SXSW panels I recommend checking out

Hey there,

So I wanted to share some panels that have come up in my FB feed and twitter stream, proposals for next year's SXSW Interactive. If you're not familiar, here's a blurb from their page:

The 20th annual SXSW Interactive Festival will take place March 8-12, 2013 in Austin, Texas. An incubator of cutting-edge technologies and digital creativity, the event features five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders and an unbeatable line-up of special programs showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer

Let me just point out that the following highlighted panels are not the result of any comprehensive vetting process. They are mostly people, and in one case an organization, that I've been fortunate enough to connect with in person.

That being said, I'm not receiving any compensation from any of of the people or organizations I mention below.

I also don't believe in coincidence, and I'm grateful to know those I've crossed paths with. Because people, in general, are up to amazing things.  With that, here are some panels I recommend checking out.

Education

• Minerva Project & 2tor CEOs: Future of Higher Ed - "Higher education is transforming before our eyes. Universities and colleges are under increasing pressure to stay relevant during the current digital revolution. But with a plethora of options, ranging from...(read more)"
• College Vs. UnCollege: Are Degrees Worth It? - "In the Information Age, where knowledge has become ubiquitously accessible and informal education courses and certificates have blossomed, do formal college degrees still offer enough...(read more)"
• My connection - I sing with a guy who works at 2tor, a company which has a representative on each panel proposed. You can check them out at their website previously linked, or also on Facebook.

Health, health care, and patient advocacy

• Crowds for Care - "Who Controls what new drugs, treatments, and tech will emerge to improve care? Until now, the answer was only giant corporations and government committees because they control the funding. In July 2012, Patients and Doctors began funding the healthcare innovations that they care about through Crowdfunding, creating a huge wave of support that the corporations and government love because...(read more)"
• My connection - Regina Holliday, she is one of the speakers on the panel. I met this wonderful woman at the first Social Justice Camp DC. In a related note, if you'd like to see the FB note I posted after the first night of this event, you can check it out here. You can found out more about her at her blog, as well as follow her on Twitter, and connect with her on Facebook. I encourage you to do any, if not all, of the above.

Nonprofits & social media

• We <3 Social Data! But What Do We Do With It? - "Lots of nonprofits are buying social data, giving them an unprecedented amount of information about individual supporters. But once you have it, what do you do with it?" (Read more)
• My connection - one of the panelists is with Small Act, who's tag line really sums up what they do, "Make a big impact in social media". I've gone to a couple of free trainings at the Foundation Center in DC, led by a small act employee, the wonderful Annie Lynsen who's position is Director of Awesomeness. And awesome is what anything they're involved with is guaranteed to be. You can follow them on Twitter and like them on Facebook.

Theatre

• Smooth Scrum: Lessons from the Theatre - "The last few decades of the American theater have seen a rapid growth in the number of ‘devising ensembles’—playwrights, actors, directors, and designers working together in collaborative groups to develop plays. It's agile development for the American stage. Instead of beginning with a script...(read more)
• Here's a video embedded on the proposal page:

• My connection - This is actually a second degree one, but the DC Theatre community is small like that, which I love. When I put it out on Twitter that I would be blogging about this, a fellow DC artist, friend, and social media rockstar, Chelsey (aka @chelseydc) tweeted back
  

  @awayoflife0 Talk to @gwydions! #dcarts#sxsw
  — Chelsey Christensen (@chelseydc) August 18, 2012 

   And I did. Well, Gwydion actually got to me first, and let me know about his proposal, which I promptly found and voted for. You can follow him on Twitter.

So there's that. I hope this helps you sift through the multitude of proposals if you've been in it, and if not, I hope this is a good start. And if there's any that you're involved with or support, certainly share them in the comments. But don't just copy & paste the link. At least say a little bit about how you're involved or connected.

And for any other friends who have proposals, let me know. Also, I want to go!! If anyone is looking to have someone help out and work with their social media presence before and during, hit me up :-)

- JR