Anna Gonzalez, Carla Thompson and Shennandoah Diaz provided three very different perspectives on the 2011 South By Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) Conference. With the spearkers’ varying backgrounds in journalism, tech PR and marketing, luncheon attendees were able to learn about the different draws of the conference and what came out on top this year.
A lot was discussed, but here are some top trends and apps that came up during the panel discussion.
Emerging trends
- Gamification: making technology and websites more engaging by encouraging a game-like action. Gamification is becoming almost a necessity to get your brand or message noticed in a world where information is available 24/7 via multiple devices and channels.
- Location-based services: used in mobile device applications to locate businesses, other friends and tag photos and images with geographic coordinates. Often used to share your current location by “checking in.”
- Women in technology: an increasingly prevalent topic, proving that women are stepping up and taking charge in a once male-dominated field.
- Social Entrepreneurship: the idea of using technology to make a social change for good.
Apps to check out
- Beluga: a group chat app that Carla used to keep up with other friends at the conference and with friends in other cities
- Hashable: quickly trade e-business cards, dynamically update your network, see who your friends are meeting
- Nimble: a social relationship management tool that combines contacts, calendars and communications in one
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