AUSTIN, Texas – Day three of South by Southwest held some interesting panels and discussions ranging from keynotes from 4chan founder Christopher Poole to social gurus like Guy Kawasaki. Whereas day one and two were dominated by talk of location-based services like Foursquare and SCVNGR, today’s panels focused more on branding and trends.
Notorious 4chan founder talks anonymity
Something you don’t see at every technology conference is the founder of the controversial image board 4chan speaking on his own panel. 4chan is the message board notorious for creating the Internet’s best memes as well as a home for trollish comments and torrents. Christopher Poole took the stage to speak about the influential power of 4chan and his new startup, Canvas, a site to promote online play and meme creation. Overall, Poole’s main argument was that anonymity doesn’t necessarily lack authenticity; instead it allows people to collaborate without fear of failure.
In stark contrast to Facebook, he says: “Mistakes and failure become associated with you.”
See ya later mouse
Lee Shupp, EVP of Cheskin Added Value, spoke about the future of gaming today – and it has nothing to do with a joystick or mouse. Shupp described the move toward gesture-controlled computing, whether it’s the human body or maybe even the human brain.
He described the mouse as an outdated technology – it picks up subtle movements and is accurate, but it takes up space, it forces us to sit in front of a computer and it’s not as intuitive as say, our own bodies. Gesture interface, on the other hand, is a much more natural experience, albeit it a tad clumsy at the moment. The future of a gesture-controlled computer could extend into voice recognition, eye movements, facial expressions, subtle movements recognition and more, to make computer such a more natural experience. “Technology changes much faster than people do. There is a gap between what technology can do and what people are ready for,” Shupp added.
Kawasaki believes in God, thanks to Steve Jobs
Former Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki brought in a huge crowd while he talked about his new book, “The Art of Enchantment,” a book that focuses on how developers, brands and businesses can successfully market their services to clients and consumers.
He boldly said: “One of the reasons I believe in God is that there is no other explanation for Apple’s continuous survival than the existence of God.”
“Steve Jobs doesn’t say, ‘When you buy an iPhone, you buy $188 of parts, built in China where lots of people commit suicide … and you’re saddled with AT&T, the worst wireless network in America,’” Kawasaki continued, tongue firmly implanted in cheek. “Jobs doesn’t tell you that … he sells a dream (with his presentation).”
Kawasaki pulled off a full house with more than 2,000 people in attendance.
Groupon CEO misses panel, but keynote pushes forward with talk on fun company culture
Groupon, a company that has been in the news a lot lately as the new way to purchase goods whether B2C or B2B, hosted a panel called “Strange Business: Corporate Creative that Doesn’t Suck.” Andrew Mason, who was originally slated to take the stage, sent Aaron With in his place. Could it have been that pesky daylight savings time change or was it perhaps too much Austin BBQ the night before that cause him to miss the panel? Who knows.
The panel focus was on the fun company culture, which Groupon argues extends into its branding and overall image. With outlined elaborate pranks Groupon-ers play on each other within the office, which he attests adds to the company’s value as a whole.
