Tom Markiewicz

I was hoping to get more out of this panel, especially from the speakers assembled, but they specifically included time (half of that allotted) for audience show and tell. This was ok, but not exactly what I was expecting.

Direct from industry leaders to your ears, the newest ideas and developments in the world of Really Simple Syndication (RSS).

The panelists were Adina Levin (VP Prod, Socialtext), Scott Johnson (founder, Feedster),
Christopher Frye (VP Engineering, FeedBurner), and Robyn DeuPree (Sr Prod Mgr, Bloglines).
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Popularity: 7% [?]

I missed this panel at SXSW, but was interested in learning more about microformats.

Designed for humans first and machines second, microformats are a set of simple, open data formats built upon existing and widely adopted standards. Instead of throwing away what works today, microformats intend to solve simpler problems first by adapting to current behaviors and usage patterns (e.g. XHTML, blogging).

I found Tantek Çelik’s (Chief Technologist, Technorati) slides from SXSW entitled Microformats: Evolving the Web and I highly recommend skimming through them.

Popularity: 2% [?]

The bootstrapping panel was moderated by Bijoy Goswami, founder of Bootstrap Austin, CEO of Aviri, and author of The Human Fabric. The official SXSW description of this panel was:

Bootstrap your venture with little to no startup capital like Michael Dell! Learn the rules of bootstrapping from successful bootstrappers in publishing, software and art.

One of the more interesting concepts put forth by Bijoy was the three stages of a bootstrapped company: ideation, valley of death, and growth. Ideation and growth are pretty self-explanatory, but the valley of death concept was intriguing. The valley of death is the stage where you really start building the business - no more thinking. This is the action stage where the critical decisions must be made for the bootstrapped company. Even after the business is up and running, Bijoy states that it is possible for the company to enter the valley of death again due to circumstances. These inflection points could be whether to take on external financing, to develop a new product, or enter new markets.
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Popularity: 2% [?]

The panel, building a start-up technology company, was actually a presentation by Dirk Knemeyer (Principal, Involution Studios LLC). Dirk’s session was a great summary of the nuts and bolts of building a technology business from scratch. Here are the notes:
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Popularity: 2% [?]

The trade show at SXSW was a mixed bag for me. Companies with film related services filled the majority of the spots, but there were some interesting companies I spoke with more inclined to my interests and business. The highlights were Stickam (multimedia communication tool for blogs and other web sites), eyespot (edit and combine your videos online), m-Qube (mobile content) and Triple Dog Dare Media (content management, PHP and XML development). Other related booths at the trade show included Creative Commons, EFF, and Ektron.

Popularity: 3% [?]

The panel had a nice balance of entrepreneurs who have taken funding, angels, and VCs. The panel’s official description was the following:

In order to successfully secure funding, entrepreneurs need to be prepared to answer tough questions from potential investors. What types of things do investors look for when making funding decisions? What is the best way to approach investors? Which investors are the right ones to approach? What are potential warning signs to investors and how can weaknesses in the business plan or model be mitigated? This panel of successful entrepreneurs, angels, and venture capitalists gives practical tips to entrepreneurs in search for funding for their ideas.

I didn’t hear a whole lot of new ideas in this panel. It was interesting, but mainly a re-hash of the same themes I’ve heard from the money people. Here are the notes:
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Popularity: 6% [?]

Designing the next generation of web apps was an attractive panel again for the individual panelists. They included Mena Trott (co-founder and president of Six Apart), George Oates (founding member of the team that built Flickr), Evan Williams (CEO of Odeo), Jeffrey Veen (lead developer of Measure Map), and Eric Rodenbeck (director of Stamen Design). SXSW described the panel as:
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Popularity: 2% [?]

The podcasts from some of the panels and keynotes of SXSW are here. Video coverage of SXSW can be found here.

Popularity: 6% [?]

The building buzz panel covered ideas and techniques for increasing the buzz for web projects without spending money on advertising. Here are the notes:

- on creating a brand

• make yourself part of the brand; make yourself, employees, and fans famous
• need a face or a central figure to the venture
• myspace is important tool – regardless of opinion of it, you have to be on there (Joanna Angel)

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Popularity: 5% [?]

This session discussed The Cluetrain Manifesto and what has happened in the 7 years since it was published. Doc Searls, one of the original authors, highlighted the panel. Here are the notes:
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Popularity: 3% [?]