This page features panels at SXSW Interactive 2013 that will be presented within the BiT House at the Hilton-Garden Inn.
Additionally - this page includes panels that will take place outside of the BiT House that self-selected BiT as a tag, or have panelists or subject matter that we think is of particular interest to blacks in tech. If you would like to have a panel included on this page, please email the SXSW schedule page url to us at info@wearebit.com.
The current startup boom has seen the rise of the angel investor (and introduction of the ‘super angel’), introduction of crowdfunding platforms, and now the coming Series A crunch.
Join a panel of entrepreneurs, angel investors, crowdfunding experts, and VC investors for this roundtable discussion on how the funding landscape has changed for startup entrepreneurs.
Learn what to expect when you start looking for funding and what the best funding option is for you.
Registration for the Black Founders Conference is free to all SXSW Badge Holders and only $100 without a badge.
Pivot: the moment where startups change or die. In the search for a viable business, there comes a time when a drastic shift is necessary. But how do you know when you should pivot your startup, end it altogether, or keep powering through?
Our panel of entrepreneurs have started businesses and survived shifts in idea, customers, and business model. Join us for a candid discussion about when and how to change direction.
Registration for the Black Founders Conference is free to all SXSW Badge Holders and only $100 without a badge.
You cashed the check, now what? Managing the relationship with your investors is an important skill that new entrepreneurs have to learn.
Join us for a lively conversation between investor and entrepreneur as they discuss how to navigate the sometimes complicated relationship between the idea and the money.
Registration for the Black Founders Conference is free to all SXSW Badge Holders and only $100 without a badge.
The discussion will focus on bringing to light some of the innovative ideas being put into practice on the African continent to build leadership and management capacity thus enabling African to fully take advantage of its accelerating growth trajectory. Creating and expanding opportunities for youth engagement, education and empowerment is especially important in Africa since it is the youngest continent on the planet, with over 70% of its population under 30.
The panel will use examples of institutions and initiatives with unique and innovative approaches to closing Africa’s education gap. Leveraging tools that range from text message based test prep to ‘pay-it-forward’ funding for higher education, these organizations will provide the audience with a glimpse into the rapidly evolving landscape of African education and how it will affect the continents leadership going forward.
Networking at large events can be tough if you are not prepared. Have you ever found yourself wanting to connect with someone, but hesitated because you felt you didn’t have anything to offer them? Have you ever made a connection at an event but didn’t know what to do in order to keep the relationship going over time? If you answered, “Yes” to any of these questions, you will benefit from Mike Ambassador Bruny’s interactive presentation, “The New Art of Conference Networking: Hashtags to Handshakes.”
During this session you will get practical steps that will cover everything from, what you should do before you come to a conference, how to follow-up and what to do now that you are actually at SXSW. By the time you leave this session you will be clear on what you have to offer in every networking situation, the 2 most powerful questions you can ask anyone you meet and the 3 mindsets that will help make connecting with other natural.
With the next generation of warfighters taking on the face of a video gamer in the States vs. a camouflaged soldier in the battlefield, STEM skills are increasingly important to today’s military in order to continue protecting those that protect us. Activity-based intelligence, IT security infrastructure, drone navigation, “invisible” armor, aerial sensors – it’s not “virtual reality”; it’s the critical engineering needed in the defense world. But maintaining it is proving to be a challenge. It’s not just that talent is going elsewhere; there’s a considerable lack of female and minority representation in the field. Hear why defense company BAE Systems CIO Michael Bennett is touting STEM as the “great equalizer”, and how his industry is using social media to attract employees to defense-related professions that would typically take their tech talent to traditionally-digital companies.
Join us as we examine the exploding field of fitness and food blogging as well as its intersection with identifying as a blogger of faith. We will explore how social media is disrupting the traditional business models of personal training and nutrition planning, and enabling everyday people to become sources of information on health and nutrition.
Additionally, we will understand how social media has created a border-free “church” where folks on a fitness journey can fellowship, encourage, and inspire one another, and provide tips for content creators interested in excelling in this quickly growing field. Lastly, we will highlight why the particular intersection of food, fitness and faith is resonating with so many people around the world, and guide the audience in starting their own fitness journey.
This panel focuses on Intellectual Property for Start-ups. During the presentation Practioners, In-house Counsel at major companies and a Startup founder will discuss common pitfalls for startups. Orrick Firm will lead the talk discussing what is IP. When do you need a patent, trademark, etc. Then we will segway to a conversation on practical experience.
Innovation in Africa is the purest form: innovation out of necessity. Not Angry Birds, the innovations emerging from Africa allow farmers to check where they can get the best price for their produce, fishermen to be warned about storms, people to check whether medicines they are buying have expired, and rural cellphone users to send mobile money to each other using text messages. Even the pay-as-you-go payment system was pioneered in Africa.
Mobile phones are one of the great success stories of the world, and nowhere is this more evident than in Africa. They are the 21st century equivalent of the railroad. Except it’s a bullet train. Africa is the world’s fastest growing telecoms market, second in size only to Asia. More people in Africa have a mobile phone than electricity. Africa is a mobile-first continent, but it really is a mobile-only continent.
Communities that are focused on minority techs are popping up everywhere to drive conversations and shift perceptions. Engineers and technologists of color in these communities are constantly engaging in thoughtful and technical conversations in order to advance individual and cultural knowledge but also to change the perception of minority techs from the inside and the outside. Out of these communities we must produce tech thought leaders. Highly knowledgeable individuals that are at the forefront of cutting edge technology. Join the discussion as we highlight four (4) Tech Trailblazers as they share their expertise on building communities and the future of organizing the black tech community for greater success.
These tech trailblazers are people you should know or get to know if you are in technology. They don't just talk a good game, they are strategic thinkers with a track record of execution and success. They have the wisdom, will, passion, dedication, and expertise in their respective domain to build a community of new leaders and followers to stomp the divide.
Once upon a time, the “black community” was a physical place. Then along came integration and the physical definition was lifted as individuals dispersed to where ever their means could carry them. The dispersion carried advantages and disadvantages. This session explores how the digital landscape has impacted the nature of “community” making it possible to gain strength in numbers virtually as well as mask race when deemed necessary. The panel will explore the impact on culture and commerce from three perspectives: academic, corporate and social.
In this panel, we seek to bridge the divide between what is Black and what is Digital from different perspectives. Our panelists have spent decades working on various aspects of the Black Experience including technology, public health, consumption, religion, and socialization. Moreover, each of these experts have migrated their research, teaching, and consulting to the Digital space as it has become more prominent in the everyday lives of people kissed by nature’s sun.
Austin is a town of contradiction and transition. The juxtaposition of a fiercely liberal town set on a conservative backdrop creates the friction that much of the town's creative fire sparks from, and much of its charm. The Silicon Hills are a secret no more--in Austin, growth and change is a constant.
The Capitol City sets itself apart from other startup hubs with a diversity of culture that mitigates groupthink and "me too" ventures. But how does the Austin Tech Community fare in its physical diversity makeup among women and under-represented minorities? Does it matter?
This panel will bring together Austin-based female and under-represented minority business executives, to discuss and debate the impact of diversity in the development of the Austin Technology community.
In the age of geeky chic and nerdy cool, brands are tapping into the global affinity for the highly intelligent audience. While there are plenty of resources to help high achievers with their careers and businesses, there is still a dearth of resources to help the driven with their love and sex lives. In this lively discussion, writer-entrepreneurs Kaneisha Grayson and Arielle Loren will discuss how they penetrated the digital landscape of love and sex advice. They will explore the existing and emerging opportunities, benefits, and challenges of helping highly accomplished women and men unleash their sexiness and get the dating and mating education that you can’t get in the ivory tower. Kaneisha Grayson is a Harvard MBA, author of Be Your Own Boyfriend, and founder of coaching and consulting firm Love & Achievement LLC. Arielle Loren is the founder of sexuality magazine CORSET, documentary filmmaker of the award-winning film Bideology, a sexuality writer, and a NYU graduate.
The global technological landscape is shifting. This is perhaps most felt in Africa, where the challenges and the opportunities for a technology-driven future are great. ThoughtWorks opened our first African offices in Johannesburg and Kampala last year with a fierce social agenda to create a more inclusive tech community. At the heart of all of our activities is the practice of Frugal Innovation.
We will discuss what Frugal Innovation is as illustrated by the panelists’ experiences and observations. Partnerships and platforms are informed by keeping Frugal Innovation at the forefront. A greater emphasis is put on open source technologies and projects that will reach a greater audience via regionally-prevalent technologies like SMS.
We hope that the attendees of BiTHOUSE will leave with a better understanding of how we, as individuals and as organizations, can make a difference in the industry.
Do you wish your brand was funnier? Are you seeking to create a brand that not only inspires but also entertains? Are ready to do some epic sh*t and rock the interwebs? Then this is definitely the panel you been looking for.
This panel will discuss scientifically proven strategies and techniques you can use to direct your mind to accomplish your life’s mission. We will show you ways to instantly tap into your creativity, how to be funny even if your not and use technology to share your ideas and message. Join Will Hatcher and Luvvie Ajayi, two of the nations top tech comedians as they discuss the intersection between comedy and tech.
NewME identifies undiscovered entrepreneurial talent from demographics that are currently underrepresented in the technology industry (African-American, Latino, Women) and accelerates their success through key touchpoints: NewME Accelerator, NewME Community, and other programming. Join NewME Insiders, Terry Likens founder of TellAPathy, Kai Dupé founder of Kai Dupé Productions, LLC., and Luissette Figueroa CEO of Health Innovators Systems and learn how NewME can help you achieve your entrepreneurial dreams.
Kids are keenly perceptive, ambitiously creative, and fearlessly bold. As we move
forward in design thinking and innovation, the simplicity, purity and intense
curiosity of the child mind may very well hold the key to some of the world's
largest problems. These young pioneers will share insight on problem solving,
social consciousness, and making the world a better place.
Civic engagement is a critical element of our democratic process. The opportunity provided by the adaption of social media and Web 2.0 technologies, as evidenced by the successful deployment of the Obama Campaign and Administration is clear and compelling. It has many potential benefits for public policy professionals by increasing public value in the form of better public decisions that accurately reflect local input and expectations. Additionally, civic engagement increases the capacity of a society to understand the decision making processes agencies use when seeking solutions for complex issues.
This panel will discuss the emergence of sophisticated online tools and platforms that support large-scale collaboration and dialogue. We discuss and dissect concrete examples of social media as a low-cost technical tool of empowerment for increasing civic engagement, and at the same time, lowering the barrier for participation by citizens.
Advertising industry leaders from the brand, agency and technology sides will gather to discuss how terms like “general market” and “mainstream” are no longer valid and to reveal the ways they, as leaders, have adjusted given this new reality. Join Detavio Samuels – President of GlobalHue Detroit, Andrew Hampp – Advertising and Marketing Editor of Billboard Magazine, Seiji Carpenter – VP of David Binder Research, Greg Warren – VP of Creative at Walmart, Kim Adams House – Head of Jeep Advertising at Chrysler, and Richie Cruz – Lifestyle Marketing Specialist at Pepsi in this revealing discussion of what happens when the mainstream dries up.
Violence and war games rule the day. Adventures in making the world a better place rule the future. The panel will chronicle the evolution of gaming from entertainment to philanthropy. The panelists will discuss how gaming can bring awareness to issues of respecting women, self-esteem and female image. The panelists will discuss the opportunities to connect digital natives and their voice to organizations and institutions through interactive media. We will discuss raising the bar on interactivity and doing something while we’re saying something.
In May 2012 the US Census Bureau reported that for the first time in history minority newborn children outpaced whites, ushering in the new American reality known as “The Minority Majority”. For many, the Bureau’s observation was little more than confirmation of a cultural shift building in the US for several decades.
Without mistake, the infusion of minority cultures has made a vibrant and certain mark on TV, music, language, food and even names in this country. Yet the digital strategies of countless (otherwise) forward-thinking companies fail to account for this new reality, limiting their ability to genuinely connect with contemporary American consumers. How does your digital strategy compare?
Through an inventive analysis of data we will construct the case for a break from traditional “general market” advertising, learn from some unfortunate missteps, and explore opportunities for improved marketing in today’s new America.
The proliferation of mobile devices can no longer be denied. You've got a business but want to know how to take advantage of this mobile thing. With all the buzzwords and changing tides, what can business owners do to get on the mobile bandwagon? And what about social and local? Where do they all fit in and how? With so many people using their mobile devices to make purchases and to inform purchase decisions, check in and stay in touch, small to mid-sized business owners need to be informed on how to use these technologies to their advantage. In this informative panel, we gather together a group of thought leaders who will discuss and offer successful strategies and resources to help business owners take their businesses into the mobile age. We'll talk to thought leaders and innovators to give business owners some tools to navigate the social, local and mobile landscape to effectively improve their bottom lines.
This powerful and insightful presentation is jam-packed with practical and usable advice, insightful trends and information focusing on Social Media Management Strategies, Internet Marketing/Branding and Conversions.
While encouraging interaction and audience participation, this panel will be a lively, intense and informative journey into what makes a super successful online ePreneur and how both brick and mortar and internet businesses can structure and plan to take the next steps towards tremendous profitable!
More than a simple discussion, our panelists will provide participants with insider tips and information that will give them THE EDGE over their competition by laying out a roadmap they can follow that will lead them directly to internet business SUCCESS.
THE EDGE:
Think Hard: 12 Key Adjustments That Will Take Your Business to the Next Level
Hedging the Hurdles: 27 Website Mistakes That Will Chase Your Buyers Away
Enhancement: New Technology Tools That Will Increase Your Sales
Evaluate the Now: How to Analyze What’s Right and What’s Wrong
Data Mining: How Corporations Use Information to Make Millions!
GroupThink: Tribe Building That Turns Followers and Friends into Customers and Clients
Elevate Your Brand: 10 Keys to Mastering Online Marketing and Promotions
While the D in Django is silent, the discussion around this controversial film from Quentin Tarantino has been on full volume. The Christmas 2012 release of Django Unchained caused a (micro)blogging frenzy among Blacks on Twitter and Facebook, as well as on the blogs of Black scholars and critics.
In fact, some posts caused all out twitter fights and blog wars in which debates about history, representation and gender matters raged on and on. This panel examines this social media phenomenon and considers this virtual realm as (Black) public forum.
Blerdology (formerly known as #BlackGirlsHack) continues its signature hackathon series at SXSW 2013 with #blackhack Hollywood March 9-10, 2013. A special event designed to incorporate interactive, film and music; the hackathon will rally web developers and coders to build new and innovative entertainment apps and websites in a friendly competition format.
#BlackHack attendees are exposed to a wealth of industry insights and business consulting and have the opportunity to get their resumes in the hands of top tech corporations. Building projects on site for little to no costs, #BlackHacks are a novel way for budding entrepreneurs to get their projects off the ground and an unmatched opportunity to network, meet and recruit the top minority tech talent from around the world.
#blackhack Hollywood begins Saturday, March 9 at 8:00 PM and cranks through the night, ending Sunday, March 10 at 10:00 AM. Please register below and we look forward to you joining us!
Participation is free - but you must pre-register online.
From Black Futurist art exhibitions, to food justice hackathons, and STEAM teach-ins for youth in resource-poor communities, this panel explores the delicious intersections of food, art, and technology over a southern meal featuring creamy grits and soulful toppings (vegan, vegetarian & meat-based menu).
Through their living, working, and playing in the crosshairs of these sectors, these presenters push the bounds of culture and identity with their commitment to regenerative design and their execution of locally grown solutions addressing global issues. “Grits & Greens” is presented by Hub Oaklandin collaboration with Indiegogo and BlackGirlsCode.
Our wholesome meal will be prepared and served by Austin’s king of fresh, natural comfort foodHoover Alexander, who owns Hoover’s Cooking and Soular Foods Garden, which was designed to “bridge the gap between home style, home-cooking and healthy, nutritious, from-the-garden food.”
The Grits and Greens Panel is free to all SXSW badge holders. However, we will need a firm headcount to provide to the caterer for the purpose of meal preparation. To reserve your meal – please fill out the form at the link below".
Historically, the “black church” was a physical place typically located within the confines of the black community, quite often in walking distance from the core membership. However, with the advent of the civil rights movement, integration, and gentrification, the locations of churches quite often may be miles and miles from the physical location of its members. Moreover, churches, like other not-for-profit organizations face the realities of economies of scale, operational and logistical expenses, as well as competing for other events in the lives, hearts, and giving (time, talent, and treasure) of congregants. This session explores how the digital landscape has impacted the nature of “The Black Church” making it possible to gain strength in numbers virtually as well inform others who may not typically fit within the historical definition of “The Black Church.”
Consumer privacy is a challenging issue for any technology company. Data is ubiquitous, consumer information is increasingly personally identifiable, and data itself has become an asset class, driving investment. How do startups navigate the lawsuit mine field and new regulations coming from Washington DC? Join our panel of experts as they talk about Privacy. Attendees will have unprecedented access to a panel of technologists and attorneys to get the lowdown on privacy+innovation -what they need to know to stay on the good side of the law and what new opportunities exist.
The impact of social media cannot be understated. Without a strong online presence, a brand will always be a step behind the competition. With each day that passes, thousands of people are signing up for popular digital platforms and hoping to establish their own brands and ride the social media wave to professional success. Little do they know how much work is required to make it in this increasingly competitive landscape.
This panel will explore the truth behind social media. It’ll cover what it takes to make it from the perspective of the names behind the names.
Three million girls a year in Africa alone are at risk of female genital cutting (FGC) and 140 million women worldwide live with the harmful consequences of this human rights violation. FGC is a social norm, and it is changing at the grassroots where communities are abandoning thanks to human rights based community empowerment. Across West Africa the message is spreading from person to person, village to village, and inspiring people elsewhere, too. Around the world a movement is growing with individuals, organisations and communities pushing for an end to the practice and we are harnessing this online. Foot binding ended in China in less than 20 years at the turn of the 19th-20th century; FGC could go the same way and we know that the web, social media, new mobile technology all have a part to play. Born out of success on the YouTube Davos Debates in 2010, Orchid Project believes an end to FGC is possible, and that by building an online movement, we will see this within a lifetime.
The Racism on YouTube panel will take a hard look at the various struggles that black members of the YouTube community face each day. YouTube is an expansive, diverse community, but its foremost personalities largely fall under the white and Asian racial umbrellas. Only two of the site’s top 100 personalities are black (DeStorm, Kingsley), and there’s a significant drop-off after that. This panel will examine why it is that blacks struggle to contend with other races on the platform and also explore various issues that arise with racist commenters and detractors.
If you are a Black entrepreneur attending SXSW and you feel that your business idea or platform is disruptive, innovative and scalable - enter the BiTHouse Pitch Competition! The BiTHouse Pitch takes place on Sunday, March 10, at 11:30AM at the BiTHouse.
The BiTHouse Pitch allows for entrepreneurs to make a live 3-MINUTE PITCH of their innovative venture and be assessed as to the viability of their ventures by legal professionals, business leaders, academics, investors, and engineers.
PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED to the Best Live Pitch including:
Fill out the form to enter. All finalists will be notified by EMAIL no later than Saturday, March 9th at 12Noon CST for your opportunity to pitch live on Sunday, March 10th at 11:30 am.
Strategic Partners and Supporters:
Andreesson Horowitz, TechStars, Global Accelerator Network, Qukku, Black Enterprise, INTRO Labs, Strikingly, Black Founders, Blacks in Tech, Rising Stars Program and Strategic Diversity Group.
*Airfare and hotel expenses must be covered by winner.
It's a proven fact - people love events. What's more? They also are a prime opportunity to build your brand. No matter what your business niche is, there is an opportunity to gather your customers, clients or readers for a meaningful IRL experience, create a new source o revenue, and build community and your brand. This workshop will guide you through the process of coming up with an event focus and theme; soliciting potential partners and sponsors; and the logistical components of putting on an event.
Material That We’ll Cover:
Black artists have to both find and fix the color line, no matter how ambiguous its parameters seem. Does new media provide more opportunities for Black artists than conventional modes of distribution? By examining vernacular art, design and film we can shed light on the nebulous topic of African-American aesthetics.
With statistics stating that only 1% of tech startups are founded by blacks and that there is a digital divide why are we not introducing technology in the community at earlier ages. This panel will show how if we expose youth to technology through their passions we can begin to bridge the digital divide. We will have a panel of innovators discussing ways to fuel passion driven young innovators by early exposure and showing technology through ideas, games and parts of their everyday lifestyle that is relatable. The panel will also discuss way to create, implement and attract people to programs that offer early exposure
You’ve produced great content, built a social media, and created a brand. Now what? With competition more fierce than ever, you need a well-crafted plan for distributing your content and expanding your influence. This panel provides a blueprint for implementing distribution and strategic partnership strategies that can earn significant followings, steady revenue, and new opportunities.
You’ll learn strategic and tactical approaches to creating and monetizing digital media properties across multiple platforms including blogs, video, podcasts, mobile, and more. The diverse panelists bring both corporate and indie perspectives to the table along with unique experiences as people of color in the media space.
This is an experiential workshop designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs design experiments to quickly validate their ideas. We will help you identify 1-2 experiments that can be executed within a week. You will leave armed with a clear action plan for quickly testing your idea. If you have an idea for a new venture you'd like to explore, this workshop is the perfect opportunity to get started.
The workshop will be lead by Brian L. Shields, the Co-Founder of IncubateNYC, an educational community and incubation program for entrepreneurs. After seven years of advising and investing in startups, Brian has developed a keen understanding of the actions steps Founders should take for validating their ideas and assumptions
In the interactive age, the ability to speak authentically to diverse consumer segments has gotten more important. Advertising is no longer a one-way conversation. It is far more difficult to fake relevancy. Yet, Madison Avenue creative departments remain unfriendly to a large percentage of Americans, including women. And advertising agencies that specialize in those consumer segments are marginalized.
We seek to gain insight and understand the questions below:
What does it really take to start a successful technology company? As the barriers
to entry decrease, it's tempting to think starting a company is a matter of having an
idea and hiring an offshore developer.
Join us as we examine the art of the start with seasoned entrepreneurs who have started
and grown their companies. This panel is hosted by DigitalUndivided, a social
enterprise that is increasing the number of Black and Latino women digital
entrepreneurs.
The world is getting smaller, which means your public footprint needs to be bigger. Professionals who want to thrive and keep ahead of the curve need to engage worldwide. Large organizations have already moved past US borders to increase their profitability, but what if you don’t have deep pockets like the big boys or a company to sponsor you?
This is where technology and social media comes in. The Internet is the great equalizer; it allows access for the little guy (or girl) that would not have been possible in the past. Our panel of marketing and social media experts, who hail from blue chip corporations and global advertising agencies, will share valuable insight for professionals and small business owners on how to be next level...and go worldwide.
This panel will analyze the success of the few STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics) programs that leveled the achievement gap between
minorities and their peers and question how those results can be expanded to
improve retention rates of all science and math majors.
Questions Answered
Why should we care if university students exceed in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics?
Is the weed-out process really necessary in higher education?
How can corporations and universities form partnerships, change the game, and put
America back in the running to lead the innovation economy?
Right under our noses a new generation of minority entrepreneurs are crafting business ideas and refining their hustles. Comprising roughly 40% of Gen Y, the next generation up-and-comers, Blacks and Latinos have a disproportionate inclination toward entrepreneurship. A Kaufmann Foundation policy brief, Young Invincibles, found that 65% of Latinos and 64% of Blacks aged 18 – 34 wanted to start a business vs. 45% of whites. This panel aims to explore the changing Gen Y minority entrepreneurship paradigm.
Join us as we examine how the natural hair movement has grown in recent years, largely in part to the social media savvy of natural hair bloggers and brands. Hear from natural hair superstars including Carol’s Daughter, Curl Box founder Myliek Teele and Afrobella, and learn how you can incorporate their social media strategies and avoid their missteps to help grow your online audience and brand.
Apps are fast becoming as ubiquitous as websites. Whether you are in the entertainment industry, business world or the non-profit realm, mobile applications can play a part in your success. Games have proven to be the most used and often most lucrative form of mobile applications. Games can be used to complement existing brands, as branding/marketing tools or as stand-alone revenue generators.
This panel addresses selecting the best approach for your company or organization when it comes to creating and distributing your app. It will also address the benefits of effective collaboration between players from different but complementary fields. The audience will walk away with a case study of a successful partnership between a music artist, a non-profit organization and a technology company.
The music artist wanted a mobile gaming app to extend his brand. The non-profit wanted a mobile gaming app that utilized the “gamification of education” and could be used to engage urban youth. The technology company took the input from the two and creatively designed and successfully launched a mobile gaming app that is now available on iOS and Android devices.
Together they made a mobile gaming app, made money and made a difference.
The #1 Show on ABC and one of the hottest shows on television meets the analytical and multi-talented eyes of an academic, a blogger and a designer. Using Shonda Rhime’s “Scandal” as our point of departure, this panel will be an interdisciplinary discussion, building upon Dr. Goddess’s previous, SxSW solo presentation on “The Bombastic Brilliance of Black Twitter.”
The panel is excited to be joined by the head of Kerry Washington’s own Social Media Director @Allison Peters who created, “-kw’s krew” and inspired ABC to understand the importance and impact of promoting the show on Twitter. #Gladiators Unite!
We will explore how Black engagement with social media has fueled the success of the show and what it means that, according to the New York Times, “among the group aged 18 to 34, it typically ranks first in its 10p.m. Thursday time slot.” We will take a look at the role bloggers, video bloggers, microbloggers and designers have changed the narrative on a national scale and put the “social” in Social TV.
And since Black design is one of the most underrepresented areas of Blacks in technology, we will re-imagine questions of transmedia ownership and thought leadership for Black techies in the 21st Century, in the entertainment industry and beyond.
In the words of acclaimed journalist Robert C. Maynard, the fault lines of race, class, gender, generation and geography are the most enduring forces shaping lives, experiences and social tension. For entrepreneurs, content producers and innovative businesses, understanding how to navigate those fault lines will be a critical component of making money in an increasingly diverse and global economy. Using the innovative diversity training workshop model employed by the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, Dori Maynard and Joshunda Sanders provide tips to entrepreneurs, journalists, web content producers, consultants and marketers for profitably navigating racial, economic and gender diversity in unique, lucrative and comfortable ways. Audience will receive real time tips for diversifying content and expanding their business approaches to gaining new customers.
Private space exploration projects have made headlines recently with companies like Space X, Planetary Resources and Virgin Galactic, but the first woman of color in space, Dr. Mae Jemison, has grander ambitions. In 2012, under Dr. Jemison’s leadership, the “100 Year Starship” initiative received widespread media attention as well as seed funding from DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). The goal of “100 Year Starship” is to enable human interstellar flight within the next 100 years and enhance life on earth through the application of interstellar research and technologies.
We’ll talk about Dr. Jemison’s initial experiences with NASA & space travel, how the 100 Year Starship organization plans to tackle the enormity of this mission, the importance of inclusive grassroots involvement, as well as insights regarding the project’s technology initiatives, the potential application for health care, energy, power consumption and self-sustaining technologies in the future.
In the late 1980s, Public Enemy rapper and Internet aficionado Chuck D famously remarked that hip hop was like the “black CNN,” speaking on the “lower frequencies” cited in Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” about issues in African-American communities like the War on Drugs, sex and relationships, poverty and police brutality. As social media has become the default medium for gathering and disseminating information, Twitter posts provide the steady bass beat that continues to inform on similar topics, but with more portability and immediacy than ever before. This panel will examine how so-called “Black Twitter” exchanges news (like the Trayvon Martin case as a recent example) and uses it to mobilize political dialogue and direct action, and how information professionals–like librarians, journalists, and educators–can guide users toward responsible practices that respect the unique coding and cultural perspectives of black and other minority communities.
As information workers, we are asked to absorb even more information than ever before. More blogs, more documentation, more patterns, more layers of abstraction. Now Twitter and Facebook compete with Email and Texts for our attention, keeping us up-to-date on our friends dietary details and movie attendance second-by-second.
Does all this information take a toll on your psyche or sharpen the saw? Is it a matter of finding the right tools and filters to capture what you need, or do you just need to unplug. Is ZEB (zero email bounce) a myth or are there substantive techniques for prioritizing your life on the web? Scott Hanselman will explore the essence of what it means to be truly productive.
Room 616AB
A huge opportunity exists for content creators, service providers, brands, and media companies on the continent. In Africa, more people than ever have access to the internet, to the tune of 140 million, but this only represents 13% of the population. By 2020, internet penetration in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to reach 24.7%, outpacing internet penetration rates across the globe and representing a virtually untapped market with unlimited potential. Africans are using their newly acquired connectivity to engage each other, launch tech starts, develop apps, create content and organize grassroots movements.
From mobile money to “smart’ water pumps that send SMS messages when they need repair, Africans are using the web to solve local problems and diversify their economies. This panel will look at the growth, size and characteristics of Africa’s internet market, analyze country specific trends, discuss the content being produced, and outline opportunities for collaboration &investment.
Venture Capital, angel and send investment reaches its highest funding rate since the early dot com days. Becoming an entrepreneur and launching the next instagram, twitter or pinterest are new cool thing to do. Despite the increase opportunities for entrepreneurs to raise capital many venture capitalist say that most entrepreneurs are not investor ready. In the “What founders need to know when pitching to a VC session I’ll cover valuable lessons learned from working with various investors and successful entrepreneurs who have raised capital.
The session will teach startup founders what information is needed in their pitch deck, questions to ask investors, what annoys investors and the ever debating question business plan vs pitch deck vs executive summary. Other key items discussed in this session will be comparisons of how Silicon Valley, East Coast and Midwest investors rate and compare startups for investment opportunities.
