mike's #sxsw: session recaps + learnings

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

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.

SELECT SESSION NOTES

MSLGROUP | PBJS

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

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

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/

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/

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/

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

LEARNINGS

MSLGROUP | PBJS

Event Marketing Can Be …

… Weird

Don’t Even Bother Trying to Eat Healthy

Forget About Normal Sleep Patterns

Our Colleagues from Around the World are Awesome

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR, SXSW