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A ReadWriteWeb Guide Social media? Oh, please. Some of these sessions are so 2009. How can you have any fun at SXSW this year if you can’t see any real innovation. If space shuttles, cyborgs and technological singularity are what make you bleep and bloop, you’re going to love these ten events at SXSW Interactive 2010. At the very least you’ll get to share beer with a few cool hardware hackers, learn more about lunar exploration or get involved with a crowdsourced science project. Sponsor This is part of a series of ReadWriteWeb guides to SXSW Interactive 2010. If this guide isn’t your cup of tea, be sure to check back for more information soon! Dorkbot “Think of it as a science fair with free beer. Ample doses of electricity, tomfoolery, mayhem, makers and music combine to form one exquisite geek talent show. Sponsored by SXSW Interactive, the International Game Developer’s Association of Austin, Mr. Data, Ricochet Labs and the Digital Media Council. ” A Touchy History of the Future “We pinch it, tap it, shake it and poke it. We’re so enthralled with finally getting to touch our products. But there’s so much more to direct manipulation than just tapping it with our fingers! Let’s explore some progressive interaction models that go beyond touch and into movement, infrared, wearable computing, sound and ambient data to really give us an idea of what our immersive interactive future may hold and how we might curate that future now.” And this wasn’t the only session we found exploring futuristic interfaces! Check out Beyond Scifi: Design For Surfaces and Big Screens , No Touching! Truly Invisible Interfaces and That Game Feels Nice: Tomorrow’s Touch Interfaces , too. How SciFi Shapes the Internet First things first, we look back in the past to see how our forward-thinking forbears imagined the future. “What if Rod Serling had a blog? Would Alfred Hitchcock Tweet? These great producers and directors brought suspense and irony to the popular medium of the time; television. How did their work shape the minds of the young people of the time who would grow up to create ‘our’ Internet?” Is the Brain the Ultimate Computer Interface? “Will we be able to jack into the brain and upload helicopter instructions, like in The Matrix? We already have the technology to control a prosthetic arm or Twitter with thoughts alone. Dishes of neurons can control a robot. And scientists have created a working artificial memory chip in rats.” Moon 2.0: The Outer Limits of Lunar Exploration “Space sector representatives will discuss how the use of web and mobile technologies create opportunities for participation in future exploration of the Moon. The panel focuses on how X PRIZE, NASA, commercial space companies, and others generate greater interaction and interest in Moon missions using collaborative platforms and social media.” Doing it Wrong: Recently Possible Technology “Like ninjas battling on stage, Bre Pettis and Tal Chalzin will volley projects demonstrations back and forth. From guitar player robots to machines that vomit plastic skulls, the presentation will include a mix of projects they’ve worked on and that have been worked on at the GarageGeeks, NYCResistor and beyond. This presentation will both thrill and repulse you with the possibilities that have recently emerged in the DIY hacker technology space.” Museum of Digital Art Showcase “The Austin Museum of Digital Art presents a party featuring live electronic music and visual art. Expect video projections, interactive installations, and a Laptop Battle with musicians competing to outperform one another in a series of elimination rounds. Free for SXSW Interactive badgeholders.” Here Are Lions: The Cartography of the Future “A new breed of maps is revealing breakthroughs in our understanding of biology, neuroscience, ecology and the physical world. We can now map not just physical geographies, but also genomes, neural pathways, emotions, social networks and ideas. These new maps reveal how society will change over the next twenty years.” Open Science: Create, Collaborate, Communicate “From discovering galaxies to folding proteins: how to actively contribute to science. Science projects are harnessing open collaboration to further discovery and exploration. As a result, citizen science is witnessing a renaissance. The panel will discuss how you can get involved and challenges faced in making science open.” With Spacehack ‘s Ariel Waldman. Zero Waste: The Future of Green “Innovation, global warming, and green technology are all pushing in the same direction: zero waste. This concept is in practice in several cities (including Austin) and will soon be in yours. Learn about the current, future, and upcoming needs of this movement and how technology is playing a vital role.” Those are our SXSW Interaction recommendations for futurists of all stripes. If you’ve got suggestions or feedback, let us know in the comments! See you in Austin, folks! Discuss
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SXSW 2010 for Futurists
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To all those companies and developers focused exclusively on iPhone apps: Watch your back. The Android platform is catching up, and none too slowly. As Android’s growth continues to explode since the release of the Droid, only the most foolish of app shops are not planning to expand beyond Apple’s walled garden. One developer, in fact, wrote that his app, which was showing modest, double-digit daily sales late last year, now reports that his app is making $13,000 a month. When that kind of opportunity exists for a single app, why would developers put all their eggs in one basket, a.k.a. the “Jesus phone”? Sponsor A few weeks ago, we told you, “As of December 2009 4 percent of all smartphone owners now use a phone running some version of the Android OS. That’s an increase of 200 percent since the previous survey released in September. “Respondents were also asked about their plans to purchase a smartphone in the future. Among those who planned to purchase within the next 90 days, 21 percent said they would now choose Android.” It’s this growth that helped fuel the success of Eddie Kim’s app, Car Locator. In a blog post today, the developer revealed that his Android app “started as a little side-project while I was vacationing with my family, turned into a few extra bucks for lunch money every day has continued its upward trend and is now beyond my wildest fantasy of what could have been possible. ” Car Locator is a pretty simple application: Users save their location when they park their cars, and the app navigates them back to their cars later. The app was available in free and paid versions with varying feature sets. The paid version originally sold for $1.99, and the price was later increased to $3.99. Kim has done no marketing for the app, but it did win third place in Google’s Android Developer Challenge 2 . When Motorola’s Droid was released, Kim saw his first major spike in sales: “In the first 2 months, the app saw sales of about $5-6/day. Nothing too fancy,” he wrote . “But starting November 7, there’s been a significant uptick in sales, peaking on November 9, where the app saw $44 in sales. Sales have since settled to about $20/day, but it’s probably too early to tell if this will hold.” Little did Kim realize that his sales had just begun. To date, the free app has been downloaded 70,000 times, with paid app sales at about 10 percent of that figure. “The application was netting an average of about $80-$100/day, until it became a featured app on the Marketplace. Since then, sales have been phenomenal, netting an average of $435/day, with a one day record of $772 on Valentine’s Day. Too bad I didn’t have a Valentine’s date this year – we would’ve gone somewhere real special!” (Catch that, ladies?) Kim also stands by the Android platform, saying, “Some may be quick to point out that a featured Android application is only able to net $400/day, while top iPhone apps make thousands However, I still think that Android is only a fraction of what it will eventually become . Each release of a new Android handset gets me excited, as it means a wider reach for the Marketplace.” Folks, if you’ve been longing for a much-hyped app to make its way to the Android Market, forward this article to the developers and marketers in charge. There’s money to be made there, and the userbase is only getting bigger. Discuss
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Watch Out, iPhone Devs: One-Man Android App Nets $13K Monthly
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In the West, the concept of the ‘read/write Web’ is a relatively easy one to get behind. Everybody can contribute content to the Web (‘write’), as well as read it – it’s a very democratic notion and a big reason why I named this blog ReadWriteWeb back in 2003. However in countries where democracy doesn’t prevail, the read/write Web is often subject to censorship rules. In fact, ReadWriteWeb China was taken off the Web – as one part of the closure of community translation service Yeeyan – for about a month starting early December 2009. In preparation for an upcoming event in New York City with Chinese digital activist and artist Ai Weiwei – in which I’m a participant, along with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey – we look into the censorship issues and closure risks facing Web publishers in China. Sponsor The Global Times recently published a special report about censorship in China . It is an illuminating analysis of a number of publishers who have been censored or who self-censor themselves in order to survive. Join us for live streaming from the Paley Center in New York City , on March 15, for a conversation between Chinese digital activist Ai Weiwei, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and RWW founder Richard MacManus. The topic of the event is the emergence of digital activism for fostering positive social change. According to Wikipedia , Internet censorship in China is “conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations.” In particular China looks to censor political or social content. In mid-2009 a number of prominent Western social networking sites were blocked in China, including Facebook and Twitter . Western media speculated that the bans were put in place to prevent activists from using social networks to organize themselves – which happened in Iran in June of 2009, when Iranian election protesters used Twitter to call attention to their cause. Self-censorship Inside China, self-censorship is practiced by many web publishers in order to prevent trouble. “Self-censorship is the rule of survival that prevents popular websites from being shut down,” said veteran web developer Zoe Wang in The Global Times. However, self-censorship is difficult to do in practice – because it’s not regulated by a single authority and so there are a lack of clear rules on what to censor. Web publishers in China are never sure what could get their site shut down. On sites driven by user-generated content, publishers routinely censor political content. But while this may appease the government, it risks upsetting the core users. The Global Times article outlines what’s happening on Douban , a popular social network in China with 33 million registered users. Censorship has recently tightened on Douban content, including photos, poetry and book reviews. Site Closures, Including RWW China The Golbal Times points to three recent examples of sites closed down by authorities: Fanfou, Yeeyan and Blogbus. The latter two were recovered in January. These site closures directly affected our own company, as Yeeyan is our syndication partner for ReadWriteWeb China. Yeeyan is a community translation website (our initial review 3 years ago ), which publishes some well-known Western news sites such as Guardian, The Guardian, Time Magazine, the New York Times and of course ReadWriteWeb. In early December, Yeeyan was forced to shut down its site – including ReadWriteWeb China. At the time of the closure, the following message was posted to the Yeeyan homepage by the Yeeyan team: “Due to our errors in handling some of the articles on the website, we went against the relevant regulations; therefore Yeeyan has to temporarily shut off its server, and adjust the relevant content.” Ethan Zuckerman from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School concluded that “at least one of the authorities that control the Chinese internet – which include the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology – found the prospect of frequent, high-quality translation of US and European media [from Yeeyan] threatening.” Yeeyan was back on the air in January (using .org instead of .com) and I’m certainly very pleased to see that ReadWriteWeb China is back as a result. Free the read/write Web! There’s no shortage of rhetoric from the West about why China should cease censorship of the Web. Indeed Google made a brave move earlier this year by threatening to pull out of China if its continued to be pressured into censoring its search results. While there has been no resolution in the Google-China case as yet, at least the issue is being highlighted and challenged by companies of Google’s stature in 2010. We hope that ReadWriteWeb’s participation in the March 15 event at the Paley Center in New York City, where I will be discussing these and other issues alongside prominent Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, helps encourage China to set the read/write Web free. Bookmark our special Weiwei webpage to track the latest buzz about the March 15 event and view a video about Ai Weiwei’s art and digital activism. Discuss
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Censorship in China: How ReadWriteWeb China Was Closed Down For a Month
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government,
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time,
Wikipedia,
Yeeyan
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The first peek at Apple’s new data center stoked much of the interest in our poll last week. We asked: “Why is Apple building a massive, $1 billion data center?” A total of 1,456 people responded. This week is the RSA Conference , the largest security conference in the world. A major topic for discussion will focus on cloud computing security. Sponsor In anticipation of RSA, the Cloud Security Alliance has listed the top security threats to cloud computing. What do you think? Take Our Poll surveys class=”alignright” Last Week’s Poll: Why Is Apple Building a Massive, $1 Billion Data Center Last week’s poll reflected the deep interest people have in Apple’s data center. Of the 1,456 people who responded, 53 percent of respondents agreed that there are several reasons for Apple’s massive data center. Top reason: To give Apple the ability to deliver its own content, followed by the belief that Apple will make iTunes an online application. In our post, several people commented with their own speculations: Tim Jones: “Why is Apple building a massive, $1 billion data center? Because it’s playing catch-up to Google, Amazon, etc. No way anyone would trust Steve Jobs to store their stuff with him when he’d likely wake-up one day and decide to erase all the words that begin with the letter H in the data center, because he felt he didn’t like words that begin with the letter H that day.” Discuss
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Weekly Poll: What is the Top Threat to Cloud Computing?
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A ReadWriteWeb Guide So, you’ve booked your passage, you’ve made sleeping arrangements, you’ve got your Interactive Badge all lined up and you just can’t wait for the second week of March to roll around. You’re a first-time SXSW attendee! We know the feeling: The manic excitement, the trepidation, the wondering which essential knickknack you’ll forget to pack. We were once South By Newbies, too. Here’s our list of ten sessions, events and venues you absolutely must hit up on your first foray into South by Southwest Interactive. Sponsor This is part of a series of ReadWriteWeb guides to SXSW Interactive 2010. If this guide isn’t your cup of tea, be sure to check back for more information soon! How to Not Be a Douchebag at SXSW “Aimed at both first-time and long-time attendees to SXSW Interactive, this biting and humorous yet useful panel takes a look at the common actions and behaviors to avoid if you don’t want to be described as ‘doing it wrong.’” This conversation features Ed Hunsinger and Violet Blue (a fan favorite at RWW). TechKaraoke If music is your bag, head to this second-generation event at Six Lounge for more than five hours of karaoke with a live band. There will also be dancing with DJ Johnny Bravvo in the Tap Room next door and the mellow tunes of The James Moran Band on the upstairs patio. ReadWriteWeb’s Party Of course, we’d love it if you stopped by our party on Sunday night! We’re cohosting with NPR, PBS and a few others at KLRU’s Legendary Austin City Limits Studio. We’ll have live bands, Tex-Mex nosh, margaritas – the quintessential Austin experience. Free shuttles will be available at the Hilton. SXSW SARS Avoid it like the plague! (Sorry, we saw the pun, and we went for it.) “Each year at SXSW, you hear about ‘SXSW SARS’ or ‘SXSW Scurvy.’ Days packed with panels, movies and concerts are exhausting and wear down your immune system. Learn some ways in which you can prepare for and perhaps avoid getting sick at SXSW.” With Jay Goldman. Salt Lick Bar-B-Que Located about 22 miles outside of Austin, this famous and much-loved restaurant is a favorite of many longtime SXSW attendees – and it’s well worth the drive. We suggest organizing a caravan or hitching a ride with a group that plans to go. It’s also great for those who’d like an hour or two away from the madness in the city. One word of warning: Don’t go on a completely empty stomach. The wait for a table can be a bit long, especially when you’re starving from a day of running around the convention center. How to Rawk SXSW “Panels or parties? Sleep or sessions? Veteran SXSW speakers and attendees give their light-hearted insights and tips on making the most of your next few days in geek wonderland.” With Min Jung Kim, Ben Huh, Denise Jacobs and Jeremy Keith. The Driskill If you’re the kind of fellow or lady who shuns the big-brand-sponsored, jam-packed, fanboy-fueled blowouts such as take place each spring in Austin, perhaps this hotel lounge will be more to your liking. Often a favored location for impromptu meetups, the Driskill features comfortable seating, agreeable lighting and a more grownup atmosphere for those who take exception to dirt floors and plastic cups. SXSW Web Awards “The Web Awards Ceremony is the centerpiece of evening activities at the SXSW Interactive Festival and an event not to be missed. Hosted by Doug Benson with special surprises in store for the big ‘lucky 13′!” Keynote Interview with Ev Williams Three years after his web app hit it big at SXSW 2007, Twitter co-founder Ev Williams takes the main stage to be interviewed by Havas Media Lab director Umair Haque in front of a live audience . All we have to say is that you’d better get there early if you don’t want to get stuck watching a simulcast in an adjacent room! SXSW Music Yes, you read that right: We’re calling the Music portion of SXSW a must-do for any attendee of SXSW Interactive. Here’s why. Each year, a few Music folks come to Austin early, and a few Interactive folks stay late – but those folks are few, indeed. There’s a wonderful opportunity here for our very different crowds to mingle, to make the Web better for musicians and make the experience of music better for online and mobile platforms, and it all begins with conversations. Also, even two days of SXSW Music will provide you with enough shows, parties and coincidental meetups to leave you seeing the world through rose-colored glasses for months afterward. So book another day at your hotel and scalp a wristband – you’ll never regret it. Those are our SXSW Interaction recommendations for noobs of all stripes. If you’ve got suggestions or feedback, let us know in the comments! See you in Austin, folks! Discuss
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SXSW 2010 for Noobs
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