SXSW: Not Just a Music Festival

March 13, 20121 comment

Chances are if you mention South By Southwest to any young person or music lover, that’s just the answer you’ll get – it’s a music festival. Sure, it’s a music festival and a pretty big one with lots of notoriety at that. But since its inception in 1987, it’s grown to more than that.
Now in its 26^th year, the annual March festival held in Austin, TX is billed as “The unique convergence of original music, independent films and emerging technologies.” It’s these emerging technologies and ideas that can lead to invaluable networking opportunities for businesses and individuals alike. The festival draws thousands of bands, performers and artists but also draws many of the best and brightest minds in the world of digital. If you believe that you have the next big great idea, this might be the place to share it.
Aside from being able to see many of your favorite bands, attendees at SXSW can attend many different panel discussions ranging from “Restoring History: 100 Years of Universal Films” to “Social Media in the Underground World of B2B.” Leveraging social media in the business world is nothing new, but what if there was an application that allow for something a little bit different?
So far one of the most exciting things to come out of this year’s conference is Highlight. Highlight is an iPhone app that allows users to connect in ways once thought to be impossible. Basically what Highlight does is bring people together based on interests, likes and preferences preemptively. Simply put it allows people to “meet” before they meet based on proximity to one another.

Say you were sitting at the hotel bar after a long day of meetings away from home. You’re by yourself and don’t know anyone. Highlight will compile user’s interests and say “Hey there are 3 other people around here that like Hockey and also like the Bruins. This is who they are.” What’s next? Go say hi, of course.
Foreseeing the potential effects that this could have on businesses from a marketing standpoint is huge. If you owned a cupcake shop, wouldn’t it be beneficial to let people know something to the effect of “You like cupcakes, Stan has a cupcake shop less than a block from you.” It will be interesting to see how this idea takes off given the amount of exposure it’s gotten recently. It is certainly a great idea nonetheless.
Another great idea is Personify. It allows users with similar community minded interests to connect, meet up and complete projects. Some of the projects might be cleaning up the old vacant lot on the corner or just lending a helping hand to someone in need. It definitely has the potential to be a great tool in terms of community activism. Maybe it’s the next great social app – you never know.
How are you using emerging technologies to market your business?

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