SXSW Interactive Archives - The Motherhood | A Social Media Marketing Agency

As SXSW Interactive comes to a close today, here’s a glimpse at some interesting highlights from this year’s event:

Dubbed “the most-talked about app at SXSW,” Meerkat is a live-streaming, location-based app that lets users capture video from their iOS device and, through Twitter, allows followers to stream it. On Friday, things came to a head when Twitter blocked the app’s access to its social graph. What does that entail, exactly? According to Fast Company: “While Meerkat users can still post videos on Twitter and log in using their Twitter credentials, the Meerkat app will no longer be able to automatically push notifications that announce the live event to all of a Meerkater’s Twitter followers. In other words, Meerkat will need to ask people to build their own social networks from scratch inside the app instead of using the network that its users already built on Twitter.”

Another breakout star at this year’s event is FireChat: a free text message app that doesn’t require cellular data or the Internet (though it does work with it). As Tom’s Guide explains: “The app’s big selling point is its Bluetooth functionality. While Twitter relies on an Internet connection and texting relies on a cell network, FireChat is not beholden to either one. If the Internet is available, FireChat will connect that way. If not, it will reach out to all other Bluetooth devices within about 200 feet and create an ad-hoc network, allowing users in proximity to communicate with one another.”

Last week, we touched on the evolving dynamics between the presence of startups and big brands at SXSW. While past sponsors such as Doritos, Subway and Chevrolet were absent, major companies such as Dell, Samsung Electronics and newcomers, McDonald’s, Visa and Mazda, were all active during this year’s event. Of the shift, Hugh Forrest, director of the SXSW Interactive Festival said: “We used to struggle to get mainstream brands…I guess this is an acknowledgment of the influence we have in jump-starting their message to the cool crowd. It’s exciting, but a little scary at the same time.”

It also turns out that not everyone was eager to interact with robots at SXSW. A small group of anti-robot protesters encouraged event-goers to be cautious of uncontrolled growth of robots and artificial intelligence. With media outlets such as TechCrunch and USA Today covering the protest, we’ll be interested to see how the debate continues.

Follow along with the conversation using #SXSW2015 or #SXSW for more updates coming out of the event!

Featured image courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons user Katie Haugland

More than 30,000 attendees are expected at this year’s SXSW Interactive. Whether you’re Austin-bound, or keeping tabs on the five-day event from home, here’s a quick look at what we’re sure to see.

Social, Social Everywhere: The essence of SXSW Interactive over the years, and one of our personal favorite topics: Social media will be ubiquitous at the event. In fact, did you know Twitter was introduced at the 2007 conference? Whether you’re interested in content marketing, cyber-bullying, data and security, social commerce or even how NASA uses social media, there’s a session on almost every imaginable topic.

Robots, Automation and A Petting Zoo: With automation becoming increasingly popular, several events at SXSW Interactive will explore the future of these technologies, and where an automated approach works to improve efficiencies and where it might hinder progress. This year also marks the first-ever SXSW Robot Petting Zoo, where visitors can operate, pet and program terrestrial and aerial robots.

Wearables and Connectivity: We predicted that wearables would continue to be big this year. With SXSW Interactive coming on the heels of the Apple Watch news, it’s no surprise that there will be hundreds of diverse events dedicated to wearables and The Internet of Things (IoT). Among them: a session on the fundamentals of IoT, one on preventing data overload and a panel about brands introducing advertising to wearables.

Good Ideas: SXgood is the event’s platform for causes and social innovation. Under the SXgood umbrella, the United Nations Foundation (a frequent client of The Motherhood’s) will be presenting a two-day Social Good Hub with collaborative events and opportunities for attendees, including nonprofits, to swap ideas to drive positive change.

More Space for Startups: One criticism of the event in recent years has been that more mainstream, big brands began to dominate the conference where startups used to thrive. This year, though, SXSW has doubled the amount of space devoted to these innovators at Startup Village – the destination for entrepreneurial programming that has been around since 2012. Not to be missed: the startup competition, SXSW Accelerator®, on March 14 and 15.

What technologies and ideas do you predict will come out of this year’s SXSW Interactive? Share with us in the comments!

Featured image source: SXSW Interactive