Dynamic speakers and compelling daytime content provide the heart of the SXSW Interactive Festival. While this content covers many different aspects of new media technology, creative solutions for a better tomorrow serves as the underlying theme of all SXSW programming.

Each SXSW Interactive session is one hour long with the exception of Future15 sessions (see below for more on Future15s). Sessions will begin on Friday, March 9 and run from 2pm–6pm. Sessions run from 9:30am–6pm Saturday, March 10–Tuesday March 13.

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SXSW Interactive Campuses

In 2011, SXSW Interactive scheduled daytime content at 10 different campuses in downtown Austin. Each of these 10 different campuses focused on a particular theme, which helped registrants find the exact content that most appealed to their particular interests. Stay tuned to this website for more details on the 2012 campus system for SXSW Interactive -- as well as complete information on the Interactive Campus Shuttle bus system connecting these downtown venues. Find out more about campus locations on the campus info page.

 

Programming Formats: Solo Presentations, Interviews, Panels & Much More

Topics for 2012 will range from technical sessions about web and interface design, wireless innovation and business operations to more philosophical discussions about online marketing, social networks and our relationship to new technologies. Though we often use the term "panels" somewhat broadly (as in the SXSW PanelPicker), there are actually many different types of SXSW Interactive programming. The duration of all keynotes, solo presentations, interviews, panels and core conversations is one hour.

Keynotes, Opening and Closing Remarks

The cornerstone of each day's programming; Opening Remarks, Keynote Presentations and Closing Remarks feature creative innovators with a wide appeal who can capture the attention and imagination of the broader community. These hour-long presentations take the form of either a solo talk, an interview, or a conversation between two individuals focusing on a particular topic.

Solo, Dual and Panel Presentations

The majority of daytime programming at SXSW Interactive consists of panel, dual or solo presentations. Panels typically feature one moderator and four or five industry experts who represent different perspectives and opinions. Solo and dual presentations offer less diversity of opinion but more in depth analysis. Each of these types of sessions are one hour in length.

Core Conversations

The informal discussions that pop up in the hallways between, during and after panel sessions have traditionally been one of the most productive parts of the SXSW Interactive Festival. In 2008, we formalized this process with the Core Conversation program which has quickly become one of the more popular aspects of the event. In these less formal hour-long sessions a single moderator will introduce the topic to be discussed and then facilitate the conversation.

Book Readings

From Malcolm Gladwell to Gary Vaynerchuck to Tim Ferriss, authors have always been a big part of the SXSW Interactive Festival. The SXSW Interactive Book Reading program showcases some of the most interesting new titles related to creativity and emerging media. Select authors are given a 20 minute timeslot to talk about their new book, after which they will be available to sign copies of their work at the nearby SXBookstore.

Workshops

Workshops are one of the newer additions to SXSW Interactive Festival programming. These sessions offer more in-depth, advanced, and technical information than is often provided in other SXSW panel programming. With presentations from some of the industry's most innovative thinks, workshops enable SXSW registrants to gain even more expertise in their particular area of interest.

Future15

Future15s are a series of 12-minute solo presentations that are curated from proposals submitted to the PanelPicker. These short-form presentations have proven to be immensely popular with SXSW attendees, who generally want to digest as much information as quickly as possible. Future15 presentations are grouped into two-hour blocks of programming related to a single theme.

Meet Ups

Designed to provide a space and set time for SXSW registrants to network with other technology industry professionals who share similar career paths, passions, and social interests, Meet Ups were a very popular aspect of the 2011 SXSW Interactive Festival. In 2012, look for even more Meet Ups covering even more topics at even more locations throughout the downtown Austin area.

Mentor Sessions

Are you a relative newcomer to the field of emerging technology? If so, do you want to get five minutes of intense, one-on-one career coaching from an experienced new media professional? Then sign up for a mentor session, one of the all-new features for this spring in Austin. Stay tuned to this website for more information on exact sign up procedures for these mentor sessions.

Salons

Scheduled in the early evening at the InterContinental Stephen F. Austin campus, salons are discussion-type sessions that are very similar to Core Conversations. These salons tend to focus on the lighter side of the digital revolution, such as how social media has radically changed the world of dating, relationships and sex.

 

Have ideas, suggestions or questions? E-mail interpanels@sxsw.com.

Photo of 2011 SXSW Interactive keynote Seth Priebatsch by Arnold Wells