Innovative Meetings By Hunter R. Slaton

Take Away

Power to the People

South by Southwest is more than a music festival. There are also movies, inter- active technology—and an increasingly inclusive process to select programming.

Contrary to how it might be portrayed by the media or viewed by the public at large, the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference and Festival (SXSW) isn’t just a sprawling, city-wide party heaving with bands, booze, and wristband- brandishing music fans. “That’s a perception problem that we have,” said Mike Shea, SXSW’s executive planner. “At its core, South by Southwest is an industry function for the music industry, film industry, and interactive technology industry.” When SXSW debuted in Austin, Texas, in

1987, itwas an independent music industry event with 700 registrants. Shea joined the team soon after, in 1990, andwithin four years the conference had added filmand inter- active components, giv- ing it its modern form. In 2009, the music portion of SXSWattracted 12,000 registrants, while film and interactive together drew another 17,000 atten- dees. And, thanks to an online application called the Panel Picker, the festi- val ismore inclusive than ever, allowing people all over the world to help choose the programming. “South by Southwest

cerned about keeping it fresh asmuchweare about making sure the trains run on time,” Shea said. “But froma creative perspective—as far as keep- ing it fresh for our folks thatcomein—in that case it’s really about the content, it’s really about what you’re presenting.” That’swhere the Panel Picker comes in.Apro-

DECADES IN THE MAKING: South by South- west has been meeting in Austin since 1987, when it first attracted 700 people.

prietary program developed for SXSW and first usedwith theSXSWInteractive Festival in2006, the Panel Picker allows the general public—attendee or no—to submit topics for panels, discussions, andmore. These suggestions are then reviewed, dis- cussed, and votedonby the community.“The idea behind the Panel Picker is to get input from our con- stituents,” Shea said, “so that we’re not on this end decidingwhatotherpeople needtoknow.”ForSXSW 2010,thefirstyearinwhich the online toolwasutilized across all three portions of the festival, 2,825 separate panel proposals were sub- mitted and, according to Shea, “tens of thousands” of votes were cast. AlthoughSXSWmakes

the final decision about what sessions to present, the community really does

has changed somuch over the years,” Shea said. “Notjust the growth, but the nature of it.” But one thing that has never changed is the location: This month, fromMarch12–21, for the 24th year run- ning, SXSW will be held in Austin, at the Austin Convention Center and in the nightclubs of the world-famous Sixth Street. The event’s stationary localemakes the planning

process less complicated for Shea and his team. “Froma logistical point of view, we’re not as con-

have a say—accounting for30percent of the pro- gramming decisions, with another30percent com- ing fromSXSWstaff and the remaining40percent fromthe festival’s advisory board. “We reallyopenupthefloortoourfolksandsay,

‘What would you like to hear?’” Shea said. But be carefulwhatyouwishfor,hesaid, becausewhenyou suggest something toSXSW, you’re likely to hear: “Oh, and by the way, if you want to [hear a] talk about that, you can be the person presenting it.”

ON_THE_WEB: Voting for SXSW 2010 is closed, but you can get a snapshot of how the Panel Picker works at http://panelpicker.sxsw.com (scroll down to “Let the Voting Begin,” and follow the links for each division of SXSW).

18 pcma convene March 2010 PHOTO BY SKYHIGH PHOTOGRAPHY; ILLUSTRATION BY MICK WIGGINS

2,825 Heads Are Better Than One According to Mike Shea, this year the Panel Picker drew 2,825 proposals from SXSW’s highly engaged community. Some of the more idiosyncratic conference program- ming generated by the Picker that otherwise might not have been developed includes:

Music “A Social Media Case Study of L.A.’s Sunset Strip” “Women Write Women’s Experiences in Music” “The Cultural Signifi- cance of Direct-to-Fan Marketing”

Film “First Impressions: The Art of Main Title Design” “Cinematography for Improvised Films: Lighting the Unknown” “NobodyWants to Watch Your Film: Realities of Online Film Distribution”

Interactive “Do Cool Kids Leave When the Suits Arrive?” “Data Control:Who’s Nibbling at Your Cookie?”

Hunter R. Slaton is a senior editor of Convene.

Innovative Meetings is sponsored by the Irving, Texas, Convention and Visitors Bureau, www.irvingtexas.com.