SXSW Interactive kicks off here in Austin on March 7th and wraps up on the 11th, boasting over 800 events to choose from! Where do you begin? Before you overwhelm yourself sorting through the schedule, check out these six sessions and panels our team here at Eureka is excited about:
5 Things Developers Need to Know About Design
Friday, March 7 at 12:30 pm (more info)
Recommended by David Land, Solutions Developer
Paul Trani, an Adobe Creative Suite evangelist, will walk developers through techniques designers use in this Adobe-sponsored session. “It would be hard to overstate the importance of UX in software today. Just look at how many sessions at this year’s SXSW are about it. And because UX is so critical, designers and developers have to collaborate extremely well if a project is going to be successful. This can be challenging because the world of design and the world of development can be very different places. This session specifically focuses on bridging this gap,” says David.
What Drives Word of Mouth
Saturday, March 8 at 11 am (more info)
Recommended by Cristy Salinas, Content and Social Media Manager
This session is for anyone who wants to learn more about what drives someone to share your content or recommend your product to a friend. Jonah Berger, Professor of Marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, studies how ideas and subjects go viral. His book “Contagious: Why Things Catch On” is a New York Times bestseller. Berger’s talk will cover why some products and ideas catch on while others fail, as well as reveal research on what drives word of mouth and why online content goes viral.
The Hacker & the Hustler: Coding a Great Company
Saturday, March 8 at 11 am (more info)
Recommended by Eric Adams, Solutions Developer
“I really like to start things, and this is about the business model responsible for many, many successful startups over the decades,” says Eric. Presented by Dries Buytaert (the hacker) and Tom Erickson (the Hustler), the session covers how to successfully go from code to company. Buytaert is the original creator and project lead for the Drupal open source web platform, President of the non-profit Drupal Association, as well as the co-founder and CTO of venture-backed software company Acquia (which offers products and services for Drupal). Tom Erickson is the CEO of Acquia. Together they formed the team that made Acquia go from startup to the fastest growing private software company in the U.S.
Glassholes: The Cultural Dissonance of Technology
Sunday, March 9 at 3:30 pm (more info)
Recommended by Katie Phillips, Director
Will wearable technology turn us into a society of narcissists? This panel aims to dissect the polarizing debate about wearables and the impact it will have in our everyday lives. Presenters include: Elise Hu, Technology and Culture Reporter for NPR; Patrick Miller, Sr. Creative Engineer at Deeplocal; Perry Fair, CCO of JWT; and Timothy Jordan, Staff Developer Advocate at Google. With such a diverse group of experts, this event will appeal to tech early adopters as well as anyone interested in the cultural effects of technology.
Computing the Future: MIT Scientists Tell All
Monday, March 10 at 11:00 am (more info)
Recommended by Rodney Muras, Vice President of Solutions and Services
The scientists at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) will address what are the biggest technological challenges facing today’s computer scientists. What will the digital landscape look like 10 years from now? What new research can we anticipate, and how will it affect the way we use computers? A panel of CSAIL’s scientists will discuss the future of computers. Presenters include Andrew Lo, MIT Professor; Daniela Rus, Director of CSAIL; Russ Tedrake, MIT Professor; and Tim Berners-Lee, MIT Professor.
Early, Cheap, & Often: Failure as a Key to Success
Monday, March 10 at 5 pm (more info)
Recommended by Rodney Muras, Vice President of Solutions and Services
In business, failure is inevitable, but it’s how you fail that makes a difference – cheap, early, and often. Three Austin start-ups share their experiences of using failure as an advantage. The presenters include Evan Baeher, Cofounder of Outbox Mail; Lawson Boothe, CEO and Cofounder of Vital Interaction; Nate Little, President and Founder of SchoolAdmin; and Robin Bruce, CEO of Action School of Business in Austin.
What events are you most excited about? Want to meet up with the Eureka Software crew? Send us a tweet!
