?
“It just felt more connected. All
the time. Nearly like a scene
from Blade Runner.”

10. In short:
super- location- connective
+ transparent + =
connected sensitive tissue of
sxsw

11. MySXSW
• Not just a website but an Event Social Network
• Connect Twitter followers
• Connect to Facebook
• Connect with new people [Contacts]
• See who is attending [Groups]
• Install [Tools]
check it out? • Customize [My Schedule]
user: molonese
p/w: sxswrocks

12. MySXSW - Groups
• Who is attending
• Connect with them

13. MySXSW - Tools
MySXSW on iPhone
Features:
• My Schedule
• Map
• Search
• Notifications
• My Card (send via email or SMS)
• News
• Compatibility: only iPhone v3.x 
• Developer: DUB
• User feedback: not updating at times

14. QR (quick response) Code
Application 1: “Follow me” @ mySxSW
• How? Snap the QR Code on my event tag
with your phone
• Get: name, photo, company, etc
• Then: follow me on my.sxsw; events
attended, what I say, see my groups, etc.
• After: synch up all contacts gathered
with my address book
• Applies: to people, brands, events
Application 2: Quick access to content
• How? Snap the QR Code on poster, print
ad
•Result: get instant access to mobile page;
text, mp3, video, etc.
Application 1 Application 2

15. QR (quick response) Code
• Phones and apps:
• iPhone: I-Nigma
• Windows Mobile:Bee Tagg
• BlackBerry: I-Nigma or BeeTagg
• Android: Google Zxing Reader
• Nokia: I-Nigma
• Result: few people used it, but it shows
innovation leadership of sxsw. Expected to be big
in the coming years.
Application 1 Application 2

16. Tweets kill Twitter’s keynote
• Highly anticipated keynote
• Worthy quotes:
• “We are a force for the good”
•“Difference between transparent and open?”
Window is transparent but closed. Door is
open.”
• @Anywhere disappointed the interactive world.
Lacked a larger context.
• Voted the worst keynote in the history of sxsw.
Ironically, the tweeting audience killed the keynote.
• They never read the tweets in real time for feedback
• 75% of audience left before the end.

17. #tags at tracks
#sparkamovement
What’s good about it?
• synopsis of the track left on Twitter
• real-time feedback to the presenters
• helps decide if worth switching to another track

18. #tags in life
This is Jenn’s real story

19. Gowalla
What’s cool [need mobile]
• know where your friends are
• ping them “at a great bistro now”
• what they say about places
• imports friends from FB and Twitter
• rewards (pins)

20. Foursquare
What’s cool [on mobile]
• very similar to Gowalla
• venue-specific promos from vendors
• rewards (badges)

21. Foodspotting
What’s cool
• connects food lovers
• rates and reviews food and places
• helps make food decisions
• tagged by food type and geography
• natural fit for food-related sponsors

22. #2 : UX (user experience)
22

23. UX
• Web psychology
• Best UX sites
• Rapid prototyping (exercise)

24. web psychology
#1 Likeability •use of personalities like
Obama, liked celebrities
#2 Social Proof
•smiling models sell better
#3 Authority (example of banking
#4 Reciprocity products)
•obvious but not used
#5 Scarcity
often enough
#6 Commitment

25. web psychology ..continued
• show what like-minded people are
#1 Likeability doing, e.g. “people with red hair, buy
this…. “
#2 Social Proof • the power of “first follower”
• power of groups / peer opinions,
#3 Authority experiment “which is the longest line”,
most see A when others say so too.
#4 Reciprocity A. --------
B. ----------------
#5 Scarcity C. ----
#6 Commitment

26. web psychology ..continued
#1 Likeability • show people that you are credible
• reference made to “Stanford
#2 Social Proof Guidelines for Web Credibility”
• “Ashton Kutcher said… “
#3 Authority
• “Jack Welch says… “
#4 Reciprocity
#5 Scarcity
#6 Commitment

27. web psychology ..continued
#1 Likeability • you give, you get
#2 Social Proof • dog adoption as an analogy;
the dog given “free” for the
#3 Authority weekend always finds a
home
#4 Reciprocity
• Google doing it with its free
#5 Scarcity apps like Reader.
#6 Commitment

28. web psychology ..continued
#1 Likeability • especially when we know
something will be short in
#2 Social Proof supply
#3 Authority • tell people when it’s running
out
#4 Reciprocity
#5 Scarcity
#6 Commitment

29. web psychology ..continued
#1 Likeability • create a low entry point for
people to commit. Games
#2 Social Proof are a good example of merits
and rewards to create a hook
#3 Authority
• comes across how the site
#4 Reciprocity engages us
#5 Scarcity
#6 Commitment

30. web psychology ..continued
#1 Likeability • Great sites like Amazon
subscribes to all these
#2 Social Proof principles
#3 Authority • Recommendation: run this
checklist to see how a site
#4 Reciprocity can be optimized further
#5 Scarcity
#6 Commitment

31. best UX nibs
UX experts’ picks: • We hardly ever
acknowledge a good UX
• zappos .com
site but get so irritated
• mint.com with a bad one.
• urbanoutfitter.com
• Let someone else tell
• amazon.com you the site is great
• turbotax.com (assuming you are the
designer/UX person)

32. rapid prototyping
The Wallet Exercise
(by c/o Intuit, designed TurboTax.com)
The idea:
• Experiment early by conducting rough and rapid experiments
• Means little time investment
• Validate ideas (as idea creators get so hang up on their ideas)

33. rapid prototyping ..continued
Step 1

34. rapid prototyping ..continued
Step 2

35. rapid prototyping ..continued
Step 3

36. rapid prototyping ..continued
Step 4

37. rapid prototyping ..continued
From this, to …………………………….. this
We can use this approach to communicate a
POV (strategy), a new interactive approach
(with the client or a focus group).

38. #3 : on steroids

39. battle of the decks
Idea:
• Present a powerpoint
deck you had never
seen before. 10 slides in
5 minutes.
• Be judged for originality,
confidence and
storytelling skills.

40. SXSW matchmaking: pitching
content to Miller Light
“Advertising is so 20th Century.
Watch a world famous brand
stop interrupting TV and start
dating motion media online. Six
content creators will pitch their
ideas live on the Day Stage. A
fast six minutes each. One will
secure $24,000 to make their
film. Another will get $8,000
decided by the audience.”

41. Bing maps evolution
• Silverlight makes it AMAZING!
• Applications built on top of Bing Maps
• E.g. see real-time Tweets in this location

42. #4 : practical philosophy

43. neuroscience and marketing
• Pet rock success – do we need neuroscience to sell?
• There are no such things as “super ads”, no mind reading
• Use of smiley faces in ads show a higher acceptance level in
ads than neutral faces
• Not being able to decipher a facial expression makes us
more curious (Monalisa, catwalk model?). Why?
• Human brain can only process 2-3 images at a time.
• Anything more than 3 gives us anxiety. Why?
• Decoy marketing – a counterintuitive way to sell more
• Dips and chips; the evocative moment of dipping the chip in
the salsa; moment of the experience.
• Ask the kids to study before going to sleep. Why?

44. too much math killing marketing?
• Panel split “for”
and “against” math
• Right/left brain
people see things
differently (vid)
• Moderator
listening to
audience tweets
and responds in
real-time
• Most popular
session at sxsw
(‘coz they listen?)

45. privacy and publicity
• Privacy is not dead
• Google’s Buzz fiasco
• Facebook’s privacy disconnect
Danah Boyd
• Living in a publicity world
Ethnographer,
Social Media Researcher
• Message for us
@ Microsoft
Full talk on : http://www.danah.org/papers/talks/2010/SXSW2010.html

46. spark a movement
Scott Heiferman,
founder of Meetup.com
podcast: http://my.sxsw.com/events/event/5004

47. spark a movement …continued
“Followers are over rated”

48. spark a movement …continued
Cult
Dictatorship
Band 21st century movement
Brand

49. spark a movement …continued
• an inspiration,
not leadership
• making followers
powerful
• get them to self-
organize
• Leadership
Factory
21st century movement

50. spark a movement …continued
Architecture for Humanity

51. spark a movement …continued
Let’s
Story of ME Story of WE

52. spark a movement …continued

53. spark a movement …continued

54. documenting ideas

55. Microsoft @ sxsw

56. brands @ sxsw

57. disappointments
• No ‘wow’ launches such as the next Twitter-,
Foursquare-like
• Having to arrive early for better tracks and
keynotes
• Some tracks brilliant, some sub-standard
• Food selection/health and coffee queues
• Total Pepsi block, no Coke..
• Wish we were more to cover it all!

58. what we loved
• The energy
• The brains
• The ideas
• DPE team connections
• Getting to know each other..

59. useful links
• Aston Kutcher – Katalyst Media – the future of media?
• Chris Brogan http://www.chrisbrogan.com/ - social media
consultant and a blogger
• Danah Boyd keynote :
http://www.danah.org/papers/talks/2010/SXSW2010.html
http://sxsw.com/node/4700 takeaways:
• Gary Vaynerchuk presentation (Wine Library founder)
http://www.youtube.com/sxsw#p/c/746DB49695B7D2F3/27/
BEYjvifUdeM
• SXSW.com login : user: molonese, p/w: sxswrocks

60. till next year