SXSW 2011 – South Florida Speakers

So voting is upon us once again to pick our favorite panel ideas and wage the annual popularity contest for people to get some stage time at SXSW. That being said, I always like to support the South Florida community whenever I can, so here are the panel ideas I saw from members of the community that responded to my tweet. If you’re from South Florida(Palm Beach, Broward, Dade, and Monroe counties) and have a panel, please post a comment with the link.

So without further ado:

Essential WordPress Search Metrics
Brian Breslin, Infinimedia (ME!) & John Carcutt, MediaWhiz
We’ll be exploring what types of things you need to know to get a leg up on your competitors. This panel will be covering: – secret tips for optimizing your blog – what the industry leaders know – quick tips to improve your blog’s conversions – how these special metrics can affect your blog’s growth

• Why is my blog not ranking well in google?
• Why is someone else’s blog beating me?
• How do I fine tune my blog?
• What data am I not looking at on my blog?
• What metrics really matter?

Conversion Rate Optimization for Web Page Designers
Alex Harris, AlexDesigns.com
Designing a successful website for online business takes more than just great creative work. Conversion rate optimization is a key strategy for improving sales, lead generation and capitalizing on paid advertising and marketing campaigns. Here you will takeaway the best practices that I have learned from A/B & Multivariate testing to maximize conversion rates and increase ROI. Examples include using conversion funnels and targeted landing pages.

Alex also setup a great intro on how to get started with voting.

Ubiquity’s Era: Your Application, Everywhere
Davide Di Cillo, 39 Inc.
Until recently, user interface and user experience designers only had to deal with similar screen sizes (remember when we were designing all sites for 800 x 600?) and about 2 or 3 main browsers. But nowadays, when designing a website or application, we need to take into consideration that users could be accessing them from different devices and platforms, with different screen sizes (an iPhone with a 3.5″ or a 30″ display), with different input systems (from touch to mouse oriented), and different platforms (for example, Android users aren’t familiar with the same elements that iPhone users are). In this presentation we will analyze these problems, with the help of case histories and examples. I will also showcase possible solutions, such as fluid responsive design or serving different templates, and what possible scenarios we are most likely see in the future.

How to be a Liger of Development
James Hall
In today’s industry, its essential to know more than one programming language in order to maximize your worth in your workplace. This panel will discuss the pitfalls and perils of being this type of multi-language programmer, and what to expect when becoming a liger of development

Your Online Reputation
Craig Agranoff, Do It Yourself Online Reputation Mangement
Back in the day the Romans had to only be concerned with the people living in their cities, warriors with their honor in the Kingdom. George Washington only had to worry about his reputation within the original colonies. During previous decades, your standing was dependent on the community you belonged to and the industry you worked in. Now your standing in the community has totally changed. Your entire reputation can vaporize while you are sleeping. An entire industry can be ruined overnight. What is important now is that your personal brand be known to all and not only to the people in your city, state, or country. To be reactive with your reputation online means it is too late. You must be proactive and protect your name before anyone slanders it. Has anyone ever posted something nasty about you on the Internet? Finding work, romance and friends can become a disaster if you are smeared online. If you know how to type in a web address, you can learn how to claim, repair, and monitor your online reputation. There is no software to buy, or computer languages to learn. This presentation teaches you how to get bad stuff about you off Google — and good stuff on, putting your online reputation in your hands.

Ten Sexy Skills for Project Success
Denise Jacobs, PapillonEffect Consulting
What if you knew your project would be a success from the very beginning? What if we could do away with dreading the inevitable scope creep, budget blow-out and overrun schedule, what if every team member could take control of the project outcome and make it a win? Join us for a fun, interactive session to learn solid communication skills, great project management tools, and how to cultivate an effective and enjoyable team culture. Leave the session with a fresh approach to looking at tech and new media projects and ways to apply new management skills to your personal workflow.

What Now Flash?
Joshua Guffey
Now that the iPad and iPhone are widely accepted as the future, Where does Flash stand? Can we still build our sites in all flash (hint: yes)? And how do we deal with those challenges like non-flash and mobile versions?

Unbreak My Heart: Someone Fix the Mobile Web!
Matias Penela, AgencyNet
The complexity of thousands of unique hardware and OS combinations means that developers have to take hardware limitations like screen size into consideration, as well as software limitations such as obscure or dated browsers. This means that right now somewhere, someone, is looking at a newly published, “mobile-optimized” site for a forward-thinking company and can’t figure out why the webpage looks like a high school student project.

Agile for Agencies
Melissa Ainslie, AgencyNet
In the Rugby world, scrum means that the whole team works together to push the ball toward the goal. In the software development world, it refers to an iterative framework for developing projects or features as one cohesive unit. How can we apply the efficiencies of agile development to a client-driven world?

Everyone’s in the Service Business
Betsy DiCarlo, AgencyNet
With the evolution from a production-based to consumption-lead economy, a surprising fact emerges: brands too are in the service business. It’s no longer sufficient to produce a product and expect it to fly off the shelves. Consumers are educated, vocal, and have the expectation to have a voice in the brands they buy. The digital ecosystem has empowered this shift, and companies have to be structured to account for the behavior.

Why Brainstorming Sucks & What to do About It.
Larissa Meek, AgencyNet
This session focuses on taking a step back and looking at the big picture. Get ready to explore methods that spark ideas before you start pushing pixels or crafting code. This hands-on session is perfect for designers and coders alike because ideas can come from anywhere and anyone. Roll-up-your sleeves get ready to walk away with a few tools to help spark some innovative ideas and give your projects new meaning. After all, Creativity is a choice.

Your Banners Are Bogus
Alex Morrison, AgencyNet
How effective is digital advertising these days? Pre-rolls have transformed much of current online inventory into a familiar facsimile of television advertising. But banner advertising has become that annoyance that people don’t pay attention to anymore – how can we create a more meaningful advertising relationship with digital consumers?

Now Form the Head! Voltron and Digital Space
Brian Chiger, AgencyNet
Voltron is the 80’s original battle robot. Comprised of five separate (and fully capable) Battle Cats, it is only when they are combined that the true power of Voltron is released (along with his nearly unbeatable “blazing sword”). With the advent of the integrated web and the multiscreen consumer, brand presences must operate in a similar way, individually capable yet more powerful as a combined whole. How should brands integrate their digital platforms (web, social mobile) to maximize success? How should analog touchpoints be woven into the mix?

Why Can’t More Advertisers Design Relevant Mobile Experiences?
Richard Lent, AgencyNet
Mobile is the most self aware computing platform to date. It’s location aware, time aware, context aware… so why is the state of mobile advertising and app-vertising so random? Digital marketers need to take a page from the CPG industry and develop with a purpose and usage occasion in mind — such a solution would be more valuable to both consumers AND advertisers.