This year’s South by Southwest Interactive Festival is introducing a new event called Accelerator which could prove to spawn some of 2009’s most cutting edge software applications.
At the 2007 SXSW Interactive Festival, the micro-blogging tool Twitter gained an enormous amount of attention from the Web community, propelling it into a global phenomenon. This occurrence led SXSW Interactive organizers to create the Accelerator event as a way to showcase emerging Twitter like companies. Twitter is an online service that allows users to post and follow, in a 140 text maximum, updates that answer the question: “What are you doing?” Twitter has become so popular that even President Obama uses the site to post messages.
Accelerator event manager, Chris Valentine, said that after Twitter’s success at the festival in 2007, similar companies were approaching SXSW about how to be involved. Valentine said that there wasn’t a real way to fit them in at that time.
“So what we realized was that by creating Accelerator, we could give these companies a platform to be in the event, Twitter like companies,” said Valentine. “A way to showcase what they were doing, and on a leveler platform. And hopefully to create some exposure for them.”
Valentine said that, although a tool like Twitter is uncommon, there are still many exciting web companies currently doing extraordinary things in the field.
“To see these things before they hit the market is very exciting. Basically we’re seeing who the players are going to be within the next couple of years,” said Valentine.
Valentine said that he was expecting around 50 applicants for the Accelerator event, but that he has received over 200. The unexpected high number of applications, coupled with the fact that this is a first year event, has delayed the participant selection process.
A new company called Blellow has decided to be one among the 200 plus applicants to throw their hat into the Accelerator competition.
Blellow communication manager, Veronica Jorden, said that her company aims to take the best features of three popular web tools: Twitter, Linkedin, and Google Groups, and combine them into a cohesive networking application.
“We’re really focused on helping freelancers and entrepreneurs network. To act as a knowledge base for them. And also to connect them with people that can potentially bring them work, or that they can bring work to,” said Jorden.
Jorden said that Twitter’s success at SXSW was a large factor in applying to the Accelerator competition. “They [Twitter] basically have created a new form of communication. So we think, or we hope, that the South by Southwest crowd will be receptive to Blellow because they’re already keen with Twitter.”
The Accelerator competition is going to be broken down into four categories: online music, online video, social networking applications, and innovative web technologies. Finalists in each category will be given a 2 minute presentation slot at the event. Winners of each category will receive recognition in the SXSW world magazine, two passes to the 2010 SXSW, plus additional prizes that have yet to be announced.
Jake McKee, Chief Strategy Officer of Ant’s Eye View, and advisor for Accelerator, said that he was excited to about the diversity of talent in the event.
McKee said that of the four categories listed in the event, he is most excited about the innovative web technologies competition. “With my background being in digital development and 3D product design, I’m obviously most interested in new innovative web technologies.”
The Accelerator event will be hosted by Guy Kawasaki, former Apple fellow at Apple Computer. The event will take place Monday, March 16, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and will be held at the Hilton Downtown at 500 East Fourth St. , Austin, TX 78701.
No comments:
Post a Comment