SxSW for rookies
If you are planning to attend SxSW in 2012, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Analysis paralysis: There are hundreds of talks, panels, core conversations and workshops to choose from on the Interactive track and you are guaranteed to feel like you are missing out. Deal with it. Consider choosing a theme: gaming, mobile, future of journalism, social media, marketing, design/development etc. and sticking to it. I found that six talks a day was my limit (9:30, 11:00, 12:30, 14:00, 15:30, 17:00). By 18:00 you are suffering from info overload – reset your brain with a good meal (see below), SxSW chit-chat with your many new friends (you will meet many) and great music (Austin by night is your oyster).
Interview: Brandon Evans of CrowdTap
by Gaby Rosario.
Gaby interviewed Brandon Evans Founder of CrowdTap.com at SxSW:
Brandon Evans, founder, CrowdTap
Can you explain what CrowdTap is?
CrowdTap is the first on-demand consumer participation network. We make it as easy for brands to collaborate with consumers, on demand, as it is to launch Google Adwords or Facebook ads. As marketing shifts to be more about direct communication and individual peer networks, it’s important that brands have a scalable and measurable way to partner with consumers throughout the marketing process.
2. When can we expect it to open up in South Africa?
Good question, we just launched in the US and have many requests to go international. I don’t think it will happen this year but after that, we will evaluate all opportunities.
3. What sort of client base are you working with?
We are working with leading PR agencies, advertising agencies and digital and social media agencies as well as some brands directly. The brands utilizing CrowdTap are largely Fortune 500 companies, across virtually all industries including retail, consumer goods, technology and media companies.
4. What is your impression and understanding of technology in Africa?
To be honest, I am not that informed about the technology sector in Africa. I do feel like the world as a whole is adopting technologies at a much more rapid pace then ever before which is narrowing the gap between nations.
Read MoreBuilding retention and engagement
by Gaby Rosario.
There seemed (to me) to be a recurring theme at SxSW 2011. In almost every session on design and development that I attended, the issue of retention was raised.
If you look at the pace at which online business is born — witness the recent group discount craze in South Africa — how do you ensure that you keep your users or customers engaged in your offering? Last month it was Wicount & Groupon, this week it is Zappon, next week, who will it be? Angry Birds is out, Tiny Wings is in. As a friend of mine David Iannone says, “America’s favorite flavor, is me, and NEW.”
LinkedIn recently reported that it has over 100 million users. Twitter accrues 460 000 new accounts per day. Foursquare is headed toward 10 million users by August. Facebook squats happily on its 600 million (and growing) user base. MXit has 10 million active South African users, and the new kid on the block, Motribe, is gobbling up 10 000 users per day.
Read MoreThe future of PR
In his recent post, Does PR have a future?, David Armano, senior VP of Social Business Planning at Edelman Digital, predicts that as business becomes more social, job descriptions will change. Each employee will become the face of the company, acting in part as the marketing, communications and sales agent for their organisation every time they engage publicly, especially on social networks.
Employees have been doing this for years at conferences, launches, client meetings, functions, and on the shop floor, but with the proliferation of social media platforms (both online and mobile) this expectation and requirement of employees has certainly increased. Now everyone is a brand ambassador, online and off, in and outside of the organisation.
What does this mean for the role of the public relations department and agency?
Read MoreThe Startup Bus #SxSW
by Gaby Rosario
So how exactly do you get to South by South West? By car, by plane or by bus? One of the most interesting discoveries this year at SxSW was The Startup Bus. Conceived by Elias Bizannes, an Aussie living in San Francisco, he created an opportunity for start-up types, designers, developers and the like to apply to win a seat on a bus. Thirty-eight teams leave in six buses from San Francisco, Chicago, Cleveland, Miami, and New York. Their job: to conceptualise, prototype & design a website for their start-up, with people they have most likely never met before.
Bizannes believed that “Learning how to focus on what matters is a key reason why I chose a bus and not another transport mechanism. The goal was to put a set of constraints on people so they can think about the things that mattered and focus their time on the work that has the highest impact.”
And yes there is a “win” attached to it. This years winners:
TripMedi
WalkIn
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