SXSW.com recommends these apps:

iPhone:  I-Nigma

Windows Mobile: Bee Tagg

BlackBerry: I-Nigma or BeeTagg or Open the BlackBerry Messenger 5 application -> click on invite -> Scan the code

Android: Google Zxing Reader

Nokia: I-Nigma

Local businesses located around the event may also incorporate these two-dimensional barcodes into their menus and advertisements as the user is able to gather digital information immediately just by launching an app and scanning away.  With touch screens taking over, this technology could cut down on entering site addresses manually and also improve accuracy.

SXSW will have codes preprinted on badges of attendees and when these codes are scanned, they will link to a user’s my.sxsw profile where his or her contact information and schedule can be viewed.  However, one can also generate and print their own QR Code for others to scan by visiting one of several free QR Code generating sites such as Beetagg or Kaywa.  Personalized information can be added above and beyond what is offered on your badge code.

Veteran SXSW attendees recommend creating laptop graffiti containing usernames to social networking accounts, affiliated blog information and possibly ever a QR code.  Be creative and keep in mind that your laptop lid may be your first and only impression at this massive event.  You are providing a link between the real world and the interactive you.

That trip is the inspiration for a panel at this year’s SXSW Interactive called, “Uprising Tide: Inciting Online Communities into Offline Movements.”

“It’s a bunch of tech nerds who got together on meetup.com and decided to make things happen,” said Matthew Tritico, one of the panelists.

The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center software developer, along with fellow panelists Damien LaManna, co-founder of Net2No; Christopher Boudy, Sr., co-founder of NewOrleansTech.net; Tiffany Starnes, co-organizer of TribeCon and Social Media Club of New Orleans and Chris Schultz, co-founder of Launch Pad will describe how their group raised $20,000, planned the trip and got 30 people from all over the city involved—all within a one-month span and no centralized leadership.

“We were there to promote New Orleans,” Tritico said. “We wanted to show people we’re back on the map.”

Since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans has been seeking re-investment by, among other things, promoting tax incentives to tech companies as part of its rebuilding efforts.

The #SXSWNOLA delegation, as they call themselves, took it upon themselves to go to Austin and promote New Orleans as a hotbed for new media and creative techies.

“And, we had a party,” Tritico said. “We are New Orleanians, after all.”

The Uprising Tide panelists will discuss how they made the bus trip happen, and how the lessons they learned can apply to other online grassroots movements.

They will share the knowledge they gained about finding sponsorships, making arrangements, and coordinating all the moving parts that make a movement jump from chat rooms and status updates into objective reality.

As successful as the bust trip was (it is happening again this year), the fact that it was organized from the bottom-up, instead of from the top down, is what the panelists want to highlight during the talk.

“The panel hopes to focus less on ‘how awesome we are’ and more on the challenges involved in such a grass-roots movement,” Tritico said. “We would like the audience to take away from the panel some lessons we learned about what type of events to have, how to fund the events, how to maintain momentum, and how to deal with leadership issues. But most importantly, the subtext of all of this is about inspiring people to work for change in their community–and answer the question, ‘Are we being successful? Are we having an impact?’”

The panel will take place Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in room 10AB of the Austin Convention Center.

If “Cornify” doesn’t win this year’s SXSW Web Award for Amusement, then I don’t know what will. “Cornify” is the cheesiest, most unicorny website that I have ever fallen in love with instantly. It took just one click for unicorns, glitter, and rainbows to appear, and this website just what the doctor ordered when coming down with a “case of the Mondays.” With 8 million unicorns and rainbows in stock ready to bedazzle your mind, how can this not be the greatest website ever? Cornify your photos! Cornify your website! Heck, you can even Cornify your Cornify!!

The presentation of the website is easy to navigate with headers and examples next to the headers. The site has a navigation list at the top of the page that easily directs viewers. Although all of the information is easy to find, the website should be a more organized and all of the photos should be the same size. However, since this is a website for amusement, the chaotic look works.

Cornify is amazing and perhaps with a win at the SXSW Web Awards, Cornify will become a standard on all documentations. Just imagine passports, birth certificates, marriage licenses ALL cornified. The American dream would finally come true.

Click here to Cornify your life and prepare for world domination!

- Review by Hillary Till, Journalism student at Texas State University

Adria Richards will be presenting a talk that will explore how Sci-fi has influenced the Internet as we know it today. So for all the Serling and Hitchcock fans out there, stop in and find out how cinema’s dark heroes have, through the “dimension of imagination”, shaped and molded the ideas that would eventually surface as the Internet as we know it today.

Richards, of ButYoureAGirl.com fame, typically specializes in helping people understand the Internet and technology, and making it seem less, well… less like The Twilight Zone. According to her main website, her job is to “help people make sense of technology. Together we break down the barriers so it’s not intimidating.”

Richards has given several seminars and is quite diverse, as she has presented other specialized talks such as “Women in Technology”.

Having worked in TV or radio news for ten years, I’ve seen first hand that the news industry needs help. Some stations get social media and the digital age, but there are still a lot that don’t. So here are the Top 5 panels that can provide some insight and advice for professional journalists. You’ll quickly notice that these panels are focused on “what’s next.”

5. Journalism Next: Thriving in the Digital Age (3/16, 10:30 a.m.) – Mark Briggs from Serra Media calls “Journalism Next” a guidebook for digital reporting and publishing. This panel will focus on all the tools journalists need to know to survive in their changing industry.

4. Process Journalism: Getting it First, Getting it Right (3/14, 9:30 a.m.) – Process journalism is a term you’ll hear often in a newsroom. Stories evolve and change. Yes, there is constant pressure to be first with a story – but the pressure of getting a story right should never leave a journalist’s mind. This panel focuses on the ethical challenges of news reporting in the social media age. Plus, where else can you see people from the New York Times and TMZ on the same stage?

3. Online News of Tomorrow (3/14, 11:00 a.m.) – This panel is all about where news is headed. What are the online sources of tomorrow? Panelists will look at the innovations happening right now in news and what else we’ll see in the future.

2. How to Save Journalism (3/16, 3:30 p.m.) – This panel features some heavy hitters: Jeff Webber from USA Today, Kelly McBride from Poynter, Matthew Palevsky from The Huffington Post and, most famously, Drew Curtis from Fark. Instead of harping on the death of journalism, this panel promises to look for solutions on how to save it for the 21st century.

1. The Effects of Twitter on News (3/16, 5:40 p.m.) – Twitter has the power to revolutionize the news industry, if the industry completely embraces it. Do you know how hard it used to be find people impacted by certain stories? The hours it took driving around town, looking for someone to interview? Now, you just tweet what you’re looking for and a few minutes later you have countless people to talk to. That’s just one example. Every TV station and newspaper should be forced to watch this panel.

So it’s in the interest of pretty much any writer hoping to succeed in the 21st century to understand the nuances of Web communication, and South by Southwest 2010 has assembled a panel of four experts to discuss “Writing Web Content for a Living.” The interactive discussion will take place Sunday, March 14, at 12:30 p.m.

Among the presenters will be Tiffani Jones, a web writer and content strategist who works with a number of online agencies and publications.

“People are still learning that web writing is not the same as copywriting or journalistic writing,” says Jones, “even though the basic conventions of good writing apply to web writing as well.”

Jones, along with Erin Anderson of Brain Traffic, Ian Alexander of Eat Media, and Dan Maccarone of Hard Candy Shell, will discuss the guidelines for writing content for the Web, and the implications for those who produce content for a living.

While mastering web writing seems simple enough – “Write for people who are in a hurry and trying to get something done,” advises Jones – there’s more to this business than just brevity.  Today’s niche environment means that online enterprises must focus on what they’re saying, and whom they’re saying it to.

“You need to be writing about the right things and conveying the right messages—this is where content strategy comes in…I’m pretty sure that many businesses who don’t have a web communications strategy will be in trouble soon, if they aren’t already,” Jones warns.

So bloggers and businesses beware: Content may be “king,” but a king without strategy is doomed to be dethroned.  Attend “Writing Web Content for a Living” for tips on securing your online empire.

The National Parks Foundation has done a remarkable job with their “This Is Your Land” sweepstakes campaign and Web site. Upon visiting the site, users can access information about various national parks and other historical sites. Users can filter their search by state, culture and arts, camping, or other areas of interest. After picking a place, the site provides a brief description of the location along with the current temperature and a Google Maps link to guide you to your destination.

To enter the sweepstakes, users must mark their spot by sharing a memory or story about one or more of the foundations featured locations. Users can post their comment anywhere on the sites image of their favorite places. Donations can also be made to the foundation by clicking on the appropriate link at the top right location of the site.

The site’s best feature is the quality of the content displayed to users. The content generated by foundation is not only relevant, but also informative. The tags of other users enriches the content of the web site even more and embraces the notion of web 2.0.

The design concept of repetition is also clearly evident throughout the pages of this web site. If you design a site for a government foundation like this, the principle of repetition establishes credibility with the user viewing the site. While searching through the site’s various pages, the navigation and search features were easily accessible. The designers of the site did a great job of creating a visually appealing site that is consistent.

Hunsinger’s panel, with help from VioletBlue and John Adams, will be a core conversation at this year’s SXSW Interactive. The panel idea came from Hunsinger’s first time at SXSW.

“One of the things I noticed relatively quickly was that even though there were a lot of great people at SXSW, there were quite a few douchebags mixed in,” Hunsinger said.

Throughout the course of SXSW, Hunsinger and his friends began to identify certain behaviors that seperated attendees from the douchebags.

“I jokingly said I should give a talk. Fast forward a few months and I found myself actually submitting said talk,” he said.

Hunsinger’s panel will include such topics as business card etiquette, how to handle open bars and the proper way to self promote. Hunsinger hopes that attendees will come away with tips on what behavior he or she should avoid while enjoying SXSW.

“I imagine it will very quickly become a conversation as I’m sure a lot of people will have input on the subject matter,” he said.

Hunsinger’s panel will be held on Friday, March 12 at 5:00 p.m. in the Courtyard Rio Grande.