Twitter is now an integral part of everyday life, be it in business or in our personal life. This year’s SXSW reflects that with over 200 Twitter themed panels. If you can’t get to them all, these are the 5 you should not miss.
TV Storytelling Adapted for Twitter
Date: Monday, March 10
Time: 3.30pm-4.30pm
Location: Driskill Hotel, Hogg Parlor, 604 Brazos St
Twitter’s 140 characters enables instant feedback but it can also provide a doorway to make believe worlds! Mob City and Falling Skies are examples of TV shows that were adapted for Twitter to let fan participate in these TV worlds. This panel will feature VP of Social at Tuner Entertainment, Lincoln Lopez and Head of Entertainment for Twitter, Fred Graver, discussing how this was done as well as Twitter’s potential for giving millions of users a new way of enjoying television.
How Twitter Humorists Landed Sweet Real World Gigs
Date: Friday, March 7
Time: 5pm-6pm
Location: Austin Convention Center, Room 12AB, 500 E Cesar Chavez St
Social media has given birth to a new breed of celebrity. Some of those have managed to cross over from the virtual world to the real one. Megan Amram , Jenny Johnson and Josh Hara are examples of Twitter celebs who have not just garnered thousands of followers but also landed themselves legit employment in TV, publishing and marketing thanks to their hilarious tweets. Mashable Editorial Director, Matt Silverman will be leading this discussion on how these three social media celebs were able to showcase their talent on Twitter. And if their tweets are anything to judge by, this should be a fun and entertaining session to look forward to.
Your #Hashtag Is Your Event
Date: Friday, March 7
Time: 5pm-6pm
Location: Sheraton Austin, Capitol View South, 701 E 11th St.
Social media has the power to transform your event into a success. Platforms like Twitter, Vine, Instagram and the like are now a necessity when it comes to promoting any sort of event and putting it in the spotlight. This is the 3rd annual Interactive Core Conversation for the Event Community at SXSW. Be sure to join it to find out the latest best practices and learn from other participants as well.
#EsuranceSave30: Why 5 Million Tweeted in 36 Hours
Date: Tuesday, March 11
Time: 11am – 12pm
Location: Hilton Austin Downtown, Salon B, 500 E 4th St
During this year’s Superbowl, Esurance purchased the first commercial spot after the game. It featured actor John Krasinski announcing that that by purchasing the first spot after the actual game, Esurance had saved $1.5 million and was going to give it away in a Twitter sweepstakes. Within 36 hours, the hashtag #esurancesave30 broke Twitter records. More than 5.4 million people used the hashtag, it received 2.6 billion social impressions and Esurance gained 261,000 new followers. It was the most Tweeted hashtag during the Super Bowl and the top trend on Twitter for 2 days.
This session will feature leaders from Leo Burnett, Esurance and Twitter giving an insight on this very successful campaign. Participants will also get a behind the scenes look at what goes into creating, executing and managing a real-time marketing initiative like this.
How the Black Twitterverse is Changing Pop Culture
Date: Saturday, March 8
Time: 5pm-6pm
Location: Hilton Garden Inn, Red River, 500 N IH 35
The most influential community on Twitter is “Black Twitterverse”. Using this platform, “Black Twitterverse” has the power of turning a TV show into a hit and even influence pop culture and political discussion in power shifting ways. This panel will discuss how the Black community is changing the landscape of pop culture by using Twitter.