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.

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