SXSW 2010: Searching for Impact
By Alex Field, March 12, 2010
I’ve just landed in Austin, Texas for the Internet’s Super Bowl, South by Southwest. With more than 10,000 expected, the annual interactive conference is guaranteed to be an all-you-can-eat buffet of digital innovations and new media experts. But amid the all tweets, check-ins, gurus and barbeque, I’ll be searching for one thing in particular – something we’re always thinking about at Burness: impact.
How can we use technology to advance social change? What new tools hold promise for reaching key audiences and motivating real action? And, when we see the seeds of positive change occuring, how do we measure and multiply it?
To tackle these questions, I’ve packed my schedule full of nonprofit, social change sessions. A few highlights:
E-Food Revolution: Interactive Tools to Feed the World
The internet could transform transactions across the global food supply chain, from farmers marketing their own produce, to merchants making virtual trades, to consumers choosing products based on highly personalized criteria.
Citizen Journalism and the Little NGO that Could
See what happens when citizen journalists team up with International NGOs, create and share media projects with their online and offline communities.
Digital Marketing for Nonprofits
How to work with limited marketing budgets and a failing economy to build an online brand, raise awareness of a cause and fundraise effectively.
Crowd Sourcing Innovative Social Change
Social media builds buzz and raises money, but what about real, on-the-ground change? We’ll share some big ideas.
It should be an exciting week, so stay tuned as I navigate Austin looking for the best that SXSW has to offer. I’ll be blogging for The Burness Effect and live-tweeting from @alexfield and @Burness, so follow along and send me your reactions. And if you’re in Austin too, you’ll likely find me typing away in the Beacon nonprofit lounge – or at any of the events above. I’ll be the one who asks you how your idea is going to change the world!