SXSW on March 14: 24 Hidden Gems
The Forrest Four-Cast: March 13, 2019
Looking to fill some gaps in your SXSW schedule? Check out these fascinating discussions — all happening on Thursday, March 14. And don’t miss the opening of our new tracks: Blockchain & Cryptocurrency and Cannabusiness.
CryptoKitties: Craze, Community, and What’s Next
CryptoKitties is the first consumer blockchain game, and so far, over $25 million of Kitties have been bought and sold, mostly between players. At peak, CryptoKitties was over 25 percent of the entire Ethereum blockchain’s traffic. Go behind the scenes on the grittiest details of the Kitties launch, the unpopular thesis on how blockchain changes everything (with examples) and where we go from here as entrepreneurs, developers, designers, citizens.
11 am-noon, Hilton Austin Downtown
Featured Session: Amy Margolis and Amy McClintick
The cannabis space provides the first real opportunity in a generation to build an industry with equity at the forefront. This fireside chat/presentation, led by Initiative founder Amy Margolis is part strategy session and part deep dive aimed at empowering women to be successful in cannabis, developing actionable mechanisms for building inclusion and equity in cannabis and beyond, and realizing the global impact of more women in positions of leadership and power.
11 am-noon, Hilton Austin Downtown
ICOs: The Next Generation
How are ICO models changing, in the U.S. and around the world? Can concerns about fraud, legal compliance, and governance be addressed without stifling innovation? Will we look back on ICOs as a short-term bubble or the foundation of a durable new investment form? This panel of leading legal and financial experts on token offerings will highlight the latest developments around the world.
11 am-noon, Hilton Austin Downtown
Coding the News: Ethics, Machines and Newsrooms
How should journalists and others in the news business approach the coming choices and challenges of integrating AI in the newsroom? What are the ethical issues with machines writing stories and finding insights? Most importantly, how can we build in moral choices to ensure news is helping society and the public?
11 am-noon, JW Marriott
The Outer Limits: Tackling Inclusivity in the Media
Broadcasters have embraced non-verbal communications since the early 20th century but can we honestly say that creators and communicators are developing content that offers a truly inclusive experience? Or do we treat inclusivity as an add-on? Join a panel of experts to debate this topic as we ask the question — how can we ensure that those with disabilities don’t get left on the outer limits of entertainment?
11 am-noon, JW Marriott
Build on Blockchain with Corda Bootcamp
Join R3’s developer relations team for Corda Bootcamp sessions at the Hilton Austin! During these sessions, our team will give you the know how and assurance to build an application on the Corda blockchain platform, also known as a CorDapp. Corda is an open source blockchain platform used to build business applications that help simplify complex business processes. Corda removes costly friction in business transactions, across any industry, with security and privacy. Learn more about Corda and R3.
11 am-6 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
Reaching the Final Frontier: An Exploration of Space Law
The rate of innovation and expansion in commercial space is pushing the limits of the statutes and regulations governing these activities. This panel will discuss recent space industry developments, such as rapid rocket reuse and private human spaceflight, that have propelled significant Congressional and Administrative legal reform efforts.
12:30-1:30 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
Original Lifehacking at SXSW: The Journey of Thisten
At SXSW 2017, Liz Jackson, a disability advocate and design strategist, found herself frustrated by accessibility problems. She came up with an idea to amplify not only the need for accessibility, but the creativity and commitment required to address it. Now she is back to launch Thisten, an audio-to-text platform that allows users to interact with the world’s information — in real time. Jackson will discuss the value of disability ingenuity and how she took a pain point from a conference and turned it into a startup.
12:30-1:30 pm, JW Marriott
The Daily Dot: Back from the Dead
In 2016, the Daily Dot was forced to lay off 40 percent of its staff. Over the next year, they fought they way to profitability. Then Facebook killed 40 percent of their traffic. They fought their way back to profitability again. Nicholas White started the Daily Dot hoping to help save journalism, and he thinks there is more opportunity in journalism at this moment than ever before in his lifetime. Come tell him he’s crazy.
12:30-1:30 pm, JW Marriott
Experimenting in a Microgravity Lab
Tissue engineering. Fluid dynamics. Combustion. Plasma. Hear why scientists are sending experiments into low earth orbit and what we learn from conducting research in the microgravity environment aboard the International Space Station (ISS). These experiments promise to advance future crewed space exploration, enhance our understanding of life on Earth and may one day help us treat ailments and preserve fragile ecosystems.
2-3 pm, Fairmont
In the Weeds of Cannabis Advertising
As cannabis legalization continues to gain traction in the U.S., states have begun to develop laws to regulate it. In this session, an attorney with experience in cannabis advertising will discuss its current state.
2-3 pm, Fairmont
Around the (Global) Block — Blockchain for Impact
This panel will offer an engaging conversation on the (social) impact of blockchain technology and its untapped potential.The panelists will share examples from around the world of designing and implementing blockchain projects in emerging and developed markets and what it takes to achieve impact at scale.
2-3 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
Self Love Revolution: The New Pathway to Success
We’ve been taught from a young age that if we work hard, we will be successful, and once we’re successful, then we can be happy. We’ve become a nation that continually seeks happiness in the future. Self Love flips this equation and creates happiness now. And when you are happy, you are already successful. Jonathan Troen is a Life Mastery Coach and creator of Self Love Revolution.
2-3 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
American Inno: How to Uncover Emerging Ecosystems
In today’s world, almost every city pitches itself as an emerging startup hub. But how do you identify which ones have a promising future and powerful story to tell? And how do you find the key players, game-changing startups and local market data you need to launch a local startup publication?American Inno’s Will Flanagan and Brent Wistrom take a deep dive into how American Inno scaled itself from a startup news site in Boston to a growing network of 12 cities.
2-3 pm, JW Marriott
The REAL Impact of Cannabis on the World
It’s generally agreed that cannabis will help the world. The potential medical benefits are staggering and we have only begun to understand the depths of applications for THC and CBD. But the impact of cannabis goes way beyond its medical and wellness applications. In this session, Acreage Holdings President George Allen will share how cannabis could be a savior for civilization itself.
2-3 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
The Double Standard In Sex Tech: It’s Time For Change
The most talked about story at CES 2019 was sex tech company Lora DiCarlo standing up against CES after the entity rescinded a robotics award, calling the product immoral, obscene and profane, and then banned it from exhibiting. Lora DiCarlo is a brand rooted in sex-positivity, inclusion, and innovation, and yet is up against the double standards that face women in tech and beyond. This chat with Lora DiCarlo’s founder and CEO will discuss gender bias, censorship of female founders and female lead development, and how to work around the old guard.
2-3 pm, Fairmont
Women in Tech Podcast: The Girl Who Gets it Done
Hosted by Espree Devora, the Women in Tech podcast features engineers, female founders, investors, UX and UI designers from around the world sharing their stories of how they got to where they are today.
3:30-4:30 pm, JW Marriott
How Austin Has Embraced Archer’s Challenge
Archer Hadley is the driving force behind Archer’s Challenge, which was initially launched at Austin High School and morphed into a city-wide week-long event every October. Hear what Hadley has learned about accessibility, creating empathy, and building bridges by asking peers to spend a few hours navigating their everyday experience within the confines of a wheelchair.
3:30-4:30 pm, JW Marriott
How Labels Can Use AI To Drive Catalogue Sales
The value of your roster does not only exist in what’s current, but lies within a label’s historical catalogue. A song can see an organic spike in streaming attention at any point in time. The trick is to identify that a spike is happening, understand who is listening, and reach that audience in real time. This presentation will explore how adopting a reactive marketing strategy versus one planned in advance using automatic tools can boost catalogue sales.
3:30-4:30 pm, Austin Convention Center
My Dog is Insta-Famous
Ever think of running your dog’s social media full-time? Ever wish your dog could help make the world a better place? For some dog owners, that’s become reality, and they are ready to share their secrets and strategy. This panel will feature case studies of some of the most famous dog accounts on Instagram and Twitter. Plenty of cute pictures, as well.
3:30-4:30 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
Austin’s Blind Gaming Champ Shares His Amazing Story
Michael Espinoza is totally blind, yet that hasn’t stopped him from developing mad online gaming skills. Hear him tell his story of how he has honed his craft. Espinoza will also reflect on what he has learned about tackling technology that isn’t typically geared for people with reduced vision.
3:30-4:30 pm, JW Marriott
When Can We All Get High Together? (Legally)
In most states with legal adult-use cannabis, consumption can only be done in one’s home or other private establishments. It’s time to treat cannabis and alcohol consumers the same. Learn about the movement to establish places where you can get high and laugh together, places that serve cannabis with live music or comedy, places where everybody knows your name.
3:30-4:30 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
The Evolution of the Pot Dealer
As states around the U.S. and nations around the world rethink and rewrite their cannabis policies, what is happening to participants in the underground market? In the context of the War on Drugs, which has disproportionately harmed communities of color, how can people who have been impacted by prohibition begin to profit from the newly aboveground industry? In this panel, we’ll learn from leaders in the cannabis industry as they attempt to educate communities, create equitable cannabis policies, and incubate entrepreneurs looking to enter the industry.
3:30-4:30 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
SETI, Earthling & the Collective Musical Voice
For millennia, humans have looked up into the sky, wrestling with questions about our existence and meaning. With the technological progress of the late 20th century, earthlings began putting music and art into space. This panel explores the history of space art, collaborative music making, and current technological initiatives. Learn how you can contribute to a new form of global collaborative music composition that is going into space.
5-6 pm, Austin Convention Center
Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.
