South by South West (SXSW) – an event that every entrepreneur in digital marketing or technology should go to. It’s a fantastic blend of creative marketers, geeks, designers, entrepreneurs, film experts and musicians – all in one place, all eagerly anticipating news on the latest trends from the best thinkers in their field.
SXSW actually consists of three festivals – Interactive, Music and Film.
With our passion for technology at Bright Creations, the interactive festival was impressive, overwhelming and an eye opener. This is what we’d really gone for. Just some of the amazing big speakers who spoke at the interactive section in 2013 included:
- Peter Thiel – co-founder of PayPal and served as its CEO. He left an impact on a room full of entrepreneurs informing them that success is not about being a lottery ticket
- Shaquille O’Neal – basketball superstar sharing his secrets to business success and his interests in startups. He even invested in two startups from SXSW during his visit
- Pete Cashmore – CEO of Mashable.com, talking trends in screens, advertising, social, the visual web and of course – a series of extremely entertaining GIF images to share his humour
- Cindy Gallop – a lady innovating in a very unconventional industry after a 4 minute presentation at the TED talk in 2009 about her industry of choice
- Elon Musk – impressive founder of PayPal, Tesla Motors and now risking everything with trying to send the first human being to Mars with SpaceX
Now those are the big names, but what about everyone else. Every session attended was unique in it’s own way and an eye opener. The talks covered everything including the health industry, design + user experience, journalism, big data, digital marketing, entrepreneurialism, gaming and startups – there was more, but there is only so much you can fit into 12 days.
In case you’re thinking of attending in 2014, I’d suggest skipping the film/music and just attending the Interactive section if you’re coming from digital or marketing. It’s overwhelming as it is – if you’re looking for music and film – there are hundreds of festivals around the world that could fit the bill – the interactive on the other hand is a bit more unique.
So why did Bright Creations attend? We want to ensure we’re at the forefront of design, technology and product development in the Middle East. It’s where we keep up with the latest trends, discover best practise, generate new ideas and meet likeminded people who make things happen. Our goal is to bring some of that innovation back from Austin, Texas to our very own home in Cairo, Egypt.
Find out more about SXSW