Patrice Hall

South by SouthWest Interactive was a huge discovery for me when I first attended in 2011. Everything was new and incredible. This year, I’m every bit as excited about all the new ideas and technology, and SXSW has definitely  delivered.

This year, I was selected to speak on a panel called “It’s Alive: Interactive Machines that Captivate”. South by Southwest has an intense selection process, so it was a huge honor for me. I was also excited to have accomplished co-panelists: Nathan Martin, CEO of Deeplocal, FK Funderburke from SapientNitro, Justin Bayer, founder of Welcome to College, and our moderator, Arundi Venkayya Cox, editor of Dayton B2B.

At SXSW, you never know how popular a session will be, but our room was full of people. I shared two of Real Art’s interactive machines, The Santa Claw and our Dip-A-Drip pitching machine for 7-Eleven. We had a lively discussion about the risks and rewards of interactive robotic projects, and each of us shared the ways other brands can develop campaigns that use these techniques. I was glad to see our panel discussion transition into a lot of great audience questions. I can’t think of any better way to kick off the SXSW experience. Our slideshow is available on Slideshare.

There are a lot of new ideas emerging this year, so I’m sharing a few favorites before heading out for a few more panels:

In-person Connections: Facebook connects many of us online. With the proliferation of smart phones that have geolocation tools, social apps are popping up that connect humans in the real world. The app Highlight is talked about a lot this year. Using GPS combined with a Facebook login, it shows you other people that are close by that share common interests. That is pretty handy at a large conference like this.

Data: There is still a lot of untapped potential in all the data generated by our online activities. Data visualization was an emerging trend last year. This week, Visual.ly announced the launch of their platform that allows anyone to easily create visualizations.

In case you’re not sure that data is an important focus:

“90% of the data in the world today has been created in the last two years alone.” – IBM

Dynamic Pricing: The growing mobile market is opening opportunities for retailers to engage customers and draw them offline, as well as to enable dynamic pricing. It’s been mentioned in a lot of talks, and two focused on it. One was from the founder of Loopt.com, the other session featured Julia Fitzgerald, Chief Digital Engagement Officer at Sears.

Transmedia: Storytelling through transmedia is a big theme this year. It represents the idea of storylines crossing platforms to reach fans in different ways, such as combining video with Twitter with an online chat. On Saturday, the producers of Bravo’s Top Chef shared the process behind creating the online Top Chef Last Chance Kitchen, where chefs could interact with an online audience for a chance to reappear on the show.

There are also a lot of creative promotions that aim to capture the attention of attendees. Here’s one, a twitter-connected vending machine that dispenses journals to anyone that follows @bohemianllc on Twitter.

I’m glad to still be here, finding new ideas and interesting people wherever I turn (some of them from Dayton!), and I’m headed back to more panels today to find more new technology to absorb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Several Daytonians are headed for adventure this March in Austin, Texas. We’re going to the South by Southwest Interactive Conference (SXSW), one of the biggest music, film, and interactive design conferences in the country. If you’re into web design, development, social media, or mobile technology, SXSW is an exhilirating experience.

Last year, I attended and immersed myself in a buzz of information –  all the latest interactive technology and trends. At SXSW, you never stop learning. I reveled in this culture where my fellow attendees, some of the brightest in the industry, were just as passionate about design and interactivity as I am.

This year, I’m excited to join the roster of SXSW speakers, representing the team at Real Art. On Friday, I will speak on a panel called It’s Alive: Interactive Machines that Captivate, along with fellow Daytonians Justin Bayer, founder of WelcometoCollege.com, and Arundi Venkayya Cox, editor of the Dayton B2B. Joining us are two accomplished creatives, Nathan Martin from Deep Local, and FK Funderburke from Sapient Nitro. We will each present our projects that mash together digital media with physical machines, creating completely new types of experiences for people. For example, at Real Art, we built the world’s largest arcade claw game and invited the world to play over the internet. Arundi, our moderator, will lead our discussion on why these projects have been so successful for brands, the steps involved in a project like these, and what’s coming in the future for this interactive niche.

During the rest of the conference, I’ll gather as much information and inspiration as I can. The worlds of interactive design and social media move very quickly, so SXSW has a lot of ground to cover. With the SXSW Accelerator series, attendees can hear from the founders of new sites and apps, some of which haven’t even been launched yet. Last year, a few hot topics were the metrics and ROI of social media, geolocation apps, mobile payments, and augmented reality. This year, I’m hoping to hear about more things that haven’t even hit the major blogs yet. With increased smartphone usage and the mainstream expansion of social networks, there’s a lot of magic on the horizon.

Several other Dayton interactive developers are attending, this year, and Rob Tarr from Dayton firm Sparkbox will also be speaking. In addition, I’ll get to watch Dayton band The Motel Beds perform in a showcase. (I should mention that I’m especially excited for this since my husband, Tod Weidner is their bass player). The mix of music, film, and interactive gives SXSW a unique, creative energy.

I plan to share what I learn at SXSW as it happens on Twitter and through posts on Real Art’s blog. Follow @patricehall or @realart for the play-by-play.