SXSW PanelPicker Trends: Fewer Chatbots
The Forrest Four-Cast: August 21, 2018
End of the day on Thursday, August 30 is the deadline to vote and comment on your favorite of the 5000+ speaking proposals in the 2019 SXSW PanelPicker. Just log into your account (or create a new one via this link) to engage in this process.
Between now and deadline day next week, we will continue to explore some of the concepts that are rising (and falling) in this year’s interface. This exploration is accomplished by comparing the total number of speaking proposals on a given topic in the 2019 interface to the total number of speaking proposals on this topic from last year’s interface.
For August 21, we focus on another topic that has decreased from last year to this year: Chatbots. A year ago, 37 PanelPicker speaking proposals focused on chatbots. This year, the number has fallen to 25. This decline in chatbot-related ideas seems to align with the thesis of this recent story in Digiday: “It’s not surprising that bots are experiencing a backlash . . . Brands went to them because they were easy to build from a basic perspective. But while Facebook Messenger seems to be stalling, brands and agencies are starting to get cautious about bots and other doodads on other platforms too.”
To find speaking other hot (and not-so-hot) topics, enter your favorite keyword in the “Search” bar on the left sidebar of the interface. Or, better yet, keep track of the running list of ideas that are getting the most traction in this year’s interface by simply bookmarking this post from Medium.
About 500–600 of the 5000+ speaking proposals in the 2019 PanelPicker will be accepted as sessions for March Magic in Austin. These accepted sessions will be announced via the SXSW website in mid-October. Learn more about how the voting / judging / acceptance process works for PanelPicker proposals via this page.
And if you want to take part in all the discovery, brainstorming, creativity, deal-making, and cross-industry networking that is SXSW, register before the early-bird deadline of Thursday, September 13 to get the season’s lowest badge rates. After you purchase your badge, book your Austin lodging for the event via SXSW Housing and Travel.
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.
