sxsw interactive

Badge pickup started at 3:00 today. This was the line at 2:45.

Good thing everyone has games on their iPhones.

Nova Spivack is a name many people associate with the Semantic Web through his prolific blogging and speaking promoting the use of semantic technologies. He is also the founder of Radar Networks, the creators of Twine. Here, he shares his thoughts on the current state of the Semantic Web and what may be its future.

Jana Thompson: I want to begin with a very general question: how do you view the current state of semantic search? Do you think it has become usable enough for the average person, and if and when it does, do you think the impact will be enough to make semantic search the norm that Google is currently?

Flash has long since held a near-total domination of graphics-based online apps – however, with the advent of the iPhone and now with the anticipated release of the iPad, a major sector of mobile and possibly tablet market share cannot make use of the widespread Flash and Flash-based applications. Canvas is an HTML5 element allows for the dynamic painting of web-pages, and thus a way for developers to create visual elements for web-pages and apps independent of Flash. Is Canvas a viable alternative or even a threat to Flash's ubiquitous hold on the market? This is the question I wanted to discuss with Gregory Veen (@gregveen), of San Francisco's Small Batch Inc, who organized the Is Canvas the End of Flash? panel at SXSWi 2010.

Jana Thompson: Why did you want to do this panel at SXSWi?

Most people do not associate Africa with tech – but in the last ten years, Rwanda has struggled with developing a nascent IT industry and the advent of the mobile phone has begun to have a profound impact on day-to-day life in rural African villages. (see article in Business Week) After a discussion with a friend in San Francisco who works on txteagle, a project that allows for Kenyans to make money or cell-phone credit for work on their cell phones, I saw the Africa 3.0 panel on the table for SXSW and was interested, not only due to the conversation with my friend, but also from first-hand experience of life in Sierra Leone when I traveled there in 2008. LinearB and I contacted TMS Ruge, who agreed to be interviewed just in time for SXSWi this year. - Jana

Jana Thompson: This is drawn from your panel questions, but for the readers here at GeekAustin, what is Africa 3.0? How do you define it?

Mona Kasra is a media artist / educator / PhD student in Arts & Technology / New Media enthusiast concerned with issues around Gender & Identity. You can follow her on:
* twitter: @monaism
* 12seconds.tv: monaism
* Flickr: _monaism
* vimeo: monaism

Jana Thompson: On your website, you mention complexities and paradoxes when cultures meet -- what is an example of one of those in your own life?

Mona Kasra: I grew up in Iran and my childhood was intertwined with an Islamic revolution and a war. I relocated to the United State when I was in my early 20s and immediately encountered a culture shock. My art is about this encounter: an Iranian women living in the United States able to express her femininity and sexuality but inspired by questioning cultural and traditional assumptions that she grew up with.

Alison Lewis is all about tech meets fashion meets real life. Her blog, I heart switch, covers lighted high-heals, sequined dresses with solar cells that double as cell phone chargers, twitter dresses, and skyping roombas. For the full walking-talking Alison experience, check her out on Verizon FiOS’s television show MyHome2.0

Jana: In the New York times article on your work, it mentioned you learned to sew at age 4, and made a pair of pants that you wore in the sixth grade, so you have a long background in DIY. Your 'Closer' project when you graduated from Parsons seems like a natural continuation of that, but how did you first become inspired to combine technology with crafting and fashion?

Saturday, March 13 at 11:00 AM
11:00 - Citizen Journalism Brigade - Making Your Voice Matter
http://my.sxsw.com/events/event/444
One of my past lives was spent in the world of photojournalism, so I'm always curious to hear how the 4th Estate is doing. I think we're in a moment in time when the citizenry has all the power of the Press in their hands and that's a societal game-changer.

When I found out that Nina Hartley (@ninaland) (bio) (wikipedia) was speaking at SXSW, I wanted to interview her. Linear made the introductions, and Marjorie Kase set it up. - Jana

Jana: Twitter and Facebook both have the potential for changing a private life into a public life. Although you are well-known, now many fans can follow you on twitter. How do you feel about that change from before, where your fans were probably more anonymous than anything else, to now having people read about your thoughts on life from day to day?

I just noticed that are quite a few Javascript presentations and workshops at SXSW this year. There is so much going on at SXSW, it's easy to miss. Seriously, pack a lunch while you read the SXSW schedule.

Below are some of the Javascript-related events I found. There may be more.