It’s never too early to start thinking about South By Southwest. The Clearleft posse booked some rooms at The Hampton Inn in downtown Austin months ago. Now it’s time to think about what you might like to see on stage in Texas. The panel picker is live and hungry for your clicks.
There’s a bunch of design and development panels on offer from my friends and colleagues. I’m not voting for most of those though because:
- they don’t need my votes and
- I want my friends to spend their time partying with me instead of preparing presentations.
Speaking of which, there’s a panel with my name on it. That’s mostly because Brian had already reached his limit of three panel ideas and asked me to take over. Please don’t vote for it—I don’t want to spend the whole time worrying about keeping my voice. Besides, there are many more panels worthy of your attention.
There are almost 700 presentations to choose from. To make your choice a little easier, these are the panels I think I voted for—the Ajax powered panel picker is built with dynamic disappearing stars—ordered more or less in order of interest:
- The Web That Wasn’t
What if the Web had turned out differently? Before Tim Berners-Lee came along, a number of now-mostly-forgotten information scientists were pursuing competing visions that in many ways surpassed today’s Web. By exploring the Web that wasn’t, we can find tantalizing clues to a Web that may yet be.
- Go For IT! Attracting Girls to Technology
As the technology workforce changes and outsourcing becomes more feared, it is difficult to attract smart, qualified youth to technical careers (especially girls). This session will survey current programs encouraging computing education, discuss what these programs are missing, and suggest what the techie community can do to help.
- Totally Wired Teens: How Teens are Using Your Applications
Listen to real teens talk about the role technology plays in their lives from the time they wake up to their cell phones to sending that last text message at 2 a.m. Anastasia Goodstein will moderate a panel composed of Austin area teenagers to find out where they go online, what types of web design and features they love — and more importantly, which ones they don’t.
- ‘Redrum in the Rue Morgue’: Collaboration in International Communities
Do Italian citizens of Second Life stand physically closer than Canadians? Are Portuguese more prone to blog than French? Is collaboration in international communities being driven more by the platform selected than by the culture(s)? The panelists will discuss how people interact and collaborate in international online communities.
- Meet The Architects
Meet the Architects: the people who design and think about buildings and those who do the same for websites. The panel also introduces everyone to some of the most active and provocative design-based online communities out there.
- Adult Conversations: Sex, Intimacy & Online Relationships
‘Sex’ is one of the most commonly searched terms online. From MySpace to online personals, the Internet allows a growing number of consenting adults to keystroke their way to new relationships. Join sociologists, bloggers and sex researchers to discuss how the Internet is changing interpersonal relationships and human sexuality now.
- Designing Social Media: Interface Tricks and Tips
We all know the core concepts — Identity, Presence, Relationships, etc — but how do these manifest themselves in our design choices? From avatars or log-in pages, a million tiny choices make the difference between lively community and crickets chirping. We’ll teach you how to make social software social!
- Lost in Translation? Top Website Internationalization Lessons
How do you publish software or content for a global audience? Our expert panel discusses lessons learned translating and localizing. Leaders from Flickr, Google, iStockphoto and the Worldwide Lexicon will tackle various marketing issues; how to translate the ‘feel’ of a Web site, and; best practices for software and content translation.
- Designing for Freedom
In a world where an increasingly diverse set of people are stumbling around the internet, the role of design becomes even more important. This panel will focus on a discussion on how to to design products considering user freedom and user empowerment at every step of the development process.
- What Women Need to Succeed
Some feel that women have a tougher time succeeding in a man’s tech world. This panel will examine the facts, ideas and theories surrounding what it takes for women to be empowered and successful as business owners and contractors.
- Stop With the Web 2.0 Already
We must put an end to Web 2.0. The buzzwords have affected Web design clients to the point where they just want the latest without having any clue about the implications of what they are asking for. A site for an electrical company really does not need social networking.
- DataPlay: Living Games
Our movements in real space and virtual space are tracked by pedometers, GPS units, keystroke loggers, spyware and myware. How can we have fun with all our data trails? I will discuss examples of surveillance data-driven entertainment including our “Passively Multiplayer Online Game”: PMOG transforms the existing topography of the Internet into a game world for players to vandalize, annotate, and curate.
- All About Storytelling
Whether you blog, write for a website, or have a need to present important technical information in a way that is meaningful, you are a storyteller. Humans have used the art of storytelling over thousands of years as a means of sharing socially relevant, inspiring, and dangerous information. Learn how to convey your concept, philosophy, or technology in ways that your clients, readers, and customers will understand and appreciate.
- The Great Debate: Is Web 2.0 Bulls#!t?
Six people. Two teams. Six minutes each. The Great Debate will use a formal debate structure to allow some of the Web’s best thinkers and communicators to convince you that Web 2.0 is/isn’t a load of tripe. Sincere argument, fiery rhetoric, or insulting ridicule: any approach accepted.
- Social Design Strategies
Now that social networking is quickly becoming a regular feature set, designers need to understand the dynamics of designing experiences that encourage social behavior, while giving individuals a sense of privacy, personal gain, and ownership. How do you create a symbiotic relationship that maximizes discovery, game-play, connections, and communication? We’ll examine a breadth of examples and explore their pros and cons.