Bigger Brands Take Over SXSW and Push Out the Startups
The importance of SXSW was slightly diminished this year with far few people from Silicon Valley in attendance. Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers didn’t host their annual mixer and Yahoo did not take over Brazos Hall as it has over the past several years. The waning interest could be attributed to the relatively sedate mood on an overall cooling in Silicon Valley or the difficulty for startups to launch and break out, given all the noise. The event is still a big draw, especially for the big brands, who have made it more marketing focused. But tech teams noted that it has become harder to find developer communities and attend hackathons as the conference has gotten bigger and bigger.
What VC’s Are Talking About at SXSW
State of tech: still a bubble? Although investors are becoming more cautious, many VC’s still believe that the best companies will be able to raise money. A good example is GM’s $1B acquisition in the self-driving car space.
Cashing in next-generation content. New types of content-sharing apps are popping up everywhere with a particular focus on audio sharing. It’s a channel anyone can use and some believe it has the potential to be as big as radio.
Fintech grows up. SXSW hosted numerous financial technology panels this year, in hopes to bring light to this new niche for tech. Honest Dollar, a fintech startup, just announced its acquisition by Goldman Sachs.
Policy Meets Tech. A merging of technology and policy including tackling bigger issues such as healthcare, education and energy are front and center this year. These bigger issues come with bigger challenges, but also a potentially massive payoff.
Line Between TV Show Entertainment and Conference Reality Is Blurred
Media giants have really taken it up a notch to promote TV shows at SXSW and branded content is everywhere. From an old-fashioned church that is upside down, perched on its steeple to a full-sized Ferris wheel with flashing red and blue lights, casting a glow on the”F-Society” arcade in its shadow to #SXSWesteros including a “Hall of Faces” and a $30,000 throne. Mashable wants to get in on the video action and announced that it will make four short-form web series with NBC Universal’s Bravo to appear this year. Each series will span six episodes and materials for each episode may appear in different forms on social networks.
First Lady Will Take the Stage at SXSW
In suit of her husband, President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama will be taking the SXSW stage, as keynote speaker, Wednesday to address her Let Girls Learn initiative, encouraging girls around to world to stay in school. She will be joined onstage by special guests Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, Sophia Bush, and Diane Warren.
Talk today was centered around the current state of storytelling. Panels featuring media powerhouses as well as influencer upstarts discussed why new methods of communication like GIFs are capturing consumer interest. The trend continues that influencers are moving to highly visual and digestible platforms like Instagram and Snapchat.
Several panels discussed what happens to someone digitally once they die. It seems that this is a less talked about subject as it is a bit morose, but important nonetheless as the tech generation ages. The question remains: what do you want your online legacy to be?
There was lots of chatter around the folksy wisdom of one of the breakout sessions by Dr. Brené Brown. She discussed vulnerability and courage earlier in the week and it resonated with audiences who took it to heart, employing courage and creativity as they navigated the marketing nuances of conference politics. The hashtag #daringgreatly has been used widely amongst the SXSW influencer crowd.
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