Point Oh!

As many of you know, I have had a long love affair with the South by Southwest interactive, music and film conference, both in my previous life as an aspiring rock star and my current life as a guy who is fascinated by how the Web is changing the way the world communicates.  I still say that I learn as much in a week at SXSW as I do in a month in my job.

Last year I had the privilege of putting together an amazing panel to talk about how social media has changed the news cycle.  I had panelists from GM, NPR and the University of Miami and we were lucky enough to get a large engaged crowd in one of the better panel rooms.  It was easily one of my professional highlights for the year.

This year I’m proposing a different angle and would love you vote and/or feedback.  Here is my official blurb:

“Viral Semantics: Dissecting the Modern Marketing Vocabulary”

Make it go viral! Drive eyeballs! Engage the influencers! What do these phrases really mean? Are they misleading or are marketers just finding new ways to describe impact in a new landscape? Discuss with champions and skeptics and decide which words or phrases can stay and which can be buried forever.

The idea behind my panel submission was that SXSW needs a Suxors (a panel dedicated to the worst in social media marketing) for all the marketing jargon that comes out of the Web 2.0 movement.  Much of this language does nothing more than hold the industry back as it confuses people as to the real value of what can be achieved through effective online communications.  I’ve been trying to bury the term “viral” for a long time due to it’s almost universal misuse but there are lots more to choose from.  The format I’d use for the panel is to let each panelist suggest two terms that need to buried forever and then select a winner based on a running tally on Twitter.  We’d also take suggestions from the crowd along with their rationale.  Overall, I think it should make for a spirited discussion and, in a small way, help to eliminate some of the language that holds this industry back.

Like the idea? Please click the link above and go vote for it.  Don’t like it?  I’d love to hear why in the comments.  Panels are ultimately selected by the judging committee at SXSW but the voting always helps (they claim it’s worth 30% in selection).

Also, I don’t normally do this on this blog but some of my colleagues at Hill & Knowlton also submitted great ideas that would be worth checking out as well.  Please click on their links below and vote for their submissions if you’d like to see them make it to Austin.

Boyd Neil:  “A Different Documentary: Online Storytelling & Social Change.”

Activists, enthusiasts & evangelists seek new ways to raise awareness, affect social change & fundraise. A documentary can effectively transport your story online to achieve these aims. Any organization can learn how serializing content, engaging an audience in the filmmaking process and involving supporters in the project itself is transformative.

Meghan Warby: “Passionate People: The Key Ingredient to Social Media Success”

Regardless of the different avenues an organization takes to inform online audiences about a cause, there is but one vital factor that successfully binds social change and social media – passionate people. This panel’s roster blurs the line between personal and professional to achieve unparalleled success on behalf of their cause, workplace, employer, and ultimately, values.

Troy Ross: “Gaming’s Final Frontier – Moving Towards Monetization & Improving Experience”

The gaming sector has evolved to incorporate online collaborative role-playing & improved visual experiences. There is much to share between the monetized industry of internet wagering & the visually immersive & increasingly sophisticated gaming sectors. Witness the exchange of ideas, learnings & discussion of future collaborative opportunities between industry heavyweights.

Thanks again for reading (and double thanks if you voted)!