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SXSW panelists' unanimous take: Mobile is biggest game-changer

By David Gill

AUSTIN, TX - ?Keep Austin Weird.?  It is a phrase that is now hard wired into the lexicon of this town and in many ways describes the circus that is South by Southwest, affectionately known as SXSW.

For anyone who has not participated in SXSW, it is a 10-day marathon of three conferences, a trade show, countless performances and screenings encompassing Interactive, Film and Music.

Designers, bloggers, agencies, brands, publishers, artists, producers and more all converge together to form a rich stew of creativity that has in many ways defined Austin itself.

Though SXSW has its roots in music?Austin is the self-proclaimed ?live music capital of the world??it is the Interactive conference that in recent years has taken the limelight, with 40 percent growth in attendees year-over-year.

With high-profile buzz around Twitter and Foursquare in recent years, the expectation is that the annual spring show is a place where the next big thing can grab a foothold in the social media frenzy that permeates the warm central Texas air this week.

It is too early to say what will be the big story of SXSW 2011.

The Interactive conference runs through Tuesday and as this goes to press, attendees are likely still sinking into the rhythm of panels, small intimate conversations, barbeque, margaritas and more parties than one could possibly keep track of.

What is interesting from a mobile perspective is that over the last couple of years, the conversation around mobility has moved from dedicated sessions into the core of discussion across a wide variety of topics.

Yesterday I sat in on a panel about the next generation of banking. Leaders from Citi, Lending Club, start-up SmartyPig and others discussed consumer expectations of what banking really means going forward and the innovation happening in this sector.

While there was much talk about virtual currencies, personalized client service and micro-lending, when the panelists were asked what one thing would change their businesses over the next few years, the answers were unanimous ? mobile.

One of yesterday?s highlights had to be the conversation at a panel on social TV. Led by executives from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Travel Channel, CNN and Twitter, the topic was about how these media properties are using the social media channel to drive ratings.

Fred Graver from The Travel Channel said that 50 percent of the ?No Reservations? audience is viewing the show time-shifted. How do you encourage more live viewing for properties like this?

At Nielsen, this is a major area of focus as broadcasters look to drive greater audience engagement and measure its influence on ratings and advertising effectiveness.

In a study we recently did with Yahoo, we found that 87 percent of mobile Internet users access content while watching television.

Clearly mobile holds enormous potential to broaden the relationship we have with TV content.

Simultaneous viewing is only part of the equation as tablets redefine what ?mobile? really means.

Research from Nielsen?s Connected Device Playbook shows that 33 percent of iPad owners regularly view TV shows on their tablet devices.

The launch of the iPad 2 and its Android cousins will only accelerate mobile?s influence on time and place-shifted video.

I believe we are witnessing the most game-changing developments in the history of broadcast television.

SXSW feels like you are seeing it all happen in real time. 

The truth is that it is so overwhelming, there is always the panel you wish you had been to, the party that was better than the one you went to and the celebrity that ?just left?there?s the back of his head.?

Pretty much everyone here agrees that the magic of this conference is about the unexpected conversation, the viral marketing experimentation and in fact just the buzz itself. It is palpable and it?s exhilarating.

Rumors as this goes to press are that Google will launch Facebook competitor Circles today, which may come out as the big news.

But as I ponder what may trump Google, I am watching a 200-person-strong marching band of misfits take over 2nd Street. They are part of a festival called Honk!TX, which apparently includes 20 independent ?community street bands? that have converged on Austin for the weekend. They look like the high school marching band went through some sort of Tim Burton makeover.

The overwhelmingly odd nature of the whole thing actually makes perfect sense in the context of what is surely one of the most awesome intersections of creativity and business in the world.

You have to see this to believe it. Keep Austin Weird.

David Gill is Austin-based vice president of client services, mobile media and marketing at The Nielsen Co. Reach him at .

When serendipity and apps collide at SXSW
By Sandira Calviac

The plethora of events, official, non-officials, pop-up stores and pop-up stands at SXSW may leave certain people with a feeling of constantly missing out on things that can be really hard to shake off. "Don?t worry be APPy!"

SXSW is indeed about much more than the panels - it is about being at the right time at the right place with the right people, and it is also about serendipity.

Twitter, Foursquare and newcomers such as Beluga and Ditto will happily help you locate the hot zones. Sitby.us will help you find out which of your Twitter friends are attending which panels.

Offline serendipity can still happen at airports, but Uppward or Planely will give it a spin for you while Addieu, Hashable or ScanBizCards will help you connect and follow-up easily with welcome encounters.

QR codes and other 2D bar codes can be spotted throughout the event, on SXSW's print program, as well as various displays such as billboards, flat screens and t-shirts.

"Buspreneurs" from all over the country can be seen promoting their apps.

Challenged to build a business in 48 hours on board six buses with 30 people each, many of them show clear signs of "coffeetude" - the ability to live on coffee and nutritive bars for long period of times without any distinction between day and night.

Informal international delegations are getting acquainted with the Texas surroudings as well.

Circus Mashimus, organized by Barcelona-based AppCircus in partnership with Bay Area-based Mashery, has brought a dozen of new players hoping to become the next big thing.

The FrenchxSW group brought some buzz with Moodstocks, also known as the Foursquare for objects, enabling attendees to check-in with physical objects...definitely something agencies and advertisers will need to pay attention to.

Sandira Calviac is head of industry relations at Mobile Catalyst Inc. She is also a contributor for Billboard.biz.