(L-R) Jennifer Peck, Karen Ingram, and Jim Butler
SXSW Interactive Festival Advisory Board consists of industry experts, as well as veteran members of the community that come together in Austin each spring. Advisory Board members are very involved in helping select the best of the best proposals, which SXSW receives each year through the SXSW PanelPicker. We asked Advisory Board members Jennifer Peck of Banjo, Karen Ingram of kareningram.com, and Jim Butler the following question...
"What are you most excited about for SXSW Interactive 2013?"
Keynotes
Jennifer Peck: Elon Musk of SpaceX. The man designs rocketships, need I say more?
Karen Ingram: Elon Musk. The commercialization of space seems so radically sci-fi, yet so plausible all at once. This will certainly be an interesting keynote.
Jim Butler: Elon Musk – his varied background and interests should provide valuable information to an diverse audience.
Featured sessions
Jennifer: Got to be Shaq Goes Social: The Big Interview. Why? It's SHAQ!
Workshops / Meet Ups
Jim: For workshops – Startup Operations, Making Mobile Games with the Unreal Engine, Raising Startup Capital. For Meet Ups – Startup and Investor, Small Business, Mobile, Bootstrapping, Mobile Game Developer and Publisher, Indie Game Developer, and Tim Berners-Lee.
By Date: Saturday, March 9 sessions
Jennifer: Acquiring the Skill of Meta-Learning with Tim Ferriss. He is fascinating and I can't wait to hear him speak in person!
Karen: The Embodied Brain. As a distance runner, I feel there is no denying the connection between body and mind. I'm very interested in scientific research behind mind/body connections.
By Date: Monday, March 11 sessions
Jennifer: Privacy in a Location Based World. Of course I'm excited for this talk, I work at Banjo!
By Date: Tuesday, March 12 sessions
Karen: Esther Dyson, Release 0.9. Can't wait to hear what she's up to.
Venue where I am most likely to hang out
Jennifer: Austin Convention Center because everyone is there! Hilton Austin Downtown because it has it has a bit of everything. Four Seasons because it's The Four Seasons. Sheraton because the Social & Relationships theme is my favorite topic.
Karen: I'll probably be hanging around the Omni, Radisson, and the Sheraton to catch the science, health and DIY sessions.
Trend / meme / idea / product that will emerge from SXSW 2013
Jim: NASA and space health and biotech. These issue areas represent newly robust ones for SXSW Interactive.
Most memorable serendipitous encounter at SXSW
Karen: In 2009 I met science journalist Christie Nicholson, and that began a friendship that has impacted my life in countless ways in the brief time that I've known her. The festival itself is an old friend, always presenting me with something new and invigorating. I've enjoyed seeing SXSW Interactive evolve from its beginning as a hub for designers and coders, into what it is now.
Jim: Meeting people from around the world who I have become friends with who I would very likely never have met except for SXSW.
Thanks to Jennifer, Karen and Jim for contributing to this post. Stay tuned to the blog, follow us, friend us, or add us for more Advisory Board recommendations in the coming days...
