Very blurry photo by Omar L. Gallaga / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
This is an idea I really like: a daily panel featuring SXSW Interactive staffers and other folks talking about what the daily conversations and trends are at the fest so far.
Saturday’s featured festival director Hugh Forrest, Michele Skelding from the Austin Chamber of Commerce, hardware expert John Rodriguez and Catherine Cheney of Nationswell.com.
What were the trends?
- Sunshine and friendliness! The weather has been awesome and people have been pretty chill, said Skelding. So much so that it's a a topic of conversation.
- Meerkat — a video live-streaming app that is suddenly in danger because it uses Twitter and Twitter has decided not to support the app, which some believe goes against the spirit of how Twitter came to be successful.
- Also trending: social good and moments becoming movements. People getting inspired and trying to do stuff for the greater good. Yesterday, the fest announced a set of grants for nonprofits and that ties in nicely with these themes.
- Startups: DON'T launch at SXSW. It's a giant attention vacuum, says Rodriguez.
- Forrest says there are quite a lot of politicians and policy makers and international folks in town for the fest. The big tent of the fest keeps expanding.
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