I’m going to need a time machine to somehow be at all the panels I want to see! By the time I finished my schedule, I had so many overlapping events, that I know I’m going to have to make some tough choices. In the end, its a good problem to have, since there seems to be an overabundance of cool events that appeal to my many interests.

I think it was neat to see some of the panels I picked last fall during the Panel Picker voting period make it through to the Interactive Schedule (Here are my original picks ). I voted for over 20 panels, of which, a handful will be presented:

• Data Visualization for Social Change: I’m SO going to this one. As I learned last summer (and continue to observe in daily life), data is the future of journalism. With the public expects data from their news sources, you bet your boots they’re gonna want it from their charities. Nonprofit organizations MUST learn that data collection and transformation is empowering, can help them share their message, and engage their constituencies.

• Boost Fundraising & Engagement w/ “Gamification”: This should be an interesting presentation. I personally am slow to catch on to the “gaming for good” train. I see how it can be used for certain issues but for complex issues (like human trafficking: http://www.malibutimes.com/articles/2012/01/04/malibu_life/art2.txt), the results can be cringe-inducing. I want to be open minded, and what better way than learning more about the possibilities. Also, the presenter for this is from Blackbaud, the company that just ate up my beloved Convio. Since I’m nosy, I might stalk him just to get more info about the status of the Austin office.

• How to Raise Awareness through Blogger Outreach: For nonprofit organizations, word of mouth is king. Bloggers with strong followings = word of mouth on steroids. Even small organizations with modest PR budgets can reach out to bloggers to help spread their message. I think this one will be the most practical for my organization.

• Mother Goose Got Punked: Next Gen Visual Stories: This panel is guaranteed to be amazing. Not only do the speakers  include Kivi Millerand Aaron Bramley of Lights Camera Help but they’re addressing an often forgotten issue in nonprofit communications. Many nonprofits get so hung up on mail-outs, donor reports, brochures, etc, that they don’t leverage the power of visual communication. A single video can have the power of hundreds of donor appeals. The other thing about this panel is that everyone of these communicators is someone I personally aspire to be, so I hope I snag them after the presentation.

• How To Not Die: Using Tech In A Dictatorship : Funny title, not so funny issue. A year ago (actually this week is the Egyptian Revolution’s anniversary), using Facebook seemed like a weird reason to die. Today, with the power of social media proven to be an effective tool of the revolution, this is a timely discussion. Actual activists (on the ground types) will lead the discussion, so this one can’t be missed.

More of my original picks:

• No brochures: digital storytelling for nonprofits

• Social Change, Social Media & Social Filmmaking

• Big Social Media Results at Small Organizations:

• Do People Really Want Participatory Government?

• Design for Social Innovation and Public Good

For new picks, I’ve divided them into a few categories (full schedule here )

MUST SEE:

SXSWedu Keynote with LEVAR BURTON!

Driving the Change: Public Media Goes Transmedia with Jad Abumrad from Radio Lab!!!

Race/Gender/Class:

• CNN’s Black in America / Silicon Valley: Aftermath

• The Bombastic Brilliance of “Black Twitter”: This one looks interesting from both a consumer behavior angle and a racial perspective.

• Popping Your Bubble: Stories of the Digital Divide

• Social Media Sharecropping: Black Tech Adoption: This is another controversial one that looks interesting. The conversation is based on the fact that Black/African-American and Latinos lead in adoption of technologies (esp. among young people) but are left out of capitalizing on technology. So, many young minorities are using tech but not making money off tech. I’m looking forward to this one.

• Mining Diversity: Developing a Community of Color

• Multi y Mono: A Cultural Advertising Battle: THIS SPEAKER is amazing! He’s the author of the “Tanning of America,” talking about how American culture is shifting and what it means for different demographics. Also, he’s friends with Jay-Z. Super cool.

• Designing Experiences for Women

• Tech Superwomen: Mentors and Mentees, FTW

• Women Drive Change: Tech in the Global South

• Africa, Tech & Women: The New Faces of Development

• Have Latin American Media Become Social?

• Multiplatform Storytelling: Frontline War Stories

• The Hispanic Persona Project

• How Women Present Themselves in the Digital Age

• ?uestlove: Social Media for Minority Mindshare

• Binary Bitches: Keeping Open Source Open to Women

Health and Seniors

• How the iPad Can Save Accessibility

• Transforming Social Media for the Senior Community

• Mobility Aids, and Their Future in Healthcare: I really want to go to this one! My nonprofit works with mobility issues, so I’m sure to take something back to the office from this one.

• Let Patients Help: Why Healthcare Must Wake Up

• The Future of Digital Health

• Crowdsourcing a Revolution: Can We Fix Healthcare?

Make me AWESOME: Cool self-improvement tools

• Get Smart! Hack Your Brain for Peak Performance

• Raise Your Profile Using SXSW

• The Secret Lives of the Brain

• Digital Leaders Are Made, Not Born. But How!?

Public and Nonprofit

• Can Growing a Moustache Change the World?

• Everyone Is Gay: Social Media As Social Action

• Build. Community Is Easy, Saving the World Is Hard

• Big Ol’ Babies: Why Baby Boomers=Public Media FAIL

• Philanthropy for Everyone: Community Grantmaking

• Positively Inspired Change Campaigns: I’m looking forward to this event featuring the staff of The Lance Armstrong Foundation. They are on the cutting edge of everything and I hope to learn something amazing from them.

• Social Apps and Charitable Giving

• Philanthropy Is Not the Future of Journalism

• SXSW Action: Collectively Outsmarting Malaria

• Adapting New Technologies for Humanitarian Aid

• Turning Slacktivism into Online Activism

• 21st Century Giving: Social Philanthropy’s Rise

• Stand with Planned Parenthood: A Crisis Response

• Social Media Cures Cancer and Speaks for Survivor

• Data Visualization and the Future of Research

• Crowdsourcing Cancer Support: A Love Story

Cool People

• Software Alchemy and the Arc of Technology: Scobelizer in person!

• Fireside Chat with Bob Metcalfe: Another opportunity to meet up with Bob Metcalf. Why not?

• Crowd Sourcing Community Projects Like Tom Sawyer

• Everything Is a Remix, so Steal Like an Artist

• Catch Me If You Can: Frank Abagnale 10 Years Later

Politics

• 2012: Social Media’s New Role in Politics

• Surviving Lulz: Behind the Scenes of LulzSec: I secretly want to be a Lulzsec or Anonymous hacker. Knowing more about them will only fuel me desire to join them.

• What the London Riots Taught Us About Social Media: London riots became the new social media horror story with crimes and vandalism committed en masse last summer. Looking forward to some reflections on the event.
• Civic Media Projects in Latin America

• Democracy 2.0 in the German Parliament
• How Social Media Imperils Political PartiesYour iPhone Is Political: Mobile Democracy

• Can Bloggers Put Hope Back into the 2012 Election?

• New Media Strategies & Insights for Election 2012

• Hacking the Citizen Experience

• Austin 2032: Shaping Future Cities with Mobile Data

• Tweeting Osama’s Death: From Citizen to Journalist