SXSW Interactive 2012 SXSW Interactive is upon us. Before you get wrapped up in the opining, connecting, and imbibing, check out Shareable's panel picks and RSVP for our party! Taking place from Friday, March 9 through Tuesday, March 13th in Austin, Texas, there's a large number of panels, talks and parties sure to be of interest to the Shareable community. We’ll be on the ground in Austin for the entire week, reporting on the event as well as hosting a panel at the conference and our party. As you plan your schedules for the week, be sure to slot in Shareable’s events, as well as other talks and panels we recommend below. And if we've made a glaring omission, please add it in comments.
Official Shareable Events
What Makes Asset Sharing Platforms Thrive?
Sunday, March 11, 9:30AM -10:30AM
Hilton Austin Downtown, Salon D, 500 E. 4th St.
Shareable publisher Neal Gorenflo moderates an interactive discussion with innovators, investors, and thought leaders in the Sharing Economy. Featuring Shelby Clark of RelayRides, Christopher Lukezic of Airbnb, Jamie Shea of the University of Michigan Social Venture Fund, and Ann Miura-ko of Floodgate, the discussion will explore what qualities make sharing platforms thrive. With an increasing crowded planet and dwindling natural resources, there may be no more important challenge than making sharing sexy, fun, and scalable. The panelists will share their insights to help the SXSW community succeed in the sharing economy.
SHARE Austin! – Shareable’s SXSW Party in Austin.
Monday March 12, 5:30PM – 9:00PM
Limited space, PLEASE RSVP>>
Shareable’s SXSW Event Picks
The 2012 Global Coworking Unconference Conference
Thursday, March 8, 8:00PM – 8:00PM
The AT&T Conference Center, 1900 University Avenue
The 2012 Global Coworking Unconference Conference (GCUC) will give all individuals in the coworking community an opportunity to engage in person with one another, share purpose and passion, and refresh their energy in the process.
Design for Social Innovation and Public Good
Saturday March 10, 12:30PM – 1:30PM
Austin Convention Center Room 9ABC, 500 E Cesar Chavez St
A new movement is gaining momentum in the design world— a movement to expand the applications of high design beyond its elitist client base to solve complex social problems. This panel will engage an array of leaders in the public interest design movement who use design thinking in various ways to address global challenges and engender social innovation at different scales.
Winning the Story Wars
Saturday, March 10, 4:00PM – 4:20PM
Austin Convention Center, Ballroom G, 500 E Cesar Chavez St
Viral storyteller and Shareable cofounder Jonah Sachs (Story of Stuff, The Meatrix) speaks about effective storytelling in the digital age, and provides insights about how to replace consumerism with a new, more life-affirming and sensible story where sharing is central.
4-Hour Work Week Is BS: Truths of Working Smarter
Sunday, March 11, 5:00PM – 6:00PM
Hilton Austin Downtown Salon GF
Work is everywhere. In the office, on a plane, in your car, at Peet's Coffee down the street. It's virtually inescapable. And while everyone would love to believe the 4-Hour Work Week is possible, is this the reality in today's market? Can you successfully manage and execute multiple projects within a global ecosystem with a team that has several, if not all, workers contributing remotely? Let's have a frank conversation with today's industry pioneers and thought leaders, shedding new light on how we work.
Work When Startup Culture Hits Mainstream
Monday, March 12, 12:30PM – 1:30PM
Courtyard Marriott, Rio Grande Ballroom
What happens when suddenly a whole nation’s work life turns upside down? And what changes must be made to acclimate the majority of the U.S. workforce to a wholly different work style? This panel will dissect the growing trend of “startup-ness” that is building outside the technology industry and discuss what changes are needed, what innovations this may bring about, and whether or not entrepreneurialism and startup culture is made for the masses.
An Unusual Arsenal: Tech Tools to Topple a Tyrant
Monday, March 12, 12:30PM – 1:30PM
Austin Convention Center, Room 9ABC, 500 E Cesar Chavez St
Instead of guns and knives, the revolutionaries who descended upon Tahrir Square on Feb. 1 packed a potent arsenal of technological tools that ended the corrupt, 30-year reign of President Hosni Mubarak. Their weapons of choice: Twitter, Facebook and YouTube – everyday tools that can be used to plan a party or plot a revolution. But when Mubarak’s government hit the kill switch, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – and those using these tools to rally – were rendered powerless. When the Internet goes black, as it did Jan. 27, how do revolutionaries access these invaluable social channels to communicate, mobilize and ultimately overthrow an unjust government? How do citizens in radio silence tune into the rest of the world – without incurring the wrath of their government?
Connected Cars, Connected Cities and Urban Driving
Monday, March 12, 3:30PM – 4:30PM
Hilton Austin Downtown, Room 616AB, 500 E. 4th St.
As population density in major urban areas changes, cities across the globe are inputting measures aimed at reducing urban congestion. At the same time, in response to environmental concerns, government regulations, and rising gas prices, automakers are developing and manufacturing electric vehicles at a faster pace. These EVs are becoming increasing connected, passing and receiving information from the cloud, primarily to manage their charge but increasingly to optimize the driving experience. How will population density, digitally connected cities, lowered investment in public transportation, and connected cars change the needs and behaviors of urban drivers? How should digital technologies be leveraged to meet their needs both inside and outside the vehicle? The panel will lead an exploration of the digital tools that will support the future of urban mobility.
The Airbnb of Anything: The Growth of P2P Markets
Tuesday, March 13, 12:30PM – 1:30PM
Hilton Austin Downtown, Salon C, 500 E. 4th St.
VC’s are recognizing that peer-to-peer marketplaces are the hot start-up space this year, reporting remarkable growth and unleashing a wave a disruptive innovation. The peer-to-peer movement is changing not just what we consume, but how we consume it. In this panel, CEOs recently featured in Fast Company's "Sharing Economy" piece, will dig in to the global P2P groundswell and divulge secrets behind the social sharing movement.
The Future of Work and the Free Radical
Tuesday, March 13, 12:30 – 1:30PM
Courtyard Marriot, Brazos
Over the last ten years a new way of working has emerged, along with some people who live it every day. They’re available 24/7. They network endlessly, and then plug their skills into others’ in surprising combinations. They choose when and how they do what they do, on their terms. They don’t want job security – they want career fluidity. We call them free radicals. And they’re creating the future of work.
SXSW Interactive Keynote Speech: Coding the Next Chapter of American History
Tuesday, March 13, 2:00PM – 3:00PM
Austin Convention Center, Ballroom D, 500 E Cesar Chavez St
Code For America’s Founder and Executive Director Jennifer Pahlka delivers the keynote address at the SXSW Interactive conference, which will examine how geek skills can be harnessed to transform the world for the better.
Cool Like You, Gov Private Sector Envy
Tuesday, March 13, 3:30PM – 4:30PM
AT&T Conference Hotel, Salon B, 1900 University Avenue
This session explores how government technologists deal with the demands of meeting customer needs in a world where private industry sets the pace. Can government ever be as cool as their corporate counterparts? Are the challenges of doing more with less, attracting emerging talent and maneuvering through excessive politics and bureaucracy too much to overcome? New and groundbreaking partnerships between government and private sector, non-profits and community groups may provide the answers to these questions. Fellowship programs like Code for America, community crowd sourcing like Austin’s OpenAustin and business partnerships may just give the government geek a shot at being one of the cool kids.
Are there talks, panels or parties we’ve missed? Let us know in the comments! And if you're going to be in Austin for SXSW, RSVP for our Shareable Shindig here.
Check out our event sponsors: RelayRides, Loosecubes, ParkatmyHouse, TrustCloud, Ecstatic Cuisine, The Public Society.
