The question that dominated many of the VR/AR seminars at SXSW was “How do you tell a story using this new technology?” “New” because the hardware has become affordable for consumers, and game engines used to create VR have become more powerful. The market is attracting a range of companies, from startups to ancient tech giants like IBM and Microsoft.
More sophisticated augmented reality applications can scan your environment, for example, a living room, and place virtual objects on walls and flat surfaces. The user can interact with these virtual objects to play games, or solve puzzles or mysteries.
“The secret to great service brands, like Starbucks, Nordstrom and Nespresso, is that they inspire the customer experience through their teams,” said SGEi president Shane Green. It’s mindset and behaviors. These create a reputation. In today’s social media-focused environment your reputation is your brand. How you do things is how people will see you in the marketplace.”
“Grow fast or die slow,” was the quote from growth mentor Samir Patel (@meetsamir) that Vincent Dignan used to set the tone for his presentation, “Growth Hacking Live: Boost Your Startup in Realtime.” Dignan spoke to a room overflowing with startup entrepreneurs at SXSW V2V, a four-day (July 19-22) educational event in Las Vegas.
The V2Venture Competition at SXSW V2V enabled early-stage startups to pitch their products and/or services to industry experts and investors. Ten applications particularly impressed me.
Two entrepreneurs at a four-day educational event for startups demonstrated hardware and software solutions that aim to help living-on-their-own seniors stay safe and healthy.
“On October 20, 2000, they pulled the plug,” explained motivational speaker John Bates. “We had lost $80 million and when you do that, they come in, usually with security guards, lock you out and you have nothing. I was so embarrassed, so crushed, I thought I was going to die,” he explained. But, Bates survived the bursting of the internet bubble and today, as founder/CEO of ExecutiveSpeakingSuccess.com, he teaches executives all over the world how to pitch to obtain funding and achieve other objectives. And, he’s good with a light saber.
Healthcare has long been recognized as the most un-disruptable industry on earth. Until Dr. Zubin Damania came along, that is. Damania, the closing speaker at SXSW V2V in Las Vegas on July 16, 2014, spent 10 years as a doctor at Stanford. Although he won awards for clinical teaching during this period, he became increasingly frustrated with a medical system that, as he put it, “Pays you to do things to patients, instead of doing things for them.”
When you hear the words “Space, the final frontier” and “The Federation”, the electrons in your brain are most likely to fire back: Star Trek. Not so quick, space geek. There’s a new federation in town.
(First published on blogcritics.org) Two SXSW panels demonstrated that journalism, like many other industries born in the brick and mortar era, must evolve or die. The first panel was populated by professional zombies, unaware how pathetic their whining sounded. The second panel contained innovators of the Superhero mold. Here Come the Zombies The “Cinematic Storytelling and Journalism” panel…
(First published on blogcritics.org) Among the computers, flashing lights, video cameras, ubiquitous Wi-Fi, and people dressed as bloated software of SXSW, you wouldn’t expect to find authors reading their books. But, after all, books were the first interactive media, so they are represented at SXSW as well. David Meerman Scott talked about his new book Newsjacking: How to…
(First published on blogcritics.org) SXSW – South by South West: It sounds like a direction or maybe a new Johnny Depp pirate movie. But, in Austin, it’s a lot more. SXSW is an amazing combination of music, film, and interactive media (as in computer and games) which takes place in the capital of Texas each spring,…
