South By Texas State

While most of the panels hosted in room 18ABCD at the Austin Convention Center are for SXSW Interactive, a few are for SXSW Film, including a panel that was scheduled to have film director Quentin Tarantino.

Room 18ABCD is one of the few rooms that allow both film and interactive inside.

People showed up to the morning interactive panels Saturday solely to save their seat for Tarantino’s film panel at 12:30.

Normally, SXSW personnel do not clear panel rooms of the audience to prepare for other panels.  However, SXSW made a sudden decision to empty out 18ABCD after the interactive panel “How To Create A Viral Video.”

People waiting during the interactive panels jeered and scoffed when they were told they were to give up their seat prior to Tarantino’s scheduled panel.  Some stood up and left the room before the interactive panel began.  Some angry seat savers made minor threats to the SXSW interactive crew.

No one was harmed.

The entire crowd waiting for Tarantino actually fit in the room.

There was a lot of hoopla for Tarantino’s panel. Too bad Tarantino was a no-show!

Here is video of SXSW Interactive telling the audience they must clear the room after the viral video panel:

It’s the constant battle of new media: Where do you draw the line between privacy and publicity? That was the subject of Saturday’s keynote address, delivered by Danah Boyd, social media researcher for Microsoft New England. She believes online privacy is not dead. However, she said privacy is understanding how technology flows.

Boyd focused much of her talk on privacy issues with Google Buzz and Facebook. Regarding Google, she was concerned with the amount of information that was available when Buzz launched earlier this year. Boyd stated that just because something is publicly accessible doesn’t mean people want it publicized. As for Facebook, Boyd said only 35% of users went into the security settings that changed in December and made their information private.

The keynote then focused on teens and the information they’re putting on the internet. Boyd said she has talked to tween-age girls who have deliberately posted risqué pictures of themselves in order to get a modeling contract via the web like Tila Tequila. She believes teens want to be celebrities, but don’t understand the difficulties that come along with it – like paparazzi. “There’s a big difference between being center of attention at school and being stalked by photographers,” Boyd said. She went on to say the worst thing parents can do when talking about privacy with their kids is say, “Back in my day…” Parents have to involve their kids in the discussion and genuinely value their feedback.

Boyd wrapped up her keynote with a key point. She said, “Wanting privacy is not about having something to hide. It’s about wanting to maintain control.” The question you have to ask is how public are you willing to be?

The “Booze Blogging” panelists know how to treat their audience.  Greeting attendees with “pickle back” shots (Irish whiskey followed by pickle brine) and samples of Austin’s own Tito’s Vodka, the ladies and gentlemen on this panel made sure that it was the most interactive discussion at SxSWi.

But the panel  was more than just fun and libations.  Speakers, headed by Lindsey Johnson of Lush Life Productions, addressed the finer points of integrating social media and modern marketing strategies with, well, booze.  Representatives from several enterprises – among them alcohol-themed blogs and Tito’s Vodka – discussed the legal, ethical, and logistical ups and downs of the booze biz.

The panelists made it clear that they truly appreciate cocktails and spirits – their endeavors are not just excuses to party.  In an increasingly niche environment, booze bloggers must be passionate about what they are covering.  One audience member summed up the panel quite nicely, saying “I just love alcoholic beverages.”  Cheers!

Remember when actor Jeff Goldblum died? It had to be true because I saw it on the internet. Problem was – it was a hoax.

Stories like this can spread like wildfire with the help of social media such as Twitter. Goldblum himself had to go on Comedy Central and read his own obituary to let people know it wasn’t true. However, this isn’t always the case. Stories like Michael Jackson’s death broke online. It took mainstream media an hour or so after TMZ broke the story to finally get it confirmed.

In a panel called “RIP Jeff Goldblum,” Megan McCarthy from Techmeme talked about how to tell fact from fiction. She presented three keys to do this.

1. Know your source – The Goldblum story was on an obvious hoax web site. If someone had googled Global Associated News, they could have learned it was a hoax immediately.

2. Know the information – Know what is being passed along. For example, a tech executive sent a tweet to friends that a former Myspace executive was joining his company. He attached a link that Rick Rolled people, but the people who spread it never clicked on that link. They simply retweeted it as fact.

3. Know the big picture – See if a story passes the smell test. What is the big picture? Does someone have an agenda? This can make you understand if something is really news.

South by Southwest Interactive boasts thousands of attendees – among them businesspeople, professionals, experts, and as Ravin’ Dave puts it, people looking for “straight up inspiration.”

Ravin’ Dave is from New York, and as a professional in the rapidly changing field of marketing and branding, he has some thoughts about the nature of social media and how they figure into the business world.  Oh, and he thinks Texas is pretty cool too.

A lot of people have blogs these days. That means they have a voice – and that voice could earn them big bucks.

In a SXSWi panel called “From Blogger to Social Media Guru to Public Speaker,” Nick Morgan and Tim Sanders discussed their advice for hitting it big in the world of public speaking. Their rules were simple. First, do not self-publish a book. Sanders and Morgan say meeting coordinators are looking for a speaker printed by a reputable publisher. Secondly, create a DVD of yourself in public speaking situations. Pay a board guy to make a dub of the video system feed and pay a stringer to shoot crowd shots. Have a professional then edit the DVD together and send that out. Finally, do not cuss in speeches. Sanders and Morgan say this will kill your public speaking career.

However, this advice is not always true. Gary Vaynerchuk is living proof of that. He self-published his book which became a NY Times best seller. Gary cusses during his presentations…a lot. Yet, he is one of the most successful public speakers going right now.

Several people replied to the tweets during this particular panel, disagreeing with the advice given by the panelists. There are obviously many ways to become a hit on the speaking panel. It’s up to you to find the way that works in your particular situation.

Nan Palmero is referred to as the head nerd of San Antonio. He’s at SXSWi 2010 to cover the event for the San Antonio Express-News’ web site. I asked him about his thoughts so far, beating the CEO of 4square at 4square and how he and his friends are asking weird questions to internet celebrities.

I had the pleasure of running into USA Today tech writer Jon Swartz at SXSWi. I asked him for his thoughts on the conference and the battle between old media and new media.