SXSW panels!

I have never had the opportunity to attend SXSW but it has always seemed like an interesting event to me. When I heard that Quentin Tarantino held a panel I was so jealous of everyone who got to attend, but I guess that doesn't apply to this. After going through the list, several of the panels interested me, but i'll only cover 5 here so as not to bore you.

27 (Fun!) Ways to Kill Your Online Community: This one seems like it would please the sarcastic side of me. By presenting what you DON'T want to do with your online community, it's gonna teach entrepreneurs what to avoid when attempting to start a new online community. A friend and I have toyed with this idea and various social communities that we would like to start so I may take her to this one. Now only to get through this html class in order to build my own site... lol.

Fan to Fanatic: True Blood's Marketing Hook: I absolutely must attend this panel. I am an insane True Blood fan. HBO does a great job in promoting their shows with products. I have to admit i was one of the people that ordered the 4pack of 'trublood' drink from HBO.com for 24.99 plus 8.95 shipping. Yes. Ridiculous. I know. $34 for overpriced orange soda. But the packaging was amazing and was definitely a conversation starter in my room. The connection from fan to show based on products is such a fun concept, the show becomes more believe and makes me, as a fan, feel more connected to those fictional characters I let into my home once a week. Branding is also a very interesting topic to me. Jessica's blog, babyvamp-jessica.com has a look and feel a real blog that a teen started overnight. The success of these strategies is capitalizing the fan to show experience and i would love to learn more and possibly see what is in store for truebies like me!

Hispanic Marketing After the 2010 Census: being Hispanic and a graduate student, I am very interested in the subject because i want to apply it somewhere in my career. I did research in my undergraduate with mostly Hispanic subjects that i bet companies would pay for now that they know they HAVE to market to us :) Because there is so little data on the subject i think there is so much room for new data that is just out there for the taking.

It's Not Just Your Mother's Farm Anymore: I have to a admit the embarrassing fact that i was one of those annoying people polluting facebook feeds with my addiction to farmville. Although i don't play anymore, the almost overnight boom of this very simple facebook is a success in any one's eyes. Their revenue of over $150 million dollars a year is undeniably amazing, no matter how annoying it is to receive notices that someone sent you a cow for the 5th time today.It would be very interesting to listen to how they make these simple games so addicting... and profitable!

All Grown-up: Brand Mascots in the Digital Age: I would love to poke the pillsbury doughboy on facebook! I am a facebook addict and i would absolutely be the one befriending all these mascots! Schools have already integrated this by getting their mascots to tweet or post statuses, i would love to see where there is opportunity for growth in this field and possibly make some new FB friends!

There are so many other panels that look really interesting! I think i am going to have to fit SXSW into my schedule this year now that i am lucky to live close by!