Translated from 日本語 • View original Hello, this is Aimi Nakajima, who is in charge of marketing at ISAO.
We were in Austin, Texas, USA this week.
The purpose is SXSW (South by Southwest)!
This time, three people, Keisuke, Toshiki, and Aimi, went to SXSW, which was the first time for ISAO.
What is SXSW (South by Southwest)?
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the world's largest conference.
Originally started as a music festival, it is now known not only as a music and film festival, but also as a gateway to trade fairs and startups in the IT industry.
In Japan, it is still well-known, but I think it has a high affinity for companies that will participate in CES (Consumer Electronics Show) to be held in Las Vegas in January.
A festival, trade fair and conference for industry professionals and creators. It started with music in 1987 and has changed to its current form by incorporating the Internet and digital community ahead of the world in '94, but its core = CORE is always to serve as a platform for creators and innovators to gather from all over the world to expand their careers, learn from each other, and share ideas. The scale has expanded year by year, and today it has grown into one of the world's largest business festivals, with a total of 100,000 people and an economic impact of about 38 billion yen in 10 days.
Citation source: http://sxsw.jp/about-sxsw/
This year's event will be held from March 11th (Friday) to 20th (Sunday). The 10 days are divided into three sections:
- Interactive - Music - Film
We participated in the IT/Tech Interactive.
When I was still a startup, Twitter and Foursquare became famous.
In addition to being able to see the services that will become popular in the future, it is also attractive to be able to participate in lectures by world celebrities that you do not usually meet.
SXSW 2016, the highlight?
One week before departure, I received surprising news from the official newsletter.
President Obama took the stage in the keynote (keynote speech) on the first day!
It was in the middle of the primary election for the US presidential election. Seeing the incumbent president is probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
SXSW basically cannot be reserved except for workshops, and popular lectures have to be lined up on the day, but as expected, President Obama was flooded with people, so it was a lottery system.
Unfortunately, it was not included in the lottery, and it was public viewing on the screen.
By the way, Mrs. Michelle was also on stage on another day.
It was the day of my return home, so unfortunately I couldn't see it either.
SXSW Programs
Interactive is primarily composed like this.
- Session
- Pitch Events
- Meet Ups
- Workshops
- Keynotes
- Tradeshow
- Lounge
- Party
Session
Even in the session, it is divided by the number of people who will take the stage.
- Solos
- Duals
- Panels
I participated in all types, but Solos consists of presentation materials + oral explanations.
Duals and Panels are live talk and panel discussions with multiple people. Basically, there is no slide in the back, so I would only recommend it to those who are fluent in English.
I only enjoyed the atmosphere of Duals and Panels, so I left early.
I want to be able to understand! Good luck in English.
Pitch Events
"Pitch" is familiar in the startup world.
In a limited time of about 2 minutes, presentations and demonstrations of services and business models will be held.
SXSW is quite high-profile because the winner of the Pitch is awarded as an award.
The slides move at a good tempo, so you can fully understand English even if you are there.
Meet Ups
Meetups bring together and network with interested people around a certain theme.
Unlike Japan, Europe and the United States do not always exchange business cards even if you talk at a session or party, so if you want to make acquaintances, participate in a meetup.
I participated in one of the most unusual "YOGA Meetups".
Workshops
Workshops allow participants to bring their PCs and receive technical lectures, and participants have time to discuss with each other, so you can learn more practical things than the sessions.
Reservations are required for workshops on the official website in advance, but I didn't notice it until the last minute, and I was satisfied with just bookmarking.
There are many things I wanted to participate in but couldn't because they were full, so I'll write about how to make sure I make a reservation in a separate article.
Keynotes
As mentioned above, celebrities such as President Obama visit every day.
On another day, Star Wars director J.J. Abrams and Marie Claire chief editor Anne Fulenwider also appeared, and the venue was filled with a large line.
Tradeshow
We are doing demonstrations at many booths. There were many IoT-related issues.
It is like an exhibition of Tokyo Big Sight and Makuhari Messe.
We exhibit from student-led startups to famous places like NASA.
Lounge
In addition to the main venue, the convention center and hotel, a special outdoor venue will be set up where you can experience experiential attractions and the latest devices.
There were many well-known companies such as SONY, IBM, and Samsung.
Party
Parties hosted by each sponsor are held at various locations every day.
We have attended parties from Oracle, IEEE, Google Cloud Platform, SONY, etc.
A report on each program will be released at a later date.
Thank you for reading to the end!