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Day 4 Reflection at #SXSW 2013 -- #SXSWOgilvy
1. Day 4
2013
Reflection
Gemma Craven
Head of Social@Ogilvy New York
March 2013
2. The art of the mash up,
via Downton Abbey
The Mashup is a big part of life on the internet today. Creating the perfect Mashup requires
creative skills and an irreverent creative eye. The team from College Humor talked about the
synergies between visual content and music, and the techniques behind such pieces as their
excellent Fresh Prince of Downton Abbey--CollegeHumor.com.
3. BLACKENTERPRISE.COM
Shaq chooses the
next big thing
in social
The bigman himself put in an appearance at his first SXSW this year. The NBA vet has long been a force
on Twitter, with a whopping 6.8 million followers. Also a shrewd business man, he bought a lucrative
stake in Google before its IPO in 2004 & currently sits on the advisory board for Tout, a social media
startup that lets users make and share 15-second videos. At South By, he launched a "Pitch Shaq"
contest. He invited registered attendees to submit 15-second elevator pitches about their startups. The
winner was promised a personal audience with Shaq and possibly an infusion of his cash. Shaq said he
had viewed more than 150 pitches and had chosen two winners: Beam, which makes a mobile video
conferencing device that rolls around on wheels like a Segway; and Speakerfy, a social-sound app that
lets you wirelessly sync music between different Apple mobile devices.
4. Sports
gets social
Sports teams really were prevalent at SXSW 2013, talking on a wide range of topics from
activating the new fan experience, the importance of compelling content all with sharing
learnings across the different teams in mind. This ranged from discussions about the
differences between soccer and football in social, the presence of UK teams such as Arsenal
and Tottenham Hotspur to the MLB sharing its command center for digital content, which it
uses to produce 250-300 pieces of content nightly.
5. Music is a'
coming
One of the core strengths of the SXSW experience is the concentrated intersection of the
creative industries, from Music to Film to Interactive and beyond. As Interactive draws to a
close the vibe of SXSW definitely shifts, with many more bearded faces arriving in Austin and
the launch of installations such as The Spotify House. This opened its doors on Day 4 of SXSWi
offering everything from Spotify Sessions, local food truck flavors, ping pong, giveaways
+ more. The Flavorpill + #FEED collaboration at the AMOA Arthouse was also notable -
offering daily spin classes, yoga, and a juice bar in the mornings, then DJs and live music from
the afternoon onwards.
6. The Computer
Whisperer -
Stephen Wolfram
Arguably one of the smartest men on the planet - Stephen Wolfram - talked about the
future for his Wolfram Alpha computation knowledge engine, as well as demonstrated his
upcoming Programming Cloud. He also indicated he was developing a mobile platform for
engineering and mathematical applications. Did you know Wolfram Alpha contains more
than 10 trillion pieces of data cultivated from primary sources, along with tens of thousands
of algorithms and equations? Solving complex math problems is a particular strength: simply
type one into the search bar, and the system produces an answer. Wolfram described its
development and how he thought that it would require building something "like a brain.”
In the future, Wolfram Alpha will become more anticipatory of peoples’ queries.
7. THERE'S A LOT TO SORT
THROUGH AT #SXSW
FIND HIGHLIGHTS &
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP HERE