2010 SXSWi Web Awards: Q & A with Doug Benson

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March 12, 2010 at 2:13 pm


SXSWi is holding its 13th Annual SXSW Web Awards on Sunday the 14th at the Hilton Downtown.  All the website finalists were sites that were launched or redesigned in 2009.  Here’s a list of finalists!  The M.C. of this year’s award ceremony is comedian Doug Benson.  From his many appearances on Comedy Central Presents, NBC’s Last Comic Standing, VH-1′s Best Week Ever, The Sarah Silverman Program, HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, and his own documentary Super High Me, Benson proves again and again that he is quite the entertainer. His new CD, Unbalanced Load, is currently available on Comedy Central Records.

SXTXState: You have some great experience with SXSW, including the screening of Super High Me in 2008, for those that don’t know anything about SXSW how would you describe it?

Doug Benson: 10 days of fun. Or at least I assume it was fun. I barely remember any of it. If you love movies and music, it’s a great place to be.
SXTXState: You are hosting the 2010 Web Awards for SXSWi.  You have a Myspace and a Twitter account…but no website…how come? Is there a site on the way?
Doug Benson: No, I’m lazy. And I have so many followers on Twitter and Myspace, I feel like they are my web sites.
SXTXState: You tweet all the time (@DougBenson)…what is it about Twitter that you love? that you hate?  What do you see as the next step beyond Twitter?

Doug Benson: I love that if I think of a joke or want to promote one of my shows, I can just tweet it and thousands of people will get the message at the same time. I’ve met some cool people through Twitter. And I don’t just mean people who are willing to get me high. But I’ve met them too.
SXTXState: Have any social networking ideas?  Is there something missing in the social media world?
Doug Benson: Let me think about that and get back to you. Ok, I thought about it. I don’t have any ideas.

SXTXState: From the outside, I would think that social networking and social media have changed the business of comedy.  The great thing about it is that you are able to reach audiences beyond your shows or albums.  How has it changed your approach?  Is this good or bad thing for the comedy world?
Doug Benson: I think it’s a great thing for me and comedy. I live Tweeted the last Academy Awards and gained hundreds of followers during the telecast. And I lost a few too. I don’t get it when people tell me I tweet too much. All they have to do is unfollow me. I wouldn’t follow me if I weren’t me.

SXTXState: Best place in Austin when you have the munchies?
Doug Benson: A bar. I’m trying to not eat so much when I’m high. So I drink.

SXTXState:  Did you ever find your hat store in Austin? I saw you asking on Twitter.
Doug Benson: I was joking about wanting to find a hat store. But if you know of a good one, let me know.
Thanks to Doug for his time.  Thanks to Seth Olenick for the picture.  Thanks for SXSW for the bio!

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Cornify: SXSW Web Awards Finalist

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March 7, 2010 at 5:31 pm


As you fill up your my.sxsw schedule with amazing panels and core conversations, don’t forget about the ever-entertaining SXSW Interactive Web Awards Ceremony Presented by Adobe. With comedian Doug Benson emceeing this year, it’s bound to be a night full of laughs and Web beauty as the best sites of the year are revealed. Although voting has ended for the People’s Choice Award, you can still pick your favorites from the heaping list of finalists. To start you off, here’s another review of one of the finalists: Cornify.

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

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This is Your Land – Finalist for SXSWi Web Awards

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March 2, 2010 at 6:14 pm


If you haven’t had a chance to check out the SXSWi Web Awards finalists, you’re going to want to do that ASAP. Not only has SXSWi chosen some of the most innovative and interesting sites on the web, but you can judge for yourself who should win the People’s Choice Award at the ceremony on March 14. To get you started on one of the entries, here is a review from the Technical Achievement category of the competition from Texas State University student Chase Roberts:

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.

This is Your Land ScreenshotTo 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.

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But I Still Love Technology…Always & Forever

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February 21, 2009 at 1:13 pm


I really can not wait for SXSW Interactive this year. After having an amazing time last year blogging the festival with Cindy’s class, I became very interested in the tech world. We were able to meet many of the panelists and attendees, party at the Web Awards and learn about new technologies that have inspired us and challenged us to do more with less.

Last semester, I got an internship with SXSWi which is actually still continuing until the festival is over. Thus, I will be working hard with SXSW and helping them with whatever they need, bringing a whole different dynamic to my experience.

Seeing all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into each panel, each person and each event that happens during the week has allowed me to get excited about so many different aspects of the festival. But I think what I’m most looking forward to (besides the Chris Anderson keynote with Guy Kawasaki) is seeing B.J. Novak on the panel “Comedy on Television and the Web.” Because I have a broadcast background, I am very interested in TV’s move to the internet and video on the web, and The Office is my favorite show on television right now (next to The Bachelor, obviously). Their webisodes have always cracked me up. Along with that, I’m definitely going to Gary Vaynerchuk’s panel called “Video Blogging: Turning Wine into Gold.”

Some other events that I will try my hardest not to miss would be panels “Gaming as a Gateway Drug: Getting Girls Interested in Technology” with our very own Dee Kapila and Cindy Royal, “Oooh, That’s Clever! (Unnatural Experiments in Web Design)” and “User Generated Content: State of the Union.” Also, the Core Conversation “Whitehouse.gov 2.0: Upgrading to Open Source Government” looks pretty interesting.

I also didn’t get a chance last year to attend ScreenBurn or the Trade Show. I’m sure this year I will definitely get my fill of that craziness I’ve been hearing all about. Hence, some advice for anyone that’s new: go to as many different events as possible. Don’t just go to panels – attend Core Conversations, go to book readings, hit up Accelerator even if you have no idea what it’s going to be like, go to events that discuss technologies you’ve never heard of, don’t be afraid to talk to other nerds. What do you have to lose?

So much to look forward to, and so much to get ready for!

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