First symptoms that you’re already a little weird

When you confirm your trip to SXSW immediately you start having strange reactions. It’s like the “Keep Austin Weird” ethic takes hold even before you get there. It’s critical to keep track of these episodes so you can reinsert yourself into society upon your return without major complications. Afterall, your agency (thanks Talquimy) thoughtfully chose you as the special envoy to this jamboree and, at a minimum, you had better come back with a shift in paradigm, whether its viable or not.

After going through FOMO (fear of missing out), which you discover, as you start to experience the agenda, another thing that starts happening is that you start speaking in the form of bullets. It seems that in the middle of so much information, your thought process begins organizing itself by topic, prioritizing items, like a survival mechanism.

It’s been a few days before the event, and I’m pretty taken by the vibe at this point, so here are 3 things I’ll highlight for my first experience in Texan territory:

1. Creativity, artificial intelligence and data science are intertwined. They appear to be constantly tied to each other throughout the course of the program. Discussions about data-driven narratives, design in the times of AI, and the programmer, as the creative leader, are just a few examples. I’m interested in all of the content that inspires the exchange between the left and right sides of the brain.
2. The novelties about platforms, algorithms, and formats are non-stop. To that end, there’s so much I want to see. The panel about the folks from Tacent is one of them. As the parent of Chinese phenomenon Wechat, the company will talk about reconstructing society through technology. Hard to miss (depending on the line) will be Facebook talking about Fake News, or Youtube and Netflix on revolutionizing video and streaming. And what about VR? We’ll talk about that later.
3. Blockchain is life. SXSW shows how this guy is way beyond crypto-currency, with applications in areas like healthcare, logistics, governance, entertainment and civil rights. An agenda replete with this topic appears to be a sign that the Blockchain mindset is stronger than the technology itself. I’d like to follow the conversation through Singularity’s participation.

In summary, as the event draws closer, the weirdness continues getting stronger. I’ve already relegated myself to the fact that I simply won’t cover my whole plan (drawn on the wall, just like in Stranger Things), and that things will change at the last second. A chat with someone in line will likely catch me up on a missed presentation and everything will be even more incredible on a brisket diet, along with tacos and other local delicacies.