Next week will be a light week for us, and the Bits + Bytes blog will be taking a brief vacation. Look for fresh news and content on the SXSW Interactive site beginning Tuesday, January 2, 2007.

In the meantime, don't forget that late SXSW Web Awards submissions will be accepted via the online submission form until January 1. Absolutely no late entries will be accepted after this date, as the judging process begins January 2.

The New Year is right around the corner -- before you know it, March will arrive and it will be time for the SXSW Interactive Festival. Leverage all the buzz surrounding the 2007 event to increase the visibility of your new media-related company, business or service. Contact Katie King for more information on all SXSW Interactive Festival marketing opportunities.

Also, exhibit space is still available at the first-ever ScreenBurn Arcade. Scheduled Saturday, March 10 and Sunday, March 11 on the first floor of the Austin Convention Center, the ScreenBurn Arcade is the play area that allows attendees to experience the newest developments in the world of video games. Contact Lindsay Muse for complete details.

Thanks to all who are participating in the 2007 SXSW Web Awards -- it's exciting to see so much innovative work in the competition. Due to the number of late entry requests, we've decided to leave the online submission form up until the judging begins after the holidays. If you previously missed your chance to enter the competition that uncovers the best new sites and trends, now is the time to act.

After the judging process begins on January 2, absolutely no late submissions will be accepted. Please contact Shawn at sxsw.com with any questions or concerns.

Congrats to Gina Trapani of the award-winning weblog Lifehacker, whose new book is now available via Amazon. According to the post she wrote on the site today: "Amazon tells me that copies of Lifehacker the book are now leaving their warehouses and heading for our doorsteps. Since I haven't received my author copies yet, I say, 'Yay for the speed of internet commerce!' Order now and just think, you may get the book before I do."

At the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival, Trapani will lead the panel "'I'm Good, Really!': Self-Marketing for the Freelance Web Geek." This session is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, March 11. Check out the almost-full list of 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival panel titles on the Daytime Programming page.

Finalists for the 2007 SXSW Web Awards are honored at the Web Awards Ceremony on Sunday evening, March 11. This gala evening event will be emceed this year by Ze Frank -- so participating in the SXSW Web Awards is your chance to get up close and personal with the man whose quirky sense of humor propels The Show. If you want to be part of the fun, then you have got to act fast. Tonight at midnight (CST) is the final deadline for entering your site in the 2007 competition!

Over the last few years, the SXSW Interactive Festival has emerged as one of the top gathering spots for cutting-edge digital creatives from across the United States and around the world. So, what better place/audience to showcase your web design talents via the Tenth Annual SXSW Web Awards // Presented by Adobe. But time is running out to be part of the 2007 competiton -- Friday, December 15 is the final entry deadline!

Remember, Web Awards participants have the opportunity to win premium prize packages and register for the SXSW Interactive Festival at a special discount rate.

Since launching in 1998, the SXSW Web Awards competition has amassed an impressive track record. Past winners range from Osil8 / Jason Kottke ("Best Personal Site" in 1999) to Dollarshort / Mena Trott ("Best Weblog" in 2002) to CSS Zen Garden ("Best Developer's Resource" in 2004) to Dogster ("People's Choice" in 2005) and many many more. Want to add your name to this list of Internet All-Stars? Then be sure to enter your site in the 2007 competition. Hurry, final submission deadline is Friday, December 15.

2002 Web Award Winner Mena Trott is pictured above. As most geeks know, she is now the president and co-founder of Six Apart.

Those of you who subscribe to the various SXSW RSS Feeds will be happy to know that we are now publishing our feeds with FeedBurner. Please update your feed reader of choice and subscribe to our new Interactive News feed when you get the chance.

As the December 15 deadline approaches, entries are pouring in for the 2007 SXSW Web Awards. Why should you enter your cool new online creation to the SXSW Web Awards? The goal of this competition is to discover the design and content trends that will shape the next few years of the Internet. So, if you are doing the kind of work that is pushing the boundaries of this medium, then the SXSW Web Awards is the place for you to showcase your talents.

Above: David Josué celebrates his 2006 Web Award in the "Personal Portfolio" category. Photo by Charlie Llewellin.

Congrats to Angela Sigg, who works as a web developer for the Denver Public Library. Angelas's name was randomly selected from the dozens of people who correctly answered the trivia question associated with the December 2006 edition of the SXSW Interactive Festival monthly listserve. She knew that the offbeat phrase that popular videoblogger Ze Frank always utters to kick off "The Show" is "Good morning / good afternoon sports racers!"

For providing the correct answer to this trivia question, Angela wins a FREE registration to the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival. We will be giving away another free registration as part of the January listserve -- and will continue this practice with each succeeding monthly listserve through next March. Sign up here to receive these information-packed e-mail updates that will keep you up to date on all things SXSW Interactive. These listserves are sent out the first week of each month and are one of the best ways to keep updated on all the latest information about the event.

Also, don't forget that Ze Frank will serve as emcee for the 2007 SXSW Web Awards ceremony. Want to be part of this exciting evening event? Then be sure to enter your website in this year's competition. Hurry, final entry deadline for the 2007 SXSW Web Awards is Friday, December 15.

Want to learn all there is to know about the most current developments in the video game industry? Then be sure to attend the many ScreenBurn panels that occur at the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival. Gaming-related sessions planned for next spring include "Avatar-Based Marketing in Synthetic Worlds," "Mobile Gaming Revolution: Bringing Gamers Together in a Wireless Community," "Girl Video Gamers Teach You the Facts About Successful Marketing," plus numerous others. The current list of ScreenBurn panel programming is also on the Daytime Programming page of the SXSW Interactive website.

Also, if your gaming-related business or company would like to be involved in the two-day ScreenBurn Arcade, then e-mall Lindsay Muse. Recent confirmations for this space include the Electric Sheep Company, a New York-based company that constructs virtual presence in Second Life for real-world businesses. At the ScreenBurn Arcade, Electric Sheep will be giving demonstrations about how you and your company can get started in Second Life. Scheduled to run Saturday, March 10 and Sunday, March 11 on the first floor of the Austin Convention Center, the ScreenBurn Arcade features demonstrations, tournaments, and other hands-on game-playing fun.

The SXSW Web Awards uncover the most interesting, most innovative, and most influential trends on the internet. If you are on the cutting edge of the web design industry, then be sure to enter your amazing online destination by next Friday for a chance to win industry exposure and a special prize package from SXSW and Adobe. Click here for complete rules and information on how to participate »

Hurry, the final submission deadline for the SXSW Web Awards is Friday, December 15.

Above: Laura Swisher presents Flash guru Jordan Stone of wefail with the 2006 Web Award for the "Best Music" website. Photo by Charlie Llewellin.

Scheduled Sunday, March 11 through Tuesday, March 13, the iF! (Interactive + FIlm) Trade Show & Exhibition is the hub of daytime activities at the SXSW Interactive Festival. Listings of companies that are participating in this event for 2007 have now been posted online. Want your business or service to be part of all this excitement and buzz for 2007? If so, then contact Katie King. In addition to booth sales at the Trade Show & Exhibition, Katie can help you with all other marketing opportunities available at the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival.

Want to get the latest from SXSW Interactive? Click and listen to the second edition of the SXSW Interactive Festival Newscast (5 MB / 10:51 min) to hear various members of the Interactive team present as-yet-unreleased event information as well as interviews with SXSW Interactive speakers.

This broadcast features a conversation with Sharron Rush of Knowbility, who discusses the importance of web accessibility and gives us a sneak peek on her "Accessibility Wars" panel scheduled for the 2007 Interactive event.

Congratulations to Austin resident Tami Broussard, who won a free registration to the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival (value $350) by attending the WorldChanging: A WorldChanging Guide for the 21st Century reading by Alex Steffen on Wednesday, November 29 at BookPeople. Stay tuned to this space for information on future "SXSW Tech Book Tour" events!

There are just a few weeks left until the final deadline for submissions in the 10th Annual SXSW Web Awards // Presented by Adobe. Focusing primarily on sites that launched or were completely redesigned in 2006, this international competition is your premier opportunity to showcase your latest work to industry peers and win big!

Finalists in sixteen categories ranging from "Amusement" to "Experimental" to "Technical Achievement" are announced in mid-January. The winners of the competition are not revealed until the highly-entertaining SXSW Web Awards Ceremony -- scheduled for Sunday evening, March 11 at the Downtown Austin Hilton Hotel. Ze Frank, the hilarious host of the popular vlog The Show, will serve as emcee of this not-to-be-missed event (pictured above).

Read the rules and information, explore the categories and enter today. Hurry! Final deadline for entries is midnight on Friday, December 15.

Attend for Chance to Win Free 2007 Registration

Alex Steffen
Wednesday, November 29 · 7:00 pm
BookPeople
600 North Lamar, Austin

The "SXSW Tech Book Tour: InterAct with Authors" is an ongoing series that focuses on new, technology-related titles relevant to the digital creatives who attend SXSW Interactive. The next installment of the SXSW Tech Book Tour features Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century by Alex Steffen.

Geeks Gone Green

Geeks know how to build sleek websites using the hottest new programming languages. Geeks know all the intricacies of the Star Wars anthology and the Matrix trilogy. Geeks know how to transform household appliances into multi-tasking robots. Geeks know why video games have more longterm social value than television. Geeks know which online networking applications are still hot and which ones are not.

Fair enough. But, now for a real challenge.

Do geeks know how to save civilization?

They do -- or, rather, they will -- if they read Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century. Written by 2005 SXSW Interactive Festival Keynote Speaker Alex Steffen (with significant contributions from Al Gore and Bruce Sterling), this exhaustive, 608-page book positions itself as a "groundbreaking compendium of the most innovative solutions, ideas and inventions emerging today for building a sustainable, livable, prosperous future."

"Worldchanging" is divided into seven sections: stuff, shelter, cities, community, business, politics and planet. Each section then covers a multitude of green ideas and greener brainstorms for improving our existence in a time of limited resources. Sound familiar? The book's format clearly invokes the legacy of the Whole Earth Catalog, the volume that served as a catalyst to so much positive change in the late 1960s.

Thirty years later, "Worldchanging" proves that the print medium still has plenty of power, particularly when supercharged by geek creativity. For instance, consider the innovative hack devised to boost Amazon sales ranks for this book. By rallying readers and fans to buy the book simultaneously on Wednesday, November 1, the Worldchanging team managed to push the book to #12 in the United States.

More than just a high-tech publicity stunt, this maneuver gave publishers all the more ammunition in their argument that bigger retail outlets should stock the volume (presence in retail outlets being a key to still higher sales totals). Of course, the initial intention of the hack was to move "Worldchanging" to #1 in Amazon sales -- making the argument for increased retail presence virtually irrefutable.

In addition to the reading this week at BookPeople, be sure to attend the "Worldchanging 2.0" presentation by Alex Steffen on Tuesday, March 13 at the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival.

Also, thanks to SolarAustin for helping organize Steffen's appearance in Austin on November 29. Reception for Steffen at the new downtown REI location to immediately follow the BookPeople event. Finally, Austin's own Jon Lebkowsky is one of the many contributors to the Users Guide to the 21st Century book.

The SXSW Interactive crew wishes you a great holiday weekend. We are busy giving thanks, discussing early American history, watching football and dosing ourselves with tryptophan (and tofurkey). We'll return with news and updates on Monday, November 27.

Congrats to Leo Laporte and the folks at TWiT.TV, whose newest podcast is titled Net at Night. Released every Tuesday, this program provides a "look at what's new, what's cool, and what's useful on the Internet right now." To this end, episode #3 contains an interview with former Valleywag editor (and scheduled 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival speaker) Nick Douglas. A veteran analyst of the new media industry, Laporte is also slated to speak at SXSW Interactive next spring -- he will lend his expertise to the "TV: The Next Generation" panel.

Interested in how the Internet is impacting the future of television? Then read "The Secret World of Lonelygirl" by Joshua Davis, which serves as the cover story of the November issue of Wired Magazine. Much of this fascinating article is focused on Lonelygirl15 co-creator Mesh Flinders. According to the author, "Flinders himself is startlingly uninterested in traditional TV. He grew up without it and rarely watches it now. But the series he created shows that Internet TV has arrived. The phenomenon is partly driven by technology -- Lonelygirl15 wouldn't exist without the explosion of broadband and the advent of YouTube -- and partly by the appeal of a hybrid form of storytelling. Lonelygirl15 is a mashup of homemade video diary, soap opera, and mysterious, hint-laden narrative like 'Lost.' It's all the more engrossing because viewers can correspond with the characters and even affect the plot. For Flinders, it's a thrillingly uncharted creative landscape, and he has no interest in abandoning it for the tired conventions of film or television. Rather, he wants to be the JJ Abrams of the Internet."

Want to hear more about the folks who started this incredibly popular web pheonomeneon? Flinders will participate in the "Lonelygirl15 Case Study" session at the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival. This session is co-presented by the SXSW Film Conference.

Aside from the impressive panel content and amazing evening events, geeks love the SXSW Interactive Festival because Austin is such a fun city to visit. The region is home to hundreds of top-notch restaurants, ranging from trendy Tex-Mex to healthy vegetarian to mouth-watering barbecue. Moreover, March is the best time of the year to come to Central Texas, as an early spring typically brings warm days and cool nights. Enjoy all that Austin has to offer for just $250 if you register for SXSW Interactive by end of day today.

Sure, the daytime content covers the full spectrum of geek-related concerns. But compelling panel programming accounts for only half of why the SXSW Interactive Festival is so much fun for so many people. A busy schedule of evening events allows for attendees to make new connections, both professionally and personally. Highlights for 2007 include the frog design SXSW Opening Party and the Web Awards Ceremony (emceed by Ze Frank, pictured above). These evening events require a badge for admission -- register today for only $250.

Want to tell new media trendsetters about your company, product or service? If so, then consider the various marketing options available at the SXSW Interactive. Choices here range from a booth in the Interactive / Film Trade Show & Exhibition, an advertisement in the Program Book, an insert in the Big Bag, or a Premier Marketing Opportunity. Talk to Katie King for details on how SXSW Interactive can help your company reach the next level. Hurry -- purchases completed by Friday, November 17 receive a 10% pre-payment discount.

The newest element of the SXSW Interactive Festival is ScreenBurn, an event that brings a heavy dose of video game technology into the daytime programming mix. In other words, 2007 SXSW Interactive attendees will be able to choose from 20 gaming related panels in addition to all the sessions that cover trends in the new media industry. These panels run from Saturday, March 10 through Tuesday, March 13. Register before the Friday, November 17 deadline and all this fun will cost you only $250.

Why focus on one thing when you want to learn about so many new-media related topics? With more than 100 sessions planned for the 2007 event, SXSW Interactive covers the full-spectrum of geek interests. Specific panel titles for next spring range from "Bootstrap Your Startup" to "Learning Interaction Design From Las Vegas" to "The Rise of the Blogebrity" to "Why We Should Ignore Users." Get all this amazing content for just $250 (a savings of $100 as compared to the walkup fees) by registering before the Friday, November 17 deadline.

Phil Torrone of MAKE Magazine and Limor Fried of the Eyebeam Technology & Research Center will participate in a Keynote Conversation on Sunday, March 11 at 2:00 pm.

Fried is a New York based engineer, artist and hacker. She recently received her Master of Engineering in EECS from MIT where she designed and implemented technologies to help people defend their personal space from annoying cell phones and televisions.

With four days of panels featuring the expertise of more than 250 industry experts, the SXSW Interactive Festival provides the most value for your conference dollar. The pricing structure at SXSW Interactive has always been priced to appeal to working geeks who live on a tight budget. But even if budget issues are less of a concern for yourself or your company, why pay a higher price to attend less of an event? Walkup price for the 2007 event is just $350 -- or save $100 on these fees if you register by Friday, November 17.

Congrats to Kevin Hollingsworth of sight2sound in Austin. Kevin's name was randomly selected from the dozens of people who correctly answered the trivia question associated with the November 2006 edition of the SXSW Interactive Festival monthly listserve. He knew that the much-anticipated game Will Wright is currently working on is titled SPORE. At the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival, Wright will deliver keynote speech on Tuesday, March 13.

For providing the correct answer to this trivia question, Kevin wins a FREE registration to the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival. We will be giving away another free registration as part of the December listserve -- and will continue this practice with each succeeding monthly listserve through next March. Sign up here to receive these information-packed e-mail updates that will keep you up to date on all things SXSW Interactive. These listserves are sent out the first week of each month and are one of the best ways to keep updated on all the latest information about the event.

Also, next chance to win a FREE SXSW Interactive Festival registration is the WorldChanging book reading by Alex Steffen at Book People in Austin on Wednesday, November 29. More information on this reading will be posted on the SXSW Interactive website later this month.

Want to get the most current news on who is speaking at the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival? Be sure to check out the confirmed speakers page for the latest panelist updates. Recent additions to the lineup of new media industry experts include Alec Cove (cove.org), Virginia DeBolt (vdebolt.com), Mikki Halpin (itsyourworldonline.com), Henry Jenkins (MIT), Jeremy Keith (adactio.com), Emira Mears (raisedeyebrow.com), Christopher Schmitt (christopher.org), Dori Smith (dori.com), and Khoi Vinh (The New York Times). Emira Mears of Raised Eyebrow is pictured above right.

Also, a preliminary list of 2007 programming has now been posted on the confirmed panels page. Click here to see all the cool panel sessions that will occur at SXSW Interactive next spring. 2007 titles range from "Beautiful Algorithms: Design from Nature and Mathematics" to "How to Bluff Your Way in Web 2.0" to "The Rise of the Blogebrity" to "What Does the Future Hold for Video on the Internet?"

Which of these speakers and panel sessions are you most excited about? Post your raves and rants on the SXSW Interactive Festival Community Blog.

Does your business or service want to reach cutting-edge geeks, the kinds of people whose ideas and opinions shape the future of new media? If so, then SXSW is the perfect marketing vehicle for you. Available options here range from a booth in the Interactive / Film Trade Show & Exhibition, an advertisement in the Program Book, an insert in the Big Bag, or any number of Premier Marketing Opportunities. For complete information on how SXSW Interactive can help your company grow and grow, contact Katie King. Hurry -- if you purchase by Friday, November 17, you will receive a 10% pre-payment discount off the list price of the item that you are buying.

Marketing opportunities are also available at ScreenBurn, the new gaming element of SXSW Interactive. Touch base with Lindsay Muse for information on how your company can purchase exhibit space at the two-day ScreenBurn Arcade or advertise in the ScreenBurn Guide.

No matter your political affiliation, please make sure to vote today! You can find your polling place by clicking here.

Remember, voting is the original open-source application!

What is new in SXSW Interactive land? Click and listen to the first edition of the SXSW Interactive Festival Newscast (4.7 MB / 10:11 min) to hear various members of the Interactive team present as-yet-unreleased event information as well as interviews with SXSW Interactive speakers. The inaugural 10-minute broadcast features a conversation with Lindsey Simon, the web developer who put together the SXSW Interactive Panel Picker. (Please note that we're still hacking our blogware to include the appropriate RSS enclosures.)

Be sure to read "Game Master", the lengthy profile of March 13 SXSW Interactive Festival keynote speaker Will Wright published in the current issue of the New Yorker. According to John Seabrook's story, this innovative video game developer thinks we've only begun to scratch the surface of the potential of this relatively new medium: "Wright believes that video games teach you how to learn; what needs to change is the way children are taught. 'The problem with our education system is we’ve taken this kind of narrow, reductionist, Aristotelian approach to what learning is,' he told me. 'It’s not designed for experimenting with complex systems and navigating your way through them in an intuitive way, which is what games teach. It’s not really designed for failure, which is also something games teach. I mean, I think that failure is a better teacher than success. Trial and error, reverse-engineering stuff in your mind—all the ways that kids interact with games—that’s the kind of thinking schools should be teaching. And I would argue that as the world becomes more complex, and as outcomes become less about success or failure, games are better at preparing you. The education system is going to realize this sooner or later. It’s starting. Teachers are entering the system who grew up playing games. They’re going to want to engage with the kids using games.'"

Wright's presence at SXSW Interactive highlights the increased focus on video games at this year's event. For more information on this increased focus, be sure to click to the ScreenBurn website.

The SXSW Interactive Festival brings together some of the most creative thinkers in the new media industry. Recent additions to the panelist roster include Sarah Bloomer (sarahbloomer.com), Eddie Codel (eddie.com), Christian Crumlish (radiofreeblogistan.com), Aaron Gustafson (Easy Reader), Emira Mears (raisedeyebrow.com), Tom Merritt (CNET), Ted Rheingold (spideysenses.com) and Jane Wells (janeforshort.net pictured above). Be sure to check the confirmed speakers page to stay up-to-date on all the exciting industry experts who are confirmed to participate in the event.

In addition to booth space at the Interactive / Film Trade Show & Exhibition, Directory advertising, and inserts in the Big Bag, SXSW Interactive offers a number of Premier Marketing Opportunities for companies to connect with cutting-edge geeks. While most of these opportunities are already sold for the 2007 event (see below), the Platinum Lounge and the Green Room are still available for purchase. Contact Katie King if your business or service wants to take advantage of either of these two options. Whatever your budget, your goals or your vision, Katie can help you leverage SXSW for maximum short-term and long-term benefit. Hurry, as purchases made by November 17 are eligible for a 10% pre-payement discount.

Companies that have purchased Premier Marketing Opportunities at the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival include:

Adobe - Big Bag
Adobe - Day Stage Cafe
Adobe - Web Awards
Firewheel Design - Pocket Guide
frog design - Opening Party
iklipz - Studio SX
Iron Mountain - Platinum Lounge
Media Temple - Closing Party
Seagate Technology - ScreenBurn
Spout TV - E-mail Center

Halloween has come and gone. But, November 1 brings the traditional Day of the Dead celebration, a time to pay tribute to those who are no longer among the living. Dia De Los Muertos is a bittersweet holiday in the Mexican culture -- festive and yet certainly not without significant meaning. This occasion seems to go hand in hand with an essay written by 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival Opening Speaker Jim Coudal titled "All Hallows." Posted earlier this week on The Morning News, this intensely personal story reflects on the author's fractured grieving process with regards to the passing of his mother-in-law: "I had convinced myself that the way to deal with grief and hardship, the way to be The Good Husband and The Good Father is to be tough and logical and pragmatic. To be stronger than the problem. To keep it inside. I imagine that I’m not the only man like this. That suit seems to fit right off the rack."

How did you celebrate Halloween? Will you do anything to celebrate Day of the Dead? Post your thoughts on all of this at the SXSW Interactive Festival Community Blog.

Each year the SXSW Interactive team carve up innocent squash to pay our respects to all the ghouls and goblins out there. This time around, our artistic slashing was inspired by ScreenBurn, the new component of SXSW Interactive that focuses on the most current developments in the video game industry. Despite our lust for the cutting edge, we are still big fans of all that vintage arcade violence.

Attend for Chance to Win Free 2007 Registration

John Hodgman
Monday, October 30 · 7:00 pm
BookPeople
600 North Lamar, Austin

The "SXSW Tech Book Tour: InterAct with Authors" is an ongoing series that focuses on new, technology-related titles relevant to the digital creatives who attend SXSW Interactive. The next installment of the SXSW Tech Book Tour features "The Area of My Expertise" by "Daily Show" correspondent John Hodgman.

Be sure to attend the October 30 reading to see the always-witty Hodgman live and in person. Need more incentive? One lucky person attending this reading will win a FREE registration to the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival -- a value of $350. Photo by Elizabeth Conn.

Mash Note to John Hodgman
by Lya Guerra, SXSW Staff

A crush has many functions. Or, let's say two. Like traveling to a foreign place, a crush can extract you from the familiar. It gives you the objectivity of distance which, in turn, can allow you to see many things about yourself. I'll refer to this as the good side of a crush. The second function, or the bad side, is to yield a sustainable harvest of self-doubt. In other words, one function turns you onto or into yourself while the second function gently turns you against yourself. At least, that's the case if you're me. Show me about me, then make me doubt me, and I'm yours.

John Hodgman has done just that.

Read more...

Be sure to visit the newly-relaunched ScreenBurn website to learn more about the component of the SXSW Interactive Festival that covers the latest developments in video games. For 2007, ScreenBurn programming will consist of 20 gaming-related panels -- this programming begins Saturday, March 10 and extends through Tuesday, March 13. You will also want to attend the all-new ScreenBurn Arcade, scheduled on the first floor of the Austin Convention Center on Saturday, March 10 and Sunday, March 11. There's no need to buy anything extra to attend -- admission to panel programming as well as the Arcade is included with your SXSW Interactive Festival registration. ScreenBurn is sponsored by Seagate Technology, a leading provider of technology and products that enable people to store, access and manage information. If you have questions about ScreenBurn or if you would like to know how your company can be involved in this exciting new event, contact Lindsay Muse. And speaking of cutting-edge developments in the world of gaming, don't forget the Will Wright keynote speech on Tuesday, March 13.

Want to stay current on all the new media industry leaders who are lending their expertise to the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival? Then be sure to check the speaker's page, which is updated on a daily basis. Recent additions to the list of confirmed speakers include Sarah Bloomer (sarahbloomer.com), Veerle Pieters (duoh.com; pictured above left), Mark Schraad (schraadsblog.com), Eric Steuer (Creative Commons) and Bryan Veloso (avalonstar.com). SXSW Interactive typically features more than 250 total speakers, so expect the current list to grow and grow and grow.

Everyone here at SXSW headquarters in Austin is extremely excited about next week's debut issue of SXSWorld, the new quarterly publication that explores all aspects of the event. Issue #1 features a cover story on Interactive keynote speaker Dan Rather (as penned by video blogging pioneer Amanda Congdon), as well as profiles of danah boyd, Gina Trapani, and Kathy Sierra. Receiving a copy of this new publication is easy -- it is mailed free to all 2007 attendees, so consider it another perk of registering for the event. Meanwhile, your company should take advantage of all the buzz around this magazine by advertising in the second issue (due out in early February 2007). For complete SXSWorld advertising information, as well as details on all the other ways to leverage SXSW Interactive to reach a targeted audience of cutting-edge new media trend-setters, contact Katie King.

The next two weeks bring two very intriguing new media events to Central Texas. First is the Flow Conference, which occurs October 26 - 29 at the Texas Union on the University of Texas campus. This event seeks to promote discussion amongst scholars, members of the media industries, media activists, fans, and policy-makers over crucial issues related to television and media. Speakers include Joel Greenberg (GSD&M), Andy Langer (Esquire), Henry Jenkins (MIT; pictured above left) and Sharon Strover (University of Texas). Visit the Flow Conference website to register.

Meanwhile, An Event Apart comes to the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown in Austin on Monday, November 6. A "concentrated, creative learning session that will change the way you approach web design," this event features the wisdom and expertise of four all-star speakers (all of which have previously spoken at SXSW Interactive): Molly Holzschlag, Eric Meyer, Jason Santa Maria and Jeffrey Zeldman. Session titles range from "Hardcore CSS" to "Writing the User Interface." Be sure to check out the Event Apart website for more information.

SXSW is very excited to announce that Will Wright will serve as the keynote speaker on Tuesday, March 13.

Wright can be considered the Bono of the video game industry — in fact, he was the first game designer to be profiled on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, and has been named to Entertainment Weekly's "It List" of "the 100 most creative people in entertainment" and Time Digital's "Digital 50." He is probably best known for creating the critically acclaimed series, The Sims, which has sold more than 70 million games around the world and is one of the few video games that has attracted an audience that is equally split between men and women. The series is one of the most successful in the world, having generated more than $1.6 billion in sales. Wright is now working on his newest game, SPORE. As noted in a recent feature in the New York Times Magazine, "No one doubts that the game [SPORE] will be the most ambitious work in the history of this new medium, whenever it is released. But for it to succeed as a game, it can't just be complex. It also has to be fun. If anyone can pull it off, it's Will Wright...There is probably no one alive who has a comparable track record of combining arcane scientific theories and compulsively addictive entertainment."

In addition to Will Wright's keynote speech, the video game industry will be explored in the new ScreenBurn component of SXSW Interactive. ScreenBurn panels run March 10-13, while the ScreenBurn Arcade is scheduled March 10 and March 11. Admission to these ScreenBurn events is included as part of your SXSW Interactive, Gold or Platinum registration. For 2007, ScreenBurn is sponsored by Seagate Technology. Photo courtesy of Electronic Arts.

Congratulations to Austin resident Ryan Chahanovich, who won a free registration to the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival (value $350) by attending the "High-Tech Trash" reading by Elizabeth Grossman on Tuesday, October 17 at Book People. Stay tuned to this space for information on future events, including the "The Areas of My Expertise" reading by John Hodgman at 7:00 pm on Monday, October 30 (also at Book People). As with the Grossman appearance from earlier this week, SXSW Interactive will give away one FREE registration to the 2007 event at this October 30 reading. A correspondent for the Daily Show, Hodgman is now featured on the "Mac vs. PC" Apple Computer television ads. You don't want to miss this one!

Check out the newly-updated Evening Events page to see a preliminary schedule of 2007 parties. These after-dark activities include the Friday Night Mix on Friday, March 10 (sponsored by Porter Novelli), the frog design SXSW Opening Party on Saturday, March 10 and the Media Temple SXSW Closing Party on Tuesday, March 13. For more information on how your company can be officially involved with an evening event at the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival, contact Katie King.

Five years ago, who could have imagined that personal publishing would have such an impact on our capitalist culture? But, it's true -- savvy businesses have learned that weblogs are the best way to make direct connections with customers. Moreover, many businesses now understand that such direct connections are a much more efficient way to increase efficiency, increase sales, increase brand awareness and increase market share -- and achieve all these goals relatively cheaply. Learn much more about how all this works at the Blog Business Summit, scheduled October 25-27 at the Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle. Speakers at this exciting event include SXSW veterans Chris Pirillo, Elisa Camahort, Elizabeth Lawley, Halley Suitt, Jason Calacanis, John Battelle, Jory Des Jardins, Mary Hodder, Matt Mullenweg, Robert Scoble and Tara Hunt. Meanwhile, panel topics range from "Getting Started With Podcasting and Video Blogging" to "Entrepreneurial Blogging: Maximizing Ad Revenues." See you next week in Seattle!

We encourage the SXSW Interactive community to watch this week's episode of "Moyers on America," in which this award-winning journalist turns his attention to the ongoing battle over control of the Internet. Moyers calls the web the greatest tool for democracy in our era -- but the current struggle may completely change the kinds of unrestricted content now available online. As noted on the program's website: " The future of the Internet is up for grabs. Last year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) effectively eliminated net neutrality rules, which ensured that every content creator on the Internet-from big-time media concerns to backroom bloggers-had equal opportunity to make their voice heard. Now, large and powerful corporations are lobbying Washington to turn the World Wide Web into what critics call a 'toll road,' threatening the equitability that has come to define global democracy's newest forum. Yet the public knows little about what's happening behind closed doors on Capitol Hill." Check PBS listings for local broadcast time of this important episode -- and click on the PBS website to watch a short preview of the program.

Attend for Chance to Win Free 2007 Registration

Elizabeth Grossman
Tuesday, October 17 · 7:00 pm
BookPeople
600 North Lamar, Austin

The "SXSW Tech Book Tour: InterAct with Authors" is an ongoing series that focuses on new, technology-related titles relevant to the digital creatives who attend SXSW Interactive. The next installment of the SXSW Tech Book Tour features "High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, and Human Health" by Oregon-based investigative reporter Elizabeth Grossman

Be sure to attend the October 17 reading to hear Grossman's insights about this under-publicized environmental crisis. Need more incentive? One lucky person attending this reading will win a FREE registration to the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival -- a value of $350.

"High Tech Trash" Review

If Al Gore can be seen as the Paul Revere of global warming, then categorize Elizabeth Grossman as the reigning anti-evangelist of computer waste. Her new book "High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics and Human Health" emphatically reveals the exceedingly high environmental costs of ongoing new media advancements. According to Grossman's findings, the transition from Industrial Revolution to the Information Age has benefitted almost everyone -- everyone except Mother Earth, that is.

As a way to highlight the environmental impact of said digital devices, she traces the extensive manufacturing process of these products. For instance, copper (which is considered to be the best nonprecious metal conductor of electricity) serves a vital role in most computers. However, Grossman points out that obtaining this element proves to be a messy business. "Going after the roughly two pounds of copper needed for a desktop computer would likely result in some 620 pounds of waste rock. By the same calculus, the two hundred million computers in use in the United States in 2005 would have left in their wake 124 billion pounds of discarded rock."

These and numerous other negative consequences of our high-tech lifestyle increase exponentially because of the demand created by the short-term lifespan of such hardware. Moore's Law means that semiconductor power doubles every two years -- and there are few options for recycling out-of-date equipment. Discarded electronics are thus treated as disposable items and amount to "the fastest growing component" of municipal trash both in the United States and in Europe. According to the National Safety Council, 85 percent of the 63 million US computers discarded in 2002 ended up in public landfills. Wasn't the future supposed to be cleaner than this?

As evidenced by the box office success of "An Inconvenient Truth" this summer, public awareness of environmental problems is the first (and most important step) towards an eventual solution. Nowhere is such awareness more important than the United States -- unlike the European Union or Japan, this country has no national system (voluntary or regulatory) for managing the growing e-waste problem. Geeks should learn the extent of this issue by reading "High-Tech Trash." And, in the spirit of recycling, pass your copy along to your elected leaders when you are finished with it.

Constructive criticism is always a good thing, right? Well, such sentiments are more easily expressed in the abstract than when it is your beloved project that is bearing the brunt of the bashing. But, for a good example of how to take it all in stride, read a recent blog post by Jason Santa Maria. This entry shows some of the critiques given to his site from students at Michigan State University. While some of the comments are a bit severe, Santa Maria views it as a learning experience: "They aren’t regular readers, so I certainly can’t fault them for being offended by a few things, but I found these critiques to be enlightening. It’s rare that you get feedback like this from people who are becoming designers and are still pure and untouched by the real world of clients and deadlines. They have a different perspective on things than I do, and design definitely means something different to them right now. I may be teaching a class at a local university in the near future, so I’ll also chalk this up to a bit of research for me too."

Santa Maria is scheduled to lead the "After the Brief: A Field Guide to Design Inspiration" panel at the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival. Click on the panels page to see a full list of all currently-confirmed speakers for next spring's event. Who are you most excited about from this list? Post your reflections on the SXSW Interactive Community Blog.

This Friday, October 13 is the early entry deadline for the 10th annual SXSW Web Awards. This international competition uncovers the best new sites, the top new trends and the most impressive talent in the ever-evolving web design industry. If you are doing trend-setting work, then be sure to enter your site in this exciting contest.

Winners of this event will be announced at the 2007 Web Awards Ceremony, scheduled Sunday, March 11 at the Downtown Austin Hilton Hotel. Ze Frank, the hilarious host of the popular vlog "The Show," will serve as emcee of this highly-entertaining event. Read more about Ze Frank at zefrank.com/theshow and find out more on how to submit your work here.

Hurry -- enter by midnight on Friday, October 13 and receive the early entry fee of only $10. Final deadline for submissions is Friday, December 15.

SXSW Interactive brings together the web's most creative thinkers, innovators and industry trend-setters. In other words, this is the perfect target audience for creating a buzz about your new media related company, product or service. Take advantage of the highly targeted marketing opportunities at SXSW Interactive with a Trade Show booth, advertisement or insert. All of these marketing opportunities are discounted 10% through November 17!  For sales-related information, contact Katie King.

Need a crash course in all things Ajax (otherwise known as Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)? Already know this web development technique, but want to take your skills to the next level? Then consider attending the Ajax Experience, scheduled October 23-25 at the Boston Westin. Organized by popular website ajaxian, the event features 60 in-depth tech sessions presented by the community as well as by leading tech companies such as Microsoft, TIBCO, Google, Sun, Yahoo!, and NetFlix. These 90-minute sessions cover all the hot frameworks that you need to know. The Ajax Experience includes 40+ expert speakers including SXSW alums Aaron Gustafason and Alex Russell. Don't miss out on all the action -- register today before the event sells out!

Congrats to Ben Christen, who is a Staff Software Engineer at Disney Online in Los Angeles. Ben's name was randomly selected from the dozens of people who correctly answered the trivia question associated with the October 2006 edition of the SXSW Interactive Festival monthly listserve. He knew that former Virginia Governor Mark Warner was a co-founder of the company that eventually became NEXTEL. At the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival, Warner will talk about new media -- his presentation is currently scheduled for Monday, March 12.

For providing the correct answer to this trivia question, Ben wins a FREE registration to the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival. We will be giving away another free registration as part of the November listserve -- and will continue this practice with each succeeding monthly listserve through next March. Sign up here to receive these information-packed e-mail updates that will keep you up to date on all things SXSW Interactive. These listserves are sent out the first week of each month and are one of the best ways to keep updated on all the latest information about the event.

Also, next change to win a FREE SXSW Interactive Festival registration is the High Tech Trash book reading by Elizabeth Grossman at Book People in Austin on Tuesday, October 17. More information on this book reading later this week.

Rebecca MacKinnon, who served as a panelist at the 2005 SXSW Interactive Festival, writes about the challenges traditional print media face in competing with the smaller-is-better approach of online publications. Reflecting on an off-the-record meeting of various mainstream news executives, this former CNN reporter comments: "You don't need a huge corporate budget and casts of thousands behind you to innovate in media anymore - in fact having a large organization to manage (and shareholders to answer to when things don't pan out) increasingly looks like an impediment to experimentation and creative thinking. I've had conversations with people who work in the web departments of news organizations whose understanding of RSS, tagging and other standard features of the read-write web (or semantic web or Live Web, or Web 2.0 or whatever you want to call it) pale in comparison with that of many self-taught bloggers who learned by playing around with the free and/or inexpensive software tools."

How can the mainstream press make itself more relevant to a generation of online users? Post your thoughts at the SXSW Interactive Community Blog.

Did you see the 15-minute conversation with Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales on the Charlie Rose Show on Wednesday night? Asked about the basic scope of the project he launched, Wales (who interviewed Craig Newmark at the 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival) responds, "The core idea of Wikipedia is that everyone should have free access to the sum of all human knowledge. . . To give a free encyclopedia to every single person on the planet has always been our mission statement. When we think about the full scope of our work, we think of it as more than just a website. We want to make information accessible to people who don't even have computers. That's kind of our big-picture vision of where we want to go."

How often do you use Wikipedia? Do you find the information on this website it any less accurate than more traditional print-based encyclopedias? Post your comments on the SXSW Community Blog.

Markos Moulitsas, who spoke on a panel titled "Revenge of the Blogs: Election 2008" at the 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival, is profiled in the October issue of Wired. The story (which is written by former SXSW Keynote Ana Marie Cox) outlines how important the website he founded has become in the national political landscape: "With 3.5 million unique visitors every week, his blog has become the preeminent site for liberals on the Web. It's also a virtual political action committee. Daily Kos raised more than $1 million for Democratic candidates in 2004. Senate minority leader Harry Reid was a keynote speaker for the Yearly Kos convention in Las Vegas last June, and potential 2008 presidential candidate Mark Warner feted attendees with a $50,000 gala at the Stratosphere Casino. When John Kerry and Barack Obama wanted a line to the blogosphere's most reliable partisans, they posted on Kos.Daily Kos works because it's not a one-way broadcast of Moulitsas' views. Close to 99 percent of the site is user-generated – it hosts 14,000 comments a day and 2,000 miniblogs called diaries. Moulitsas has figured out how to turn readers into writers, to transform discontent into content." Also, according to this article, Moulitsas will be going offline in 2007 "taking his obvious knack for building online communities and applying it to that other great American pastime: sports."

How has Daily Kos shaped your perception of American politics? Are blogs part of the solution or part of the problem in terms of creating a more representative democracy? Which blogs are more interesting to read -- those authored by liberals or conservatives? Post your comments on these questions at the SXSW Interactive Community Blog.

Have you heard about the new SXSW in-house print magazine? Published quarterly and distributed via mail to a minimum of 10,000 Interactive, Film and Music registrants, SXSWorld will focus on SXSW-related events, developments, businesses, individuals and artists. Special advertising deals are still available -- contact Katie King for complete details on these and other marketing-related opporunities. Act now on these special rates to ensure maximum savings and visibility. Look for the first issue of SXSWorld to hit the streets the first week of November.

The first installment of the Fall web-related confabs to come to Central Texas was Flashforward2006 Austin in September. And, November brings An Event Apart Austin to our fair city. But, the event that local and national techies are presently geeked-up about is ApacheCon, scheduled October 9-13 at the Downtown Austin Hilton Hotel. ApacheCon is the must-attend developer and user forum showcasing key Apache- and Open Source technologies. More than 125 sessions offer insight into the community that develops and shepherds industry-leading projects, including Apache HTTP Server, which is the world's most popular Web server software for ten years running. Keynote speakers for ApacheCon include Cliff Stoll (author of Silicon Snake Oil") and Howard Tayler (creator of Schlock Mercenary).

Want to be part of this exciting event? ApacheCon registration discounts are available for members of the SXSW Interactive community. When you visit the online registration interface, enter the discount code "sxsw." This discount code will save $300 of the current full conference price and $100 of the day pass. See the ApacheCon website for complete details.

2005 SXSW Interactive Festival Opening Speaker Jeffrey Zeldman succinctly taps into the loneliness of the long-time personal publisher in the aptly-titled post "Blahg". He writes, "Gee, was I thrilled when I first realized that, by learning some HTML and buying a modem, I could publish anything I wanted to. Not only could I publish it, but people would see it and respond. My God, those were heady days. Eleven years I’ve been pecking away at this page, and boy are my frontal lobes tired. Every day I think about you and what I want to tell you. There’s so much I still want you to know. But work and family enfold me in an octopus grip. When I finally put two free hours together, updating zeldman.com is not necessarily how I want to spend them. How about you? Still blogging? Still all fired up about it?"

What do you think of the frustration's outline by Zeldman? How long have you been blogging? Is it still as important to you as when you started? Go to the SXSW Interactive Community Blog to leave your feedback about this topic and any other tech-related issues.

Attracting digital creatives as well as new media entrepreneurs, the 14th annual SXSW Interactive Festival gives you both practical how-to information and unparalleled career inspiration. Attend this legendary gathering of the tribes to renew your link to the cutting edge.

Hurry! Register by Friday, September 29 and get the lowest discount price of only $225 (save $125 on the walk-up rate). Registration gets you access to all the SXSW Interactive keynotes, innovative panel programming and how-to sessions -- as well as a non-stop parade of receptions, parties and get-togethers that allow you to interact with your peers from around the industry.

Prime downtown SXSW 2007 hotels are already selling out -- earlier than ever. Review available hotel options and be sure to make your hotel reservation when you register online.

Friday also marks the Sales and Marketing 20% pre-payment discount deadline. For details on marketing opportunities at SXSW Interactive, contact Katie King at katie@sxsw.com.

Esquire columnist Chuck Klosterman entertained a jam-packed crowd of approximately 150 fans at last Thursday's reading at BookPeople. The New York based pop culture critic read the "Nemesis" chapter from his new anthology "Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas". But, the real highlight of this visit was a 45-minute Q&A session, in which he talked about what he dislikes (blue gatorade and Bill Maher) as well as what he likes (blue gatorade and vodka).

Congratulations to Austin resident Charlene Jackson, who won a free registration to the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival (value $350) by attending this reading and entering her name into the random drawing. Stay tuned to this space for information on future events, including the "High Tech Trash" reading by Elizabeth Grossman at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, October 17. As with the Klosterman appearance from last week, SXSW Interactive will give away one FREE registration to the 2007 event at this October 17 event. See you there!

Google's Marissa Mayer, who served as a feature speaker at the 2004 Interactive Festival, is one of the 20 females featured in a Newsweek story titled "Women & Leadership: The Next Generation." In the self-profile that she writes for the publication, Mayer (pictured at far right on the magazine's September 25 cover) reveals her views about what makes for a successful workplace in today's business arena: "I think the concept that women are more emotional at work is an outdated cliché. I tend to be more on the side of the quantitative, analytical, data-driven. One important thing about leadership is approachability, people feeling they can come and talk to you about an issue. I have a few meetings that I hold—office hours and staff meetings—that have an open-door environment where people can put topics that they care about and want addressed on the agenda. I want people to come and challenge me, tell me that I'm wrong and show me the data or tell me why they have that opinion. That type of healthy debate helps us get to the best possible outcome. Consistency is also very important. When you're leading large teams, people want to know that when they send you an e-mail, they'll get an answer back in a day. When they call your cell phone, they want to know that you pick up or call right back. These elements are important. I actually publish a set of guidelines for my team so they understand what to expect from me."

What do you think of Mayer's assertions about leadership? Does your workplace encourage an open-door environment between bosses and workers? Comment on these topics at the SXSW Interactive Community Blog.

Earlier this week, we had so much fun with National Talk Like a Pirate Day. Arrrr! Yet, September 22 marks an even more special occasion, the first ever OneWebDay. According to a blurb on this event's site: "The Web is worth celebrating. OneWebDay is one day a year when we all - everyone around the physical globe - can celebrate the Web and what it means to us as individuals, organizations, and communities. As with Earth Day - an inspiration and model for OneWebDay - it’s up to the celebrants to decide how to celebrate. We encourage all celebrations Collaboration, connection, creativity, freedom. By the end of the day, the Web should be just a little bit better than it was before, and we’ll be able to see our connection to it more clearly" So, on Friday, be sure to celebrate the web for all its worth. Today would also be a good day to check in with the folks at SavetheInternet to update yourself on their ongoing efforts to retain the all-important concept of net neutrality, a concept that goes to the heart of why the web is such a special place.

Attend for Chance to Win Free 2007 Registration

Chuck Klosterman
Thursday, September 20 · 7:00 pm
BookPeople
600 North Lamar, Austin

The "SXSW Tech Book Tour: InterAct with Authors" is an ongoing series that focuses on new, technology-related titles relevant to the digital creatives who attend SXSW Interactive. The next installment of the SXSW Tech Book Tour features "Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas" by New York based pop culture critic Chuck Klosterman.

Be sure to come to the September 21 reading to hear Klosterman's off-kilter insights. Need more incentive to be part of this event? One lucky person attending this reading will win a FREE registration to the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival -- a value of $350.

"Chuck Klosterman IV" Review

2005 SXSW Interactive Festival Keynote Speaker Malcolm Gladwell has all the hair. But, Chuck Klosterman (who happens to love hair bands from the 80s) has all the attitude. Witness the self-referential title of his new anthology "Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas." In other words, if his counter-intuitive opinions were not composed in such a creative manner, Klosterman would be pretty easy to completely dislike.

The new book brings the famous Klosterman contrarian point of view to a variety of suspects, usual and unusual. Topics covered include REO Speedwagon, Bono's ego, Billy Joel, Jeff Tweedy, pirates, Radiohead, monogamy, KISS, Al Gore, Metallica, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Steve Jobs, Michael Jackson, Michael Stipe, Johnny Carson, Journey, fortune tellers, the White Stripes, Robert Plant, Steve Nash, heavy metal cover bands, robots and Morrissey.

What makes Klosterman relevant is that he doesn't come across as some boring graduate student when comparing Kobe Bryant to Darth Vader. His lack of critical snobbery also contributes to his appeal. For instance, Klosterman writes about his week-long Chicken McNuggets eating binge, during which time he only gained one pound (Morgan Spurlock is a fraud, in his opinion). He also holds the somewhat non-mainstream belief that Val Kilmer is America's most talented male actor. What?

Reading through this collection, I realize that Klosterman reminds me of the dweeb who my first girlfriend left me for. I am also reminded that Klosterman despises Bruce Springsteen, who is my all-time favorite artist. So, I have ample reason to completely hate him. In fact, the author capably envisions this somewhat complicated relationship in a chapter entitled simply "Nemesis." His anticipation of my dislike for him is all the more reason to see him as a genius.

A column that Klosterman wrote in Esquire this summer pointed out that the lack of serious journalism in the video game industry is one of the determents to the long-term growth of this medium. While his words drew the ire of tons of geeks, his assessment is entirely correct. Critical writing that challenges established viewpoints makes for a more healthy cultural environment. All hail Chuck Klosterman! Anyone with that much attitude can't be all bad. -H

Vote for the panel programming you want to see at the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival. A second round of panel proposals is now available online to explore, all new ideas submitted in the last six weeks.

Click to the Panel Proposal Picker to select your top ten choices. Round Two voting is open to all web users, whether or not you voted in Round One.

Hurry, the voting deadline for Round Two of this process is Friday, October 13. What are your favorite panel proposals? Post your comments in the SXSW Interactive Community Blog.

Her unexpected departure from Rocketboom earlier this summer generated shockwaves throughout the video blog community. Fortunately, there is now more positive news to report about 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival speaker Amanda Congdon, who recently launched the AmandaAcrossAmerica tour. As explained by the wiki associated with this new site, "As you may know, we will be traveling across the country in the next few weeks. On our way we will visit all kinds of people and places-- we may even run into you. So we've created this wiki to interact with you. We are asking you, THE FORCE, to suggest points of interest across the USA. You live in lots of different places and are all experts in those various places....you are also experts in the places where you used to live. Or maybe you're German or Japanese but you just happen to know some cool places to visit in the US. Maybe you lived here for a while or you do a lot of traveling. We encourage you to link to photos, video, and outside resources. We'd love to meet you, get to know you. Ideally together we will create a super-awesome interactive guide to America."

What is your perception of Congdon two months after the Rocketboom controversy? Will you be following her new video travel diary? Please leave your comments about all things Amanda at the SXSW Interactive Community Blog.

Read "Printing Money", an extensive profile of the web-centric t-shirt company Threadless. According to Chicago Tribune new media writer Steve Johnson, "Last year, Threadless, by its own account, sold $6.2 million worth of these wardrobe add-ons, its fourth year in a row of, roughly, quadrupling sales. This year, the three twentysomethings who run the company expect to at least triple last year's numbers, pushing stylized, often ironic, one-of-a-kind designs with names like 'Rainbow Worrier' and 'Hypotamoose.' They're moving in September into their third new headquarters in as many years, a journey up and down Ravenswood Avenue that has seen their space grow from an apartment desktop to their current 8,000 square feet to the new office's 25,000." The Tribune profile also quotes Threadless Creative Director and 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival speaker Jeffrey Kalmikoff (pictured above), who still sounds somewhat amazed by the runaway success of the company's approach: "It's gonna sound weird, but I never really felt like what we were doing was a legitimate business. We were just doing what we thought made sense and what we were comfortable doing. I certainly don't look at us and think we're business gurus or anything like that. I just think that we were, like, champions of common sense."

What's your favorite Threadless t-shirt? Does their innovative use of the online community to test-market potential designs apply to your business? Leave your comments at the newly-relaunched SXSW Interactive Community Blog. And, if you want to learn more about Threadless, be sure to listen to the podcast of the "Designing for Community with 'Zero-Advertising' Brands" panel from the 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival.

John Allsopp, who spoke at SXSW Interactive in both 2006 and 2005, writes about "The Big Picture of Microformats" in Digital Web Magazine. "The network effect tells us that the value of a technology increases the more it is used. Microformats are rapidly experiencing the benefits of this effect. Innovative publishers are publishing microformats, while innovative developers have embraced microformats to help build new types of online services. These innovators have taken the plunge, demonstrating the practical value and the promise of microformats right now . . . Whether you are a web developer, content publisher, or service developer, you’ll be in good company if you consider how the content you publish, the applications you develop, or the services you provide could benefit from utilizing microformats."

What do you think about microformats? Have you integrated this technology into your approach to web publishing? Post your comments on the SXSW Interactive Community Blog. Also, if your travels take you to Sydney, Australia in late September, then be sure to see John Allsopp speak at Web Directions South.

Congrats to Jennifer Wentz, who is the Web and eCommunications Manager at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Smithsonian’s contemporary art museum in Washington DC. Jennifer's name was randomly selected from the dozens of people who correctly answered the trivia question associated with the September 2006 edition of the SXSW Interactive Festival monthly listserve. She knew that Dallas billionaire Mark Cuban is the co-owner of HDNet, the cable broadcast network that 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival keynote speaker Dan Rather now calls home.

For providing the correct answer to this trivia question, Jennifer wins a FREE registration to the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival, which is scheduled Friday, March 9 through Tuesday, March 13 in Austin. We will be giving away another free registration as part of the October listserve -- and will continue this practice with each succeeding monthly listserve through the event next spring. Sign up here to receive these information-packed e-mail updates that will keep you up to date on all things SXSW Interactive. These listserves are sent out the first week of each month.

Social networking expert danah boyd comments on the "Facebook Trainwreck" that occurred last week when this popular site instituted a new feature that notifies all your friends of every change you make on your profile. Writing on her blog, she explains how this controversy underscores the fragile nature of our new methods for networking, "While digital communities are fantastic, one of the issues is that people don't actually own the turf in which they're creating cultural artifacts. When earthquakes rattle digital streets, it's not Mother Nature at work. It's the work of a Corporation. We all like to think that these corporations have the best of intentions and we rely on them to serve the people. Yet, as Sasha is always reminding me, they are not elected officials, this is not a democracy, it's a benevolent dictatorship. We count on the creators to be benevolent but they can make an earthquake whenever they want and we still have to clean up the pieces." Also, be sure to read a the followup essay "Exposure, Invasion and Drama" that she posted about the Facebook mess.

At the 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival, boyd moderated on the "Designing for Global and Local Social Play" panel.

We've just unveiled the 2007 edition of the SXSW Interactive Community Blog, your online space to discuss all things SXSW Interactive. In this new incarnation of the blog, we've enabled author profiles so you can share even more about yourself and your extracurricular online activities (your nickname, personal description and website).

Users familiar with the 2006 Community Blog will need to create a new user account for 2007, as we want everyone to opt-in to the new public profile feature.

Please send your questions, feedback and suggestions concerning the SXSW Interactive Community Blog to inter@sxsw.com.

Extreme Democracy author Jon Lebkowsky talks about the importance of preserving net neutrality in a recent story printed in the Austin Business Journal. A frequent panelist at SXSW Interactive, Lebkowsky tells the publication: "Network neutrality suggests that networks carry [information] packets without discrimination. Anybody should be free to connect and send data with the expectation that it will reach its destination and be delivered efficiently. This is more or less how the Internet has always operated. . . The issues are global. Legislation would be helpful, but I think the real path to resolution requires that legislators and voters have a better understanding of the issue and its implications."

In addition to moderating the "How to Develop for (Convergent) Personal Devices" session, Lebkowsky helped organize a track of panels for the Digital Convergence Initiative at the 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival. Also, for more information on what you can do to keep the current system of net neutrality in tact, be sure to check out the Savetheinternet website.

March 12 Keynote: Dan Rather

Award-winning television personality Dan Rather will reflect on how emerging technology is shaping the news in a special Keynote Interview on Monday, March 12 at 2:00 pm.

A native Texan, he made his mark covering the Kennedy Assassination and reinforced this reputation for hard-hitting reporting during the Watergate investigation. Rather served as anchor at the CBS Evening News from 1981 through 2005. In July 2006, he became a producer and a host at the cable network HDNet. Dan Rather photo by John Filo.

Opening Remarks: Kathy Sierra

Opening Remarks at the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival will be delivered by Kathy Sierra. Creator of the Head First series of books and the voice behind the Creating Passionate Users website, she applies cognitive science to her work in programming and technology. Sierra is an engaging and accomplished speaker -- her session at the 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival scored rave reviews.

Her Opening Remarks are scheduled for Saturday, March 10 at 2:00 pm. Kathy Sierra photo by James Duncan Davidson.

The annual Austin City Limits Music Festival returns to Central Texas on September 15-17, with scheduled headliners ranging from Willie Nelson to Van Morrison to Gnarls Barkley. But geeks from across the region and around the world are much more excited about the first-ever Flashforward2006 Austin, which will take over the Downtown Hilton from September 11-14. The event includes more than 60 panel sessions covering everything from "Digital Darkroom Techniques" to "Understanding Apollo".

Speakers at Flashforward2006 Austin include SXSW Interactive veterans Trevor Dodd, Kevin Lynch, Todd Sanders, Craig Swann, and Josh Ulm. Also part of the fun is the 16th annual Flashforward Film Festival, an online competition and live awards ceremony showcasing and celebrating the best work on the Web.

Need even more incentive to attend? Two free registrations to the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival will be raffled away to Flashforward2006 Austin attendees after the last panel session of the day on Thursday, September 14. Can't beat that. See you there in a couple of weeks...

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina reached land near the Louisiana / Mississippi border, touching off the greatest natural disaster in the history of the United States. Various events are being held across the nation to mark this dubious anniversary.

Here in Austin, New Orleans resident Elizabeth Underworld will deliver a special presentation at the Dougherty Arts Center (1100 Barton Springs). According to her press release: "This exhibit includes a site-specific sculpture of the New Orleans levee system built with marble chips, rock salt, and Louisiana sugar. Woven into the sugar are the hand-written names of the city’s victims of the storm. This sculpture is in the process of being deconstructed and beautifully sealed in glass jars. Please join me on Tuesday, August 29 as I initiate a simple ceremony to commemorate this day. I will be reading aloud the names of the 1,900 New Orleanian victims of the storm, beginning at 9:30 a.m. when the first levee collapsed. I will also be giving away the jars filled with the contents of the levee sculpture. I believe in this way we can, in some small fashion, honor and ritualize what is one of the darkest and most profound days in our collective history."

Managed by Knowbility (the company co-founded by frequent SXSW Interactive speaker Sharron Rush), the Accessibility Internet Rally (AIR) debuted in Austin in 1998. The event promotes accessible web design, while showcasing the talents of some of the region's most proficient web developers as well as improving the online presence of various local non-profit organizations. Organizers are seeking 20 teams for 2006 -- and a few spots still remain open in this fun-filled competition. If you have web design talent and want to help lead the way to an Internet that is more accessible to users and potential users of all physical abilities, then you absolutely need to be involved! Read the AIR Austin website or contact Teenya Franklin at knowbility dot org for complete information. Hurry, the final deadline to enter your team is Friday, September 15.

Disclosure notice: SXSW Interactive Festival Event Director Hugh Forrest is serving as chair of the 2006 Air Austin event, so disregard any claims of objectivity in this posting.

As the 2.0 version of Mark Twain might have said, "Everyone talks about podcasting, but nobody does anything about it." Well, that is not entirely true. On his blog, Odeo CEO and serial tech entrepreneur Evan Williams has published an exhaustive directory of daily page ranks of more than 25 of the most popular podcasting sites, thereby allowing readers to understand a lot more about this landscape. As a caveat to this directory, he admits, "One shouldn't look at this list as a ranking of competitors. Just because all these sites/companies have something to do with podcasting doesn't mean they compete. Many are direct competitors—especially the directories—but some aren't. I don't consider Libsyn and Odeo competitors, for example (Libsyn and Odeo Studio technically are, but most of our focus is on the directory). Nonetheless, the list should be helpful in getting a sense of what's happening in the non-Apple part of podcasting."

Williams spoke on the "Sink or Swim: The Five Most Important Startup Decisions" panel at the 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival.

Congrats to Colin Mutchler, whose ultra-creative thinking launched the ground-breaking album "Premixed". As noted in an accompanying press release, this album takes the remixed content concept and pushes it to the nth degree: "Before heading out on his celebrated Free Culture tour to universities and media organizations in 2005, Mutchler released free a cappella tracks of song fragments through the popular remix site ccMixter.org, explicitly 'premixed' (prepared for remixing) for producers to build on his work. With each track primed with a Creative Commons license that encouraged other musicians and artists to remix and re-release the work non-commercially (as long as credit was given), the tracks generated a tremendous response from the ccMixter community. One year and more than 50 remixes later, Mutchler is releasing a full-length album of the best remixes plus two bonus versions of previously released songs. Entitled Premixed, this groundbreaking compilation features tracks produced by global 'mixters' from North America, Europe and Japan – only one of whom Colin had ever personally met before collaborating."

Mutchler performed his Free Culture presentation on the Day Stage at the 2005 SXSW Interactive Festival.

Is anyone surprised that "Snakes on a Plane" was this weekend's most popular movie? David Weinberger reflects on the role of the blogosphere in creating this monster. He writes: "With 'Snakes on a Plane,' we're flexing our muscles in a new way. We're not insisting that JarJar be killed in the sequel, although we did write the movie's most quotable line. But that's cool only because it means with SoaP we're messing with the audience's relationship to the movie, and not just - as with Rocky Horror - during the time when the movie unspools in the theater. Rather, with SoaP the audience has taken over the meaning of the movie. This is very different from being asked to design Indiana Jones' new outfit or write witticisms for the next James Bond movie. We, without being asked, have insisted on what this movie means to us. . . I don't think this is a turning point in how movies are made. The SoaP phenomenon has gotten much of its juice from the fact that this is the first time. Hollywood I'm sure is already trying to figure out how to repeat the success. But that's like Hollywood plotting to find the next Mahir. Nah, Hollywood will continue, and we'll find the next project we want to commandeer because, after all...[cue portentious music] aren't we all the snakes on the plane?

The author of "Small Pieces Loosely Joined" and a co-author of "The Cluetrain Manifesto", Weinberger served as a keynote speaker at the 2003 SXSW Interactive Festival.

There is nothing funny about the idea that Washington DC lawmakers and lobbyists are conspiring to eliminate the concept of net neutrality. Indeed, if proposed legislation such as the Orwellian COPE bill wins approval by the United States Senate, the Internet as we know it will become largely a thing of the past. The likely result of such changes are that sites paying for premium services will be easier to get to, while less-affluent destinations (which typically have the most interesting content) will be relegated to the slow lane of traffic. Confused yet? Then watch this amusing video on Weartheweb, which does a pretty good of explaining the good, the bad and the ugly of what is at stake here (also see the humorous approach to this topic from "The Daily Show").

Finally, tell your elected officials how much you value the concept of net neutrality by signing the online petition at SavetheInternet.

Ronni Bennett, the voice behind the popular Time Goes By blog, is featured in a story about personal publishing in the current issue of the AARP Magazine. Asked about which age groups are most attracted to personal publishing, she responds: "I'm convinced you'll see more older people take up blogging. When you quit working, your social group shrinks. Blogs enable people with similar interests to develop a new social group. They also keep your critical abilities sharp because you're reading, writing, and thinking."

At the 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival, Bennett spoke about similar themes as part of the "Respect Your Elder Bloggers" panel.

Congrats to Natacha Poggio of Austin whose name was randomly selected from the dozens of people who correctly answered the trivia question associated with the August 2006 edition of the SXSW Interactive Festival monthly listserve. She knew that the new Technorati site took home "Best of Show" honors at the 2006 SXSW Web Awards Ceremony, which occurred last March at the Downtown Hilton Hotel.

For providing the correct answer to this trivia question, Natacha wins a FREE registration to the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival (scheduled Friday, March 9 through Tuesday, March 13 in Austin). We will be giving away another free registration as part of the September listserve -- and will continue this practice with each succeeding monthly listserve. Sign up here to receive these information-packed e-mail updates that will keep you up to date on all things SXSW Interactive.

ZDNet's David Berlind quotes Dabble founder Mary Hodder in an article about the relative savings of implementing open source software. Hodder tells the author that while purchasing is relatively cheap, maintaining these applications involves a considerable investment: "What happens with open source is you actually spend the same amount of money, but you don't have lock-in and you pay for really good people to run it. And so you still end up paying. But you just pay in a different place. And I think it's a much more sustainable model for that kind of server/software development."

Hodder spoke on the "Beyond Folksonomies: Knitting Tag Clouds for Grandma" panel at the 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival.

As the five-year anniversary of one of the darkest days in American histories approaches, one inevitably wonders how much our world has changed as a result of this incredible tragedy -- or where we would be had it not occurred. For an exhaustive examination of the various implications of this question, read the piece by John Heilemann in the current issue of New York Magazine: "It is almost five years since that fear was imposed on us and the age of terror began in earnest. From the moment the Twin Towers fell, 9/11 was seen as a watershed, a historical turning point of grand and irreversible proportions. With the acrid smoke still swirling above ground zero, the mantras repeated constantly were that 9/11 had 'changed everything'—that 'nothing would ever be the same.' By now we see those mantras for what they were: natural, perhaps inevitable, exaggerations in the face of gargantuan trauma. So much about how we live our lives today remains the same as it ever was. And yet, at the same time, we all know (or think we know) that vast changes have in fact been spawned by 9/11 -- political, cultural, and sociological; intellectual, emotional, and psychological -- in New York, throughout America, and around the world. The question is precisely what they are. As a way of marking the fifth anniversary of 9/11, we’ve attempted to provide an answer -- or, rather, many answers. But we’ve done so in a roundabout manner: by asking an assortment of big thinkers and public figures to address the question, What if 9/11 never happened?"

Heilemann served as a keynote speaker at the 2001 SXSW Interactive Festival, where he discussed his then recently-published book "Pride Before the Fall: The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era".

Do you miss TechTV? If so, you are in luck. According to a blog post from Chris Pirillo, the passion that fueled this network is geared for a comeback. He writes: "TechTV was a television network that held within it so much promise, so much talent. We had an army of fanatics stationed all around the globe. The Internet-savvy did everything in their power to empower that very community - but many of those efforts fell victim to a traditional media mindset. We’re now on the cusp of a new media revolution, and I’ve begun to spearhead efforts to ressurect the ideals of TechTV. When I seeded the idea about letting the community help us centralize, the response was overwhelming - both from TechTV alumni and our ever-present supporters. I’m here to tell you now: it’s going to happen. I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but… that’s what makes it worth doing! The most difficult hurdle has already been overcome, in my opinion: we have an audience that is NOT being served effectively. . . Leo [Laporte] and I have discussed a few core values this impending structure must support, the most revolutionary of which is content producers owning 100% of their contributions. We want to enable former TechTV talent to upload new and existing content, and we want to bring new talent into the fold as well. Sales will also be an important part of this process, so we’d also like to help match sponsorship with these personalities.The working (and likely final) name for this project is simple, poignant, and genre-neutral: UndoTV."

At the 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival, Pirillo spoke on both the "Bloggers in Love: Intimacy, Technology and Mask-Making" panel, as well as the "Podcasting 2.0" session.

Thanks to those in the online community who have submitted panel ideas for 2007, as well as to all who have voted on the panel proposals so far.

Based on your feedback, we continue to optimize the Panel Proposal Picker with the help of developer Lindsey Simon. If you have yet to vote for your favorite panel proposals, please do so as soon as possible. The voting deadline for the first round of this process is September 8.

Want to submit your panel idea for consideration? If so, please email Hugh@sxsw.com for guidelines. Hurry, the final deadline for submitting panel ideas has been extended to August 31.

Read an insightful interview with kottke.org founder Jason Kottke about the trials and tribulations of hard-core blogging. Asked "How does the possibility that you may be flamed affect your writing," his answer is applicable far beyond personal publishing: "After more than 10 years of publishing stuff online, I'm more or less fireproof. Which is not to say that when flamed I simply insulate myself with the belief that I'm right and the flamer is wrong (which is a maddenly common approach among bloggers); the key is not to take it personally. Maintaining calm in the face of criticism can be difficult, especially when the best flames contain real truths, and it's helpful to remember that when you read something—an email, weblog post, newspaper editorial, etc.—what the writing says typically has much more to do with its author than with the subject at hand, especially when that subject is you and how stupid, wrongheaded, and fucking retarded you are."

Kottke and uber mommy blogger Heather Armstrong were part of the Keynote Conversation at the 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival. Meanwhile, the online interview quoted in the first paragraph was conducted by another former SXSW speaker, Rebecca Blood of Rebecca's Pocket fame.

Congrats to Wonkette founding editor Ana Marie Cox, who has now translated her intense popularity as a blogger to the position of Washington Editor of Time.com. Of this appoinment, Time.com Managing Editor Richard Stengel comments: "Ana Marie is a sharp and witty observer of the Washington scene and has the ability to spot political angles in surprising places. In her new role, she'll bring her great web instincts to covering the hot topics of the day."

The author of the satiric novel Dog Days, Cox served as a keynote speaker at the 2005 SXSW Interactive Festival.

SIGGRAPH 2006 wrapped up last week in unusually hot hot Boston. With thousands of attendees from around the world, SIGGRAPH (short for Special Interest Group on Graphics and Interactive Techniques) is an annual conference with many cool components such as an Art Gallery, Emerging Technologies and Exhibition Hall. Many SXSW alum exhibited there this year, including Peachpit Press, B&H Photo, Adobe and Google.

To find out how your company can exhibit at the SXSW Interactive / Film Trade Show + Exhibition in 2007, please contact Katie King. Receive 20% off booth costs through Sept. 22!

Covering last week's Wikimania event in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Ed Yourdon argues semi-seriously that Jimmy Wales should be nominated for the Nobel Prize. As posted on his blog: "Okay, so maybe my proposal is a bit over the top. And maybe it's a bit premature: after all, Jimmy Wales has only been doing supremely wonderful things for about five or six years, and they still haven't made Mother Teresa a saint after a lifetime of good work (though she did receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979). But if Jimbo (as he is popularly known) keeps up his good work, we should at least award him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and maybe put his likeness on a postage stamp."

Wales was part of the Keynote Interview at the 2006 SXSW Interactive Festival, posing questions to Craiglist founder Craig Newmark.

Welcome to the 2007 version of the SXSW Interactive Festival site, as well as the brand new SXSW Interactive Bits + Bytes Blog. This blog continues to be your best source for daily updates on the March 2007 event in Austin.

Please note that we are using new blogware and thus have new RSS and Atom feeds. If you were subscribed previously, you will want to unsubscribe to the old feeds that were located here. And if you've been following the Speakers in the News Blog, you will notice that we have now integrated that content directly into the Bits + Bytes Blog.

The August release of this website comes a month earlier than the date when we have traditionally relaunched SXSW.com. We have pushed this date forward in anticipation of another big year of growth for SXSW, as momentum for the web economy continues to surge.

But, an equally important factor behind the growth of SXSW is the growth and support of the devoted community that follows the event. As always, we welcome your suggestions about the website and about all other aspects of SXSW Interactive. Beginning next week, you will be able to give feedback on 2007 panel proposals via a special online interface. Please stay tuned to this blog for more information on this process.

Last but not least, kudos to our friends at The Decoder Ring Design Concern for developing the 2007 identity.

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