The Forrest Four-Cast: March 16, 2017

Hugh Forrest

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Austin Startups

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6 min read

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Mar 15, 2017

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We know you want even more mind-expanding content! Here are 20 of our favorite selections for Thursday, March 16:

1. Flatstock 59. Presented by the American Poster Institute (API), Flatstock 59 will display the works of the world’s top gig poster artists. The event features posters of varying styles, colors and techniques for sale by the talented artists who created them. FREE to attend. Find all this spectacular artwork on the first floor of the Austin Convention Center, next to the SXSW Marketplace.
2. How Filter Bubbles Affect Media and Elections. Step behind the curtain of the Facebook newsfeed algorithm and see how it has changed the entire media landscape of the US and beyond. Using billions of rows of data, media data analyst Steve El-Sharawy will reveal the pattern of polarisation across US media both before and after the 2016 Presidential election. Scheduled at 12:30 pm in Salon H at the JW Marriott.
3. How Will Trump Steer Car and Transportation Tech? Car companies and other transportation suppliers are among the most heavily regulated U.S. industries. And with Trump and a Republican-dominated Congress taking the helm, stakeholders are watching for whether the new administration will take a hands-off approach to autonomous car technology, foster investment in smart and connected transportation infrastructure and relax fuel-economy standards (and hamper alternative-fuel vehicle development). Scheduled at 12:30 pm in Salon AB at the JW Marriott.
4. Immigration and Innovation: The Future of H-1B. Following up on what he promised in his campaign, President Trump has begun to implement dramatic and significant changes to US immigration policy. These policies may also lead to restrictions on the H-1B visa program — which has traditionally served as the pathway a large volume of foreign-born tech talent — as well as other major visa programs used by tech companies to hire skilled workers. How will Trump’s policies and reforms impact the US tech industry’s ability to hire skilled talent? And could they hinder America’s ability to remain the global leader in tech innovation? Scheduled at 2:00 pm in Salon C at the JW Marriott.
5. Marketing in the Age of Digital Music. How can marketers use data to align with today’s top hits before they take off? Vevo’s Roberto Santos has the answers and a new methodology that will finally enable brands to compare digital and TV metrics. Scheduled at 3:30 pm in Salon D at the JW Marriott.
6. Media Is The Problem. It’s Also Part Of The Solution. Eli Pariser led MoveOn.org during the Bush era, coined the phrase “filter bubble” in the bestselling book of the same name, and now leads Upworthy. In this solo presentation, he shares what he’s learned in nearly two decades of organizing and storytelling about how to use stories to help Davids beat Goliaths, bring people together across divides, and make the world better. Scheduled for 3:30 pm in Salon AB at the JW Marriott.
7. Music Keynote: Zane Lowe. A New Zealand-born radio DJ, Live DJ, record producer, and television presenter, Lowe is now the Creative Director and LA Anchor for Beats 1, Apple’s first free global radio station broadcasting 24/7 to over 100 countries. Scheduled for 11:00 am in Room 18ABCD at the Austin Convention Center.
8. The Next Four Years of AI. On this panel, Manoj Saxena (CognitiveScale), Tom Meredith (Meritage Capital LLC), Margaret Rhodes (Wired) and Michael Guptan (Dell) will talk about guardrails, governance, policy, accountability, transparency and security that will be the underpinnings of responsible AI. They will also discuss the mission of AI Austin and other similar agencies. Additionally, this session will cover how businesses must take more proactive policies to help skill up and retrain the existing workforce and the incoming generation. Scheduled for 11:00 am in Salon C at the JW Marriott.
9. Pitching Your Creative Business to Investors. This session will explore how to utilize your creativity to tell your story and distinguishing yourself as well as how to communicate the value proposition of your creative company. Scheduled for 12:30 pm in Salon B at the Hilton Austin Downtown.
10. SXSW Gaming Conference & Festival. Located at the Austin Convention Center, the event offers an endless amount of possibilities for fun and entertainment across the Expo, Awards, and Programming. Join us March 16–18 to experience an all-new SXSW Gaming, featuring an expanded Gaming Expo, a one-of-a-kind awards show and evening events, and unmatched industry programming. Buy your exclusive Gaming Wristband today to be part of the action!
11. SXSW Marketplace. The first installment of the SXSW Marketplace brings together local Austin boutiques and hand-selected national/global brands to create a unique shopping experience at the epicenter of SXSW. No badge needed to attend. Located next to Flatstock on the first floor of the Austin Convention Center.
12. SXSW Outdoor Stage. FREE FREE FREE music at Auditorium Shores begins on Thursday evening. So much fun and such a fantastic venue with spectacular sight-lines of Downtown Austin.
13. SXSW Virtual Cinema. Thursday, March 16 is the final day for this celebration of all things virtual reality on the 4th floor of the JW Marriott. Don’t miss out on all the next-generation technology on display at this hands-on play-space.
14. Silicon Valley 2.0: Cannabis Startups. The legal cannabis industry is expected to reach $100B in the US by 2029. Join former tech founders, mentors, and investors now leading the charge in the cannabis industry as they discuss the current state of this exciting new market. Discover the big unsolved problems, what it takes to differentiate your startup, pitfalls to be aware of, and how to go about raising capital from traditional venture channels. Scheduled for 5:00 pm in Salon D of the Downtown Austin Hilton.
15. Tech Advocates and Trump: Best Strategies So Far. What are the most effective strategies for the tech industry as it tries to get its message to the new administration? Listen as several veteran policy influencers talk about their game-plan on getting through to Trump (and how this game-plan differs from what worked with the Obama White House). Scheduled for 3:30 pm in Salon C of the JW Marriott.
16. Trump, China, and Trade Wars: Tech in the Trenches? President Trump has called for 45% tariffs on goods imported from China; Xi Jinping is now hailed as “globalization’s greatest defender;” and Jack Ma has admonished, “If trade stops, war starts.” But with the tech industry increasingly reliant on globalized supply chains, the free flow of data across borders, and international markets to drive growth, what are companies to make of this shifting trade landscape? Scheduled for 5:00 pm in Salon C at the JW Marriott.
17. Virtual Reality: The Make It or Break It Years. This panel will discuss the fledgling VR industry’s next four years. Will the Trump Administration help or hinder its progress? Will VR be the technology we use to escape a dystopian future, or can it be used to build a new better world? Can VR go mainstream in the current climate of strained trade relationships and cyber espionage, or will it go back into the bin for another twenty years? Scheduled for 12:30 pm in Salon C of the JW Marriott.
18. The War at Home: Trump and the Mainstream Media. From extremely combative language to an affinity for alternative facts, the new administration seems committed to a long and protracted war with the press. Given this state of aggression, how should journalists re-approach and redefine their craft to give the public the information that it needs over the next four years? This all-star session includes Matthew Dowd, Dan Rather, Brian Stelter and Katy Tur (pictured above). Scheduled for 2:00 pm in Salon AB at the JW Marriott.
19. With Extreme Bias: Consuming Media in the Trump Era. The tectonic plates are shifting beneath the media landscape. NextDraft’s Dave Pell tracks more than 75 (real) news sites day and will talk about the state of news — including what we consume, what we share, and how the rules of the game are being rewritten during the Trump era. Welcome to the intersection of realtime news and our real lives. Scheduled for 11:00 am in Salon AB at the JW Marriott.
20. A Woman’s Take: Moving from Music to Tech Startup. This panel looks at the paths of women who left their corporate jobs in music and entertainment to pursue higher stakes and greater opportunity at tech start ups. What’s it like to assimilate into start-up culture from corporate? What’s it like to heavily influence a new company’s culture? What do you take with you and leave behind? Scheduled for 12:30 pm in Salon A at the Downtown Austin Hilton.

Want to be informed and inspired by all this Thursday, March 16 programming? Then click here to purchase your SXSW 2017 badge.

Hugh Forrest tries to write four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts generally cover technology-related trends. When not attempting to wordsmith or meditating, he serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW in Austin.