SXSW was a whirlwind of innovation and ideas by brilliant minds from all over the world. Not to mention all of the authentic and ethnic food scattered throughout downtown Austin. Although a very tiring and exhausting affair, the knowledge and insight I gained from the panels I attended were well-worth my zombie-like appearance by Tuesday.
Since I have a marketing background, I found myself mostly attending the brands and marketing track sessions. I heard from developers and marketing mangers from companies like Hulu, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram about topics such as design processes, marketing tactics, and product design. It was a phenomenal experience to hear from companies I would love to one day work for. Among some of the big topics discussed were, what are users looking for on social media? How do companies remain authentic? Are social influencers the next big trend?
Panel after panel discussed how important it has become to use storytelling in your marketing efforts. Users are constantly bombarded with advertisements, they want to be entertained or moved by content. In addition, the importance of authenticity is crucial to the believability and relatableness of your content. Many companies are partnering with YouTube and social media influencers to reach their desirable market. The power of visuals, pictures and video, are now king! Users aren’t interested in reading a lengthy and boring article, instead, they are looking for major bullet points with informative pictures that reinforce your text.
It is hard to not experience FOMO (fear of missing out) while you are sifting through all that SXSW has to offer. There are so many different panels, experiences, and house takeovers you want to participate in, that it is hard to not have an overwhelming feeling of missing out on certain things. I was lucky enough to make it to the two panels I was most excited about, Senator Bernie Sanders panel and The Cast of This Is Us panel. Although these are two very different types of panels, the overall message was the same, promoting unity during this divisive time.
Aside from all of the thought-provoking panels that fills SXSW, I was overwhelmed and excited about the sheer amount of attendees who come to Austin to widen their knowledge about different topics. It is like the whole city stops and welcomes people from all over. Regardless of background or status, everyone is there to learn and better themselves. SXSW Interactive is definitely an experience I would recommend to anyone and everyone. I had never been to SXSW prior to SXTXState, so I really didn’t know what to expect but this conference surpassed every expectation I had. The knowledge and captivating topics discussed over the 5 day affair is something I will always remember! I hope to be able to attend Interactive for years to come.
