Click on a thumbnail above to get an expanded view of who's here and the awesome projects they're working on
SXSWeek 2010: March 12-21
Interactive: March 12-16
Film: March 12-20
Music: March 17-21
Videos will be posted regularly. Click "reply" if you want to leave a message or comment
Erica Swallow, a social media consultant for The New York Times, is a self-described social media enthusiast. She joined the NYTimes digital marketing team as an intern in 2008 and transitioned to a consulting role a year later. Her most recent projects at The Times included managing Olympics and Oscars coverage on Facebook, leading The Times in their expansion onto Foursquare and working with the newsroom to implement social media strategies for the coverage of the Haiti and Chile earthquakes. Prior to working at The Times, Erica was chosen out of a pool of over 3,000 candidates to be the CosmoGirl Project 2024 advertising intern, a position that entailed blogging on CosmoGirl.com about her internship at Saatchi & Saatchi, where she managed a team to create an ad campaign for a non-profit of her choice.
Erica received her Bachelor of Science in International Business and Marketing from the New York University Stern School of Business, where she also studied Mandarin Chinese and had the opportunity to study abroad in Shanghai, China, thanks to the generosity of the Gilman Scholarship. Her study abroad experience sparked her growing interest in Chinese culture and social issues. As a result, she co-founded and served as the President of China Care NYU, an organization that helps disabled Chinese orphans receive life-saving surgeries. Her first endeavor in social media marketing was creating a Facebook group for China Care NYU in 2005.
When she's not tweeting, tumbling and blogging, she enjoys the finer things in life: friends, food, wine, chocolate, traveling and dancing. Erica's SxSW goals include unlocking at least three new Foursquare badges, vlogging daily, handing out a bazillion moo cards and karaoking at every opportunity that arises.
American entrepreneur. Started off in the business of banking doing sales & marketing for JP Morgan Chase. After that, he spent almost ten years investing in real estate and starting businesses in southern California while surfing the amazing Pacific Ocean. Aronado owned and operated Daddio's Superior Bar & Grill in San Diego which offered Tex-Mex, nightly jazz & blues and San Diego's best "unlimited mimosa" Sunday brunch. Around 2005, curiously, Aronado began navigating the "interwebs" while continuing to exploit any and all marketing / guerilla tactics to grow business, differentiate, and ultimately create revenues. He's amazed by people who never give up and wants to interview every courageous, innovative, and relentless entrepreneur out there. So far, he's interviewed over 400 startup CEO's, best selling book authors, VC's, Journalists etc. at startupLUCKY.com . He's been consulting with startups for several years on branding, marketing, PR, business plan creation and execution. (with a strong emphasis on business models) Recently, he started Aronado Interactive where he hosts at tech/emerging media events conducting video interviews with interesting attendees and seeding/distributing/ marketing these video assets across the interwebs. If you are an event coordinator and you'd like to chat, email him at aronado@luckystartups.com
Rana Sobhany is not a marketer, at least not in the traditional sense. She is a brand storyteller who believes that polish is the key to success in creating a lasting and memorable brand. Specializing in developing customer acquisition strategies, brand positioning, and leveraging public relations as marketing, Rana applies her unique style and methodology of integrated marketing communications to promoting companies and ideas across political, nonprofit, mobile, entertainment, advertising and social channels.
As co-founder of Medialets, the largest in-application analytics and advertising platform for the iPhone, Rana Sobhany has been deeply involved in the successful design, implementation, and execution of comprehensive iPhone application marketing campaigns for products across the industry since the very beginning of the space, and was among the first to promote app marketing as a discrete practice. She has coached mobile application developers at every level: solo developers; indie development shops; creative and media buying agencies; and large, venture-backed application firms. As a thought leader in the field of monetizing iPhone applications, Rana's assistance is often requested to help guide new and experienced developers through the world of marketing. Rana is a frequent speaker at mobile conferences, helping educate developers about how best to fit their products into the iPhone ecosystem.
Debbie Stier currently has two roles at HarperCollins: Senior Vice President, Associate Publisher for HarperStudio and Director of Digital Marketing for the rest of HarperCollins.
Her duties at HarperStudio range from assessing and acquiring projects, to devising and executing marketing plans, as well as making sure the trains are all running smoothly with the sales, art and production departments. In her role as the Director of Digital Marketing for HarperCollins, she is responsible for educating and evangelizing digital trends throughout the company. The trends encompass how people communicate, what technologies they are using, how other industries are using technology, and how this all applies to book publishing.
She began her career working for a literary agent when submission letters were typed on an electric typewriter with carbon paper − a process that could often take 2 weeks.
Dave Olson (@daveohoots) is the Community Marketing Director for social media dashboard maker HootSuite. He frequently presents at events including SXSW and Northern Voice, and appears in the media discussing technology, art, hockey and culture. A graduate of Evergreen College (BA Inter-disciplinary Studies, 2004), Dave's work is published in magazines and journals on topics ranging from Japanese agri-history to Telco de-regulation. A chronic documentarian from his earliest days, Dave currently creates static montage art and renegade documentary podcasts and enjoys listening to old vinyl albums on the back porch whilst gazing at North Vancouver's mountains and trees.
Sara Holoubek is the CEO and founder of Luminary Labs, a boutique consultancy focused on business strategy and innovation. She has worked with a broad range of clients including Sanofi-Aventis, Levi Strauss & Co, LexisNexis, BMW, Texas Instruments, startups Clickable, Conductor, drop.io and Symposia Group, and agencies within the WPP family and the Aegis Group family.
Previously, Ms. Holoubek served as iCrossing's Chief Strategy Officer, building the firm's New York office and repositioning the iCrossing brand as it raised an early VC round of $13 million. Prior to this experience, Ms. Holoubek held strategy roles with interactive agencies Organic and Blue Dingo.
From 2009-2010, Ms. Holoubek served as President of the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO) board of directors. She also serves on the New York Board of Directors of the Step Up Women's Network.
Ms. Holoubek has been widely quoted in publications such as The Washington Post, WSJ.com, Adweek, DMNews, ClickZ, Internet Retailer, Strategies (France) and PropMark (Brazil). She also serves as a frequent guest lecturer at venues such as ad:tech, SMX, Search Engine Strategies, OMMA, the DMA, Harvard, NYU and Baruch College.
Ms. Holoubek also brings an international perspective to her work, having lived and worked in Latin America and Europe , and is fluent in Spanish and French and conversant in Portuguese. She holds a B.A. from the University of Iowa and an M.B.A. from HEC in France. She resides in New York City with her husband, bass-baritone Claudio Mascarenhas.
I'm a technology evangelist, entrepreneur and writer who instinctively left San Francisco to be a catalyst in driving what's next in New York. passionate about inspiring action in others, i'm writing a book called 'the ah ha moment' which includes stories of success, failure and 'ah ha' from an ambitious group of entrepreneurs, writers, designers, politicians, programmers and the like. i'm also working on a television concept about the next generation of tech, biz and entrepreneurship.
Heather Schuck is an integrated marketing strategist with a passion for using innovative and cost-effective strategies for securing high profile media placements including mentions on Oprah, The Today Show, Early Show, USA Today, and an appearance on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. She is an expert in utilizing celebrity product placements as a tool for catapulting sales. Celebrity fans include Demi Moore, Oprah, Britney Spears, Kate Hudson, Angela Bassett, Holly Robinson Peete, Tia Carerre, Lisa Rinna, and Brooke Burke to name a few.
In addition to helping her clients, Heather is the CEO and founder of Glamjama, a children's fashion company. Since launching the company in 2003, Glamajama has been sold in over 500 boutiques throughout the states and overseas and such retailers as Nordstrom's, Barneys New York, JCPenney, and Target. As a leading brand in the children's industry, Glamajama has added several strong licensing partnerships to its current business model. Leveraging its expanded product offering and development of key partners, the company has surpassed the million dollar sales mark for 2010.
Eager to share her experiences with fellow entrepreneurs, she is a contributing expert blogger at the StartupNation business community. She is also currently co-authoring a book, Rock and Roll Mamas, which encourages new Moms to embrace their inner Rock Star by expressing themselves creatively through music and fashion. As a firm believer in community and the power of content marketing, she is the editor and contributor for StateofGlam, a content site built exclusively for the Glamajama community
I wiill be speaking at SXSW as well http://my.sxsw.com/events/event/7668
Gunther is a brand consultant, experience architect and social technologist with 15 years of Fortune 500 and global non-profit experience. Currently, he serves as the strategic and platform solutions lead on the Skype, Toyota and Adobe accounts for Omnicom agency, RAPP. Through his own tech consultancy, ThinkState, he has co-developed 7 proprietary platforms, ranging from search, to social, to rich media and a few things in between. He is a published author and a public speaker − appearances this year include a keynote on transmedia development at Gulltaggen, one of the world's leading digital conferences, sponsored by Microsoft and IAB Europe. Gunther is also an adjunct professor at CP+B/ Miami Ad School's prestigious School of Pop Culture Engineering, as well as the co-Founder of Canada's Institute for the Future, an educational transmedia platform designed to build infrastructure in local communities around the globe. At this year's SXSW festival, Gunther is a proud member and judge of the inaugural Hive Awards, a platform to acknowledge the "unsung heroes of the Internet". If you're there, come by and say hello...
http://thinkstate.com/
http://www.hiveawards.com/
http://heardable.com/default.php
Dario is a Business Strategist and Partner at Invoke, focusing on client development as well as concept development, execution strategy, and the ongoing operation of Invoke's internal business divisions.
Dario has worked in the online space for over 10 years and has developed marketing and international expansion strategies for many clients across a multitude of industries. Dario started Novare Res, a Vancouver based agency with a focus on social responsibility in 2003. Novare Res merged with Invoke in 2006, creating the company we have today.
Dario received his Diploma in Interactive Media from Vancouver Film School in 1997. Prior to that, he received his Associate of Arts Degree in Commerce from Camosun College.
Hailing from San Francisco, Mike Relm scratches music and video, simultaneously. He spends most of his time on tour and making videos, which can be seen on his YouTube channel. Although he's toured with the likes of Blue Man Group, and Tony Hawk, he plans to one day play the tambourine in an Asian Aerosmith tribute band "Wok This Way"
Grace thinks creatively about the social web to find and leverage opportunities for Invoke's clients, fostering our recognition as a brilliant, fun, results-oriented interactive agency. Grace has eight years of experience in professional writing, editing, and public relations. Prior to working at Invoke, Grace lived in New York and Los Angeles, writing for publications including FHM, Backpacker, and TimeOut New York.
Since returning to Vancouver, she has orchestrated several high-profile charity events, and has taught at the post secondary level at the Art Institute of Vancouver. Grace received a BA in English Literature from McGill, followed by an MS in Journalism from Columbia University. When not attached to her laptop, Grace might be found riding her Triumph Bonneville.
Nadia is a strategist, project manager, and filmmaker with 9 years of experience in advertising and production in both new and traditional media. Nadia is currently the memelabs Product Manager for Invoke. Nadia is responsible for business development, campaign management, content creation, and account management of memelabs.
Prior to starting at Invoke, Nadia worked in both print and traditional media, where she helped launch and run PR and business development for a local Restaurant culture magazine. She also worked as PR/Communications Director and video editor for SAWA Global, where she developed and presented media events such as the UN's World Urban Forum in 2006 and Global Youth Forum in 2007.
Nadia received her BA in Communications, Social Anthropology, and Publishing from Simon Fraser University and her B.Ed from Ryerson University.
