20 awesome Portland panel proposals in the SXSW Interactive Panel Picker

[HTML2]Every year, thousands of geeks make a pilgrimage down south to Austin, Texas, for SXSW Interactive, a gathering of some of the best and brightest in this whole Web thing. While there, they share ideas, discuss concepts, and meet a bunch of people in the flesh who they’ve only known as avatars on Twitter.

And since they need something to break up the time between the parties, the get togethers, and the constant flow of BBQ and Tex-Mex, the folks down in Austin also hold some conference sessions during the day. But to have those sessions, they need speakers.

Here’s where you come into the picture. You see, SXSW likes to give the public a chance to voice their opinions on the talks that could appear at the show. And thanks to the SXSW Panel Picker, you can get in on the fun.

But with so many awesome topics and amazing speakers, choosing panels can be a bit of challenge. So why not shop local? Here are some places to start your perusing: SXSW panel ideas submitted by your peers here in Portland.

Blending Traditional Support Techniques with Social Networking with Diana Potter

In an era when even Comcast has a Twitter account simply picking up the phone doesn’t cut it anymore. How can you blend those new social networking methods with the old standards and keep in touch with your customers without driving them (or your team) crazy?

Vote for Blending Traditional Support Techniques with Social Networking.

Build a Live TV Station In Your Cube with Josh Bancroft

Live interactive web based video is the next evolution of online community. Just ask Leo Laporte or Chris Pirillo. Here’s how to build your own live web TV station in your cube, along with the story of how we did it with Intel Software Network TV.

Vote for Build a Live TV Station In Your Cube.

Code Sprinting for Effective, Collaborative Development with Audrey Eschright, Reid Beels, and Igal Koshevoy

Code sprints are short, time-boxed programming sessions emphasizing deliverables, collaboration and flexibility. Learn to effectively use sprints to build new projects or pump fresh life into existing ones. Presented by an experienced panel of open source organizers and coders that have lead and participated in hundreds of sprints.

Vote for Code Sprinting for Effective, Collaborative Development.

Companies and Communities: Participating Without Being Sleazy with Dawn Foster

Some companies participate in online communities and the social web with finesse, while others engage in sleazy practices that send potential customers running away. Learn some best practices and tips for engaging with communities of people online, and learn how to avoid some of the most common sleazy mistakes.

Vote for Companies and Communities: Participating Without Being Sleazy.

Don’t Move! Build a Startup Community Where You Live with Rick Turoczy

As eyes are focused on places well-known for startups and innovation, hear four up-and-coming cities discuss how they’re building and fostering their entrepreneurial communities. From Portland to Boulder, Omaha to New Orleans, exciting things are happening in places you don’t expect.

Vote for Don’t Move! Build a Startup Community Where You Live.

History of the Button with Bill DeRouchey

Even though technology evolved at a crazy pace the last 100 years, the humble button has stayed at the center of it all. What is its past, its future? Why is it important? What does it say about the interaction between humans and technology? Pictures, stories, revelations, maybe movies.

Vote for History of the Button.

How to Sharpen Your Type-Identifying Eye with Bram Pitoyo

Every time you wonder about the typefaces that whatever website, application, book or poster being set in, it always seems like their logos are GIF’ed, and you don’t have a type specimen handy. No more. This presentation will sharpen your type-identifying eye and solve this problem!

Vote for How to Sharpen Your Type-Identifying Eye.

Keeping the Internet Fresh With Social Annotation with Reid Beels

People are wrong on the internet. Information on the web is often posted, then promptly forgotten and left to grow stale. Use social annotation and blacklisting to fight back against outdated technical documentation, incorrect contact information, and that bar that closed last year with the website that just won’t die.

Vote for Keeping the Internet Fresh With Social Annotation.

Keeping Sane While Working From Home with Diana Potter

In these days of cost cutting and freelancing, telecommuting is becoming more popular. While coworking might be great it doesn’t work for everyone. What do you do when you’re home all day, no one but you and the cats or the kids? Come learn some ways to stay sane.

Vote for Keeping Sane While Working From Home.

Leveraging Animation in Communicating the User Experience with Kate Ertmann

The User Experience is the wave-of-the-future in transforming ideas into next-generation products and services. Learn how animation can be leveraged as a key strategy in communicating this human-centered research to decision makers, venture capitalists and customers. This presentation will discuss important considerations as well as two real-world case studies.

Vote for Leveraging Animation in Communicating the User Experience.

Slack is the ultimate currency with Bill DeRouchey

Brands need slack. Every company makes dumb mistakes. The only saving grace is customer forgiveness, slack in the relationship. How to create this slack? Simply be human, not a machine. Connect as you would with friends or peers. Surface your designers. Humanize your writing. Examples, frameworks, recommendations, laughs.

Vote for Slack is the ultimate currency.

Techniques for Monitoring Online Conversations with Free Tools with Dawn Foster

Learn about the latest free tools and advanced techniques for monitoring online conversations across the social web. People are talking about the topics that interest you, and people are talking about you, your company and your competitors. How quickly and efficiently can you find this information now?

Vote for Techniques for Monitoring Online Conversations with Free Tools.

Thriving as a Woman Business Owner in Visual Communication with Kate Ertmann

Women don’t have to change who they are to succeed as business owners in this male-dominated industry. As a woman business owner I will provide insight into how women can be successful by tapping into natural instincts for communication. We’re listeners and can adapt to how men communicate when necessary.

Vote for Thriving as a Woman Business Owner in Visual Communication.

Transform Your Boring Site Into An Interactive Game with Adam DuVander

There’s a lot we can learn from games about delighting users. With mobile becoming more popular, the timing is perfect. This presentation gives some tips for injecting your site or app with game-like entertainment.

Vote for Transform Your Boring Site Into An Interactive Game.

The Traveler’s Journey: From Clicks To Packed Bags with Stephen Landau and Mo Sherifdeen

Between travel websites, travel review sites, social networks, and a wealth of online information, how do travelers make decisions on where to go and what to do? More importantly, what can you do to influence their travel/tourism decisions? These four travel/tourism professionals have some ideas…

Vote for The Traveler’s Journey: From Clicks To Packed Bags.

Way Cool Maps: Beyond Simple Mashups with Adam DuVander

Creatively add location to your websites or streamline your mapping process. Make your maps stand out from all the others. Learn how you can write code once and use it with Google Maps, Yahoo, Bing, MapQuest and more.

Vote for Way Cool Maps: Beyond Simple Mashups.

Web Developers, Type Designers & Browser Supporters: Ally! with Bram Pitoyo

Every panel on web typography features interactive designers/developers. This is not that panel. Folks behind the design, use and support of typography—type design, font embedding technology and browser—will talk about their practice and proposed solutions to rich typography on the web.

Vote for Web Developers, Type Designers & Browser Supporters: Ally!.

What Are Analytics? A Guide To Practical Data with Marshall Kirkpatrick

Analytics are often a confusing and convoluted mess, but that doesn’t mean that they have to be. The Guide to Practical Data will help ensure you’re reaching your full analytical potential. Learn how to analyze public and proprietary data to accelerate the success of any initiative. Featuring detailed demonstrations from top bloggers, corporate execs and analysts.

Vote for What Are Analytics? A Guide To Practical Data.

When Humanity, Technology, and Social Media Collide: The Nike Chalkbot with Marcelino Alvarez

What happens when you build a custom street-writing robot, link it to Twitter and SMS, and send it to France to write inspirational messages of cancer survival and remembrance on various stages of the world’s largest sporting event? The Nike Chalkbot traveled along the Tour de France, printing messages along the streets of small towns just hours before cyclists would pass. It was a hybrid project combining robotics, social media, event marketing and cancer awareness.

Vote for When Humanity, Technology, and Social Media Collide: The Nike Chalkbot.

Whuffaoke and the Magic of the Magic Bus with Alex H. Williams

How to do a geek road trip. We’ll look at the magic bus trip to Gnomedex and Whuffaoke, the summer karaoke cross country tour to Montreal. Learn about converting a school bus, planning the road trip and creating an event that no one will soon forget.

Vote for Whuffaoke and the Magic of the Magic Bus.

Phew. That’s a lot of Portland awesomeness.

We’re lucky to have these folks around and chatting with us on a regular basis. But it’s always nice to see Portland folks speaking on a larger stage. If you agree, I’m sure the folks above would appreciate your thumbs-up vote of confidence in their ideas.

As always, this list is likely missing some other awesome Portland people. So please, by all means, if I missed your talk, let me know in the comments below and I’ll add it to the list.

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