Why I should go to SXSW Interactive
South by Southwest Interactive is a fantastic opportunity for all technology producers and consumers to come together and celebrate the ever expanding field. The annual festival attracts technology buffs of all shapes and sizes to the capital of Texas to forum and convene on all matters tech. Whether you’re a previous hip hop MC or a blogger with a website, attending SXSWi provides ample opportunity to connect and meet people from all over the world.
My time at SXSWi 2012 was an extraordinary experience where I met many technophiles and witnessed many great technology forums. I met all sorts of people at the conference including a couple from Ireland starting a technology web blog, many tech entrepreneurs, Peter Vesterbecka of Rovio and others. The opportunity to go back and report on SXSWi 2013 would be a great honor and privilege.
I believe during the 5 days of SXSWi 2013 I can cover a wide range of events and discussion forums plus conduct many “man on the street” interviews worthy of global attention. My education, extra-curricular activites, and work history makes me an excellent candidate for this hybrid program. I could attend many different seminars ranging from environmental technology to “Gamification” and social media.
The SXTXSTATE team would greatly benefit from my attendance in many ways including multimedia. I would like to produce a “daily news” video report that contains reports and resources produced by myself and other team members. Before the festival commences, video templates and production materials would be produced to ensure a timely news reporting at SXSWi. Each team member would contribute quotes, article links, photos, video clips, and other produced materials to form a packed news budget for our viewing audience. I have enjoyed shooting and producing video projects since my multimedia classes in high school many moons ago. Since high school, I have worked with many different brands and types of cameras, filming equipment and editing software. Examples my work include the following videos:
Vivogig Interview
Interview with Adam Kunz of Mowgli Games “Songster”
How to Keep the Work Place Creative with Brian Burke of Smashing Ideas
Are Books Still Book? with Calvin Carter of Bottle Rocket App
Design and the Mobile Startup SXSWi 2012
App Marketplace with Brian Burke and Calvin Carter
A SXSWi attendee must possess many different skills including social media expertise. Having a Twitter or Facebook account is just one small slice of the proverbial social-media pie. To be truly engaged in the social media world, a communicator must utilize many different tools and avenues to successfully project information and impact the digit world. The New Media Master’s program at Texas State along with resources like “Mediactive” by Dan Gillmor has equipped me with all the tools necessary to report and navigate the vastness of SXSWi. Besides educational experience, my recent work as Communication/ Social Media intern for the Southwest division of the National Wildlife Federation has provided me with valuable professional experience in the social media field. Below are a number of examples of written works:
Can gaming make the world a better place?
Top 5 Gaming Panels
SXSWi Startup Village Accelerator-Entertainment Category with MC Hammer
iPad: Second Coming of the CD-ROM
Along with multimedia and social media experience, my observation and writing skills would greatly benefit the SXTXSTATE team. My blogging/reporting scope contains many different technology categories including non-profit organizations, conservation and environmental technologies, gaming industry, social media and mobile technologies. As seen in my linked articles and videos above, my diverse range of talents makes me a superb candidate for the hybrid class.
Experience and technological know-how can take a person far but I believe the most important characteristic a reporter of SXSWi should possess is perseverance. The festival is a massive consortium of lectures, events, and people traffic that requires a strong individuals who can persevere and function under high pressure situations. I believe I have admirably demonstrated this quality at the recent SXSWi festival. For example, the first technology forum I attended at SXSWi 2012 was less than 18 hours after my wedding. Yes that is correct; I spent the first two days of my honeymoon at SXSWi.
Thanks for the opportunity and I hope I get the chance to once again shuffle around downtown Austin and experience the glory of South by Southwest Interactive Festival.
Additional Info:
New Media Concentration: Yes
Been to SXSW Before: Yes, 2012
Been in Program Since: 2010
Relevant TXST Courses: Online Media Design, Advanced Online Media
Other Courses: n/a
Website: www.thestewlife.com
Blog: sxswi.blogspot.com
Twitter: @o0ryanstewart0o
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=147291720&trk=tab_pro
Facebook: facebook.com/thestew4u
Other: n/a
Definetly the most well deserving person to go. Smartest person I know
Ryan is crazy smart and dedicated to his work. He has a great attitude and has always been open to giving me feedback on whatever I’m working on. His multimedia skills, particularly video production, would also be great to have on the SXTXState team. If we’re both accepted, I know I will personally benefit from his expertise and perspective.
Ryan,
I’m really impressed with the video examples you provided as part of your app. I got the impression that you established good rapport with the people you were interviewing, and the editing was good as well!
Ryan is an irrepressibly enthusiastic journalist with excellent technical skills. Working with him on the Texas State of Change project, he dove right into the data reporting to develop the most advanced data visualization for the project. I’d love to work with him again, particularly get get support on building data visualizations for my Latino Media project.