SXSW 2011 PanelPicker FAQ

SXSWeek includes three component events -- Interactive, Film and Music. In 2011 the SXSW Interactive Festival runs from March 11-15, as does the SXSW Film Conference (the SXSW Film Festival runs throughout, March 11-19). The SXSW Music Conference and Festival runs March 16-20.

Most SXSW panel programming takes place at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas. Additionally, SXSW Interactive Festival programming will also occur at the Downtown Hilton hotel (adjacent to the Austin Convention Center), and surrounding hotels and venues.

Click on the main SXSW page for comprehensive information about SXSWeek 2010. Click here for more specific info about SXSW Interactive. Click here for more specific info about SXSW Film. Click here for more specific info about SXSW Music. Information about panel sessions at the three events can be found under the "Talks" tab.

Anyone with access to the Internet can send a proposal to the PanelPicker. So, whether you are an industry professional, a creative, a critic, an academic or just a very interested consumer, we want to hear your great programming idea.

The PanelPicker will be open for submissions for SXSW 2011 starting on Monday, June 14, 2010. It will close at 11:59 pm Central Time on Friday, July 9, 2010.

Yes, late entries will be accepted -- but, these late entries will be penalized accordingly in our scoring system. Why? Because our experience is that if you aren't organized enough to submit a proposal before the deadline, then you probably aren't organized enough to lead a session at SXSW. While innovative thinking is an important ingredient for a good panel or presentation, highly-detailed pre-event organization plays an equally significant role in the recipe for success.

Everything submitted before July 9 will be posted on the PanelPicker. Ideas submitted after July 9 but before voting ends on August 27 will be posted on Panel Picker, but not before August 16. This will give those ideas that were submitted on time the advantage of the full voting period. Staff will review the merits of proposals submitted after voting closes on August 27, but these proposals will not appear on the public-facing PanelPicker.

No, you do NOT need to create an account to submit to the PanelPicker.

Each user can submit a single proposal per event, meaning one for SXSW Interactive, one for SXSW Music and one for SXSW Film, for a total of three.

2007 was the first year that PanelPicker-generated proposals were included as part of the programming for the SXSW Interactive Festival. In 2010 the PanelPicker was extended to include SXSW Music and SXSW Film.

We think that the PanelPicker is a great way to gauge the kinds of topics that most interest the SXSW community. Likewise, the PanelPicker has helped bring some great new topics into the event. However, we also rely very significantly on the expertise of the SXSW Advisory Board and the SXSW staff to shape the look and feel of event programming.

The PanelPicker interface asks you to indicate whether your proposal should be considered for Interactive, Film, or Music. If you think your proposal should be considered for two (or possibly all three) events you can add that note to the comments section of your entry once the voter interface goes live.

Voting on SXSW panel proposals for 2011 opens on Wednesday, August 11, 2010 and closes at midnight Central Time on Friday, August 27, 2010.

Anyone with access to the Internet and with an interest in SXSW can comment on a proposal to the PanelPicker. To post comments, users first have to create a free log-in account (which takes about two minutes). Users' login information will remain completely confidential to the PanelPicker interface.

The sooner we can put together a definite slate of panels, the more time we give the SXSW community to determine which sessions they want to attend and plan their spring schedule accordingly. That said, we always leave several slots open until January or February -- these are where we add in panels to cover these late-breaking developments.

Special thanks to Lindsey Simon for designing the SXSW PanelPicker.

- SXSW Interactive is specifically looking for more advanced-level ideas, as well as more sessions that cover technical issues. We are also interested in seeing more solo and dual presentations.

- SXSW Film is most interested in panels geared towards creating, marketing, and finding audiences for films in this new digital age. Hands-on workshop ideas are also welcomed.

- SXSW Music seeks panel ideas based on our speakers' direct experience, and ideas about growing the market for performance and recordings on an individual and collective level.

Yes. You can find a selection of audio podcasts and video excerpts from SXSW 2010 by visiting the “Videos and Podcasts” pages for each event. Click here for the 2010 SXSW Interactive Festival. Click here for the 2010 SXSW Film Conference. Click here for the 2010 SXSW Music Conference. You can also visit the official SXSW YouTube Channel to see more video highlights from SXSW 2009 and 2010.

Good question. We like to have a balance of experienced speakers (people who are experienced in terms of talking about their craft to a live audience) as well as new blood (folks who have not made the so-called conference circuit). If you have spoken at SXSW before and have received favorable reviews from attendees, then you definitely have an advantage over someone who has spoken at the event before and did not receive positive feedback from registrants.

Sessions for SXSW Interactive, SXSW Film and SXSW Music run for 60 minutes.

Panels are typically three or more speakers discussing a topic onstage – sometimes with audience input. It could also be a smaller, round-table discussion directly between panelists and audience. Presentations involve more of a lecture-type format from one expert.

SXSW will work closely with you to fine tune the focus of your session as well as to select other speakers for your panel.

As a general rule, the more pre-event preparation you devote to your panel, the better the session will be. Pre-event preparation means communicating with other speakers in the weeks before the event to clarify the focus of the session. SXSW panel attendees are smart and they enjoy smart programming. By contrast, if they realize you haven't prepared for your panel . . . they will leave your panel room and go to the more interesting panel that is going on next door.

All speakers are given a complimentary badge to the event (speakers for Music get a Music badge; speakers for Interactive and Film receive a Gold badge). Unfortunately, we are not able to provide travel, lodging or other financial compensation for panelists.

As a rule, the more specific a proposal is, the better. Why? Because specificity demands a lot more thought and planning -- and pre-event thought and planning are the two biggest keys to a successful panel. As an example, SXSW organizers will look much more favorably on a title (such as) "Have Free Downloads Hurt Radiohead" than something like "Free Downloads and the Future of Music."

Cute titles are fun. But, remember that on the PanelPicker, your title is going to be fighting for attention with hundreds of other titles. So, the more direct / explanatory you can make your title, the better. As an example, "Size Matters: Scaling Drupal Web Applications" is a lot better than something like "Why Size Matters."

A beginner-level panel provides very basic information about the topic at hand. An intermediate-level panel provides more complicated information about the topic at hand. An advanced-level panel provides expert level information about the topic at hand. A newbie will definitely be lost in an advanced-level panel, as will someone who does not have significant knowledge about this topic. Likewise, an expert will most likely not get any new information out of beginner-level panel.

Figure that most SXSW attendees have an intermediate or advanced level of expertise in their field. So, if you are going to propose a beginner-level session for the PanelPicker, your best bet is to focus on a very new industry-related development that most attendees might not yet familiar with.

No, you do not need to have other speakers confirmed when you submit your panel idea. In fact, we strongly prefer that you do NOT confirm these other speakers until your panel idea is accepted -- because SXSW staff will want to work closely with you to make sure there is sufficient diversity of gender, geography, race and opinion on your session.

Over the last few years, the Interactive Festival have become a lot more enamored with presentations, simply because they have the potential to dispense more information and would definitely like to see more solo presentations in 2011. If you think you have enough material to fill up an entire session, that is the way to go. The Music Festival has room for a handful of strong solo presentations, but would prefer panel proposals in general.

Absolutely. You wouldn't turn in a resume that was full of typos and incomplete sentences, would you? It is essential that you take time to proof your entry before hitting the submit button.

Yes. We strongly encourage you to use the comment section of the PanelPicker interface to offer more explanation of your proposal.

Anyone who has access to the Internet can vote in the PanelPicker.

Just sign-up for an account here. During the public voting phase (August 11-27, 2010) all you need to do is sign-up for an account. Signing-up is free, quick and easy. And your sign-up information remains completely confidential.

As the graphic above indicates, voting from the public accounts for about 30% of the decision-making process for SXSW panel programming. Also important in this decision-making process is the SXSW Advisory Board (40%) and the input of the SXSW staff (30%).

Absolutely. Rallying your friends and associates to vote for your panel proposal demonstrates energy, motivation and organizational ability. All of these skills are important when it comes to organizing a successful panel for SXSW.

Like it or not, people's opinions are easily swayed by other people's opinions. We don't post voting totals because we don't want people to only vote for proposals that other people are voting for.

Remember, voting from the public only accounts for 30% of the selection formula. If you put together a strong idea that intrigues the Advisory Board and the SXSW staff, then you won't need to worry about competing with people who have large e-mail lists.

The Advisory Board is a group of experienced industry professionals whose advice and insights about programming and other event-related issues are trusted by the SXSW staff.

Entries are accepted from Monday, June 14 through Friday, July 9, 2010.

Voting begins Monday, August 9 and closes on Friday, August 27, 2010.

Yes, everyone who submits a proposal before the July 9 deadline will receive notification via e-mail that we have received their entry. People who submit after July 9 are not guaranteed to receive a receipt letter.

The Interactive Festival and Music Conference expect to announce their first round of confirmations on September 20. If you submit an idea to the Interactive Festival or Music Conference before the July 9 deadline, you will be notified in early to mid September about the status of your proposal -- whether or not your idea has been accepted, or if it is being held for further consideration.

The Film Conference expects to announce its first round of confirmations in November. If you submit an idea to the Film Conference before the July 9 deadline, you will be notified in November about the status of your proposal -- whether or not your idea has been accepted, or if it is being held for further consideration.

SXSW staff and the SXSW Advisory Board spend time reviewing every proposal that is sent in via the PanelPicker. We also spend significant time analyzing the voting patterns. With so many outstanding proposals submitted to this interface, the review process inevitably takes several months to complete.

If your panel is selected for the 2011 event, then SXSW will work closely with you to fine tune the focus of your session as well as to select other speakers for your panel. All speakers are issued a complimentary badge for SXSW -- speakers for Interactive and Film are given a complimentary Gold badge, while speakers for Music are given a complimentary Music badge.

If your panel idea is NOT selected to be part of the 2011 event, you will be given an opportunity to register for SXSW at the early-bird registration rate.

The best panels and presentations are the ones where the organizer devotes a significant amount of time to the organizational process. Said another way, if you aren't prepared to spend a significant amount of time in January and February preparing for your panel (and communicating with your fellow panelists), then you are better suited to be a SXSW attendee as opposed to a SXSW speaker.