SXSW PanelPicker Trends: Blockchain
The Forrest Four-Cast: August 7, 2018
Community voting and commenting on the 5000+ speaking proposals in the 2019 PanelPicker interface has now begun. This process is very simple (but requires a SXSW account, which is free to create takes about two minutes to set up via this link).
Between now and the voting deadline of Thursday, August 30, this space will explore some of the top trends in this year’s PanelPicker, trends that are a function of the total number of submissions on a given topic.
Today’s PanelPicker buzzword is “blockchain.” You’ll find a total of 210 speaking proposals in the 2019 SXSW PanelPicker that include this word in their title or description. Many (but not all) of these speaking proposals are classified in the new “Blockchain & Cryptocurrency” track, which runs March 14–16 during the second half of SXSWeek. Find all 25 of the programming tracks for March 2019 listed on this page.
As context, the 210 speaking proposals that list “blockchain” in the 2019 SXSW PanelPicker is a huge jump from the 2018 interface, when only 48 speaking proposals listed this word. Moreover, the 2017 SXSW PanelPicker interface only included 19 speaking proposals with the word “blockchain” in either the title or the description.
Find other trends and themes in the SXSW PanelPicker by using the “Search” function on the left side of the interface. Or simply click on this page to read about the ideas that we see bubbling to the top.
About 10–20% of the 5000+ speaking proposals in the PanelPicker will be accepted as sessions for the 2019 event. These accepted sessions will be announced via the SXSW website in mid-October. Buy your badge now so you can be part of all the massive learning, discovery, cross-industry networking and creativity that is March Magic in Austin.
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.
