Live from SXSW!

Are you at SXSW? Connect with @sonnyjohns (sonny@liveworld.com) – he’s on the LiveWorld team and an Austinite and would love to meet you.

Instant APIs, Google Glass, and Social Media IRL

My panel and party gauntlet is coming to an end. Today was spent repacking, navigating the conference center, and blogging from the PayPal lounge. Robert Scoble and Dana Boyd are supposed to stop by and do chats, so I’m hoping to catch those before I have to leave for the airport. Adam Savage from Mythbusters just gave a surprise chat!

The dominant theme of my last day of panels—and maybe even the theme of SXSW 2014: The blurring of digital and IRL in culture and commerce. Last year I left consumed with thoughts about 3-D printing and the Maker Movement. Also, Big Data. This year it’s been all about wearables and digital as a daily companion, not an alternative to IRL. It’s one giant leap beyond the mobile revolution, and no one’s quite sure yet what to make of it. How will brands use it to talk to customers and what those customers want from it? All we seem to know for sure is that it’s coming. Our Bluetooths are on and they’re broadcasting.

Instant APIs

The day started with Stephen Wolfram, “Injecting Computation Everywhere.” He has created aunified symbolic programming language that he says could change everything, making it incredibly simple to create APIs, graphically represent data, and make cool stuff. It all sounded genius, but I’m not a programmer. Afterwards I read this more skeptical take at Slate.

When Social Media Escapes the Web

Megan Wintersteen from Brooklyn-based agency Huge urged retailers to recognize the opportunity of integrating social into the “real world” shopping experience. E-commerce is increasingly everywhere commerce, says Megan.

Brands that find ways to serve the customer through social at and around the point of purchase will have a huge edge over those who are absent and failing to engage and serve. Product by product, brands need to figure out what could truly serve the customer in those moments of search and decision-making.

“Glassholes: The Cultural Dissonance of Technology”

I had planned to hit “Unlocking Value from Social Data,” but it was full, so I went across the hall to “Glassholes: The Cultural Dissonance of Technology.” Every room I’ve been in at SXSW has had a handful of Google Glass wearers. (In case you’re wondering, to get Glass now you need an invitation from Google and $1500.)

All the Google Glass wearers said the reaction they get from people while wearing the glasses is 99 percent positive. They see mostly excitement and curiosity. And yet, there’s undeniably a generalized cultural uneasiness around the technology and those wearing it. My take is that people feel that the early Glass adopters—the “Glassholes”—are pushing us to a place we’re not ready to go with technology. It’s that generalized uneasiness more so than privacy concerns that’s driving the “glasshole” vibe. (And on top of it, these guys can afford a $1500 new toy!)

The three Glass panelists—less so the audience—were all convinced that with a combination of reason, human sensitivity and tools (a.k.a. more technology), people will certainly find ways to handle all the challenges Glass and future wearables pose: privacy issues, data overload, and the struggle to connect when technology separates us.

For brands, the question is whether Glass will “take” in the market and represent an entirely new platform and channel. What will content look like for that platform? What will be the value of getting there first?

Panels aside, IRL and digital blurred for me personally more at this SXSW than ever before. I stepped up my tweeting during sessions and used it to converse with people in the room, moving fluidly between digital and physical. In short: It was awesome! It was a great feeling to learn, connect, and discuss, all at the same time. I left feeling more convinced that social media and digital touchpoints IRL can enhance the experience of the real, rather than just distract from it. I’m not ready to be a Glasshole yet, but I’m definitely ready to be friends.

via:http://www.liveworld.com/the-blog/social-media-trends/live-from-sxsw/