Imagine Inc.'s Ed March reports on SXSWi Day 3 on their blog at http://ow.ly/Yv2

Observations from SxSW Day 3
By: Ed March 16th, 2009
Four sessions, a quick run through the trade show and walk through Austin today.

Presenting Straight to the Brain

Classic PowerPoint isn’t good enough, the bar keeps getting raised
Presentations are moving from what could be displayed on paper to a film strip style
Tell a story, give it emotion
Brain is hardwired through evolution to ignore lots of things that don’t result in immediate danger
Think of the audience when building your slides
Question every slide, does it have a pulse, make it bet for its life.
You would never see bullets in a movie; they shouldn’t be in your presentation
Outsourcing 2.0: Is the World Flat or Not?

Outsourcing overseas or domestically can be challenging
Look for contractors who will tell you what they do not specialize in; otherwise they are average at everything
Communication is critical to successful outsourcing
Chat and email can work best because conversations are documented
Whitehouse.gov 2.0: Upgrading to Open Source Government

This session was recorded and send by request to the White House
Attendees (about 50) included Internet Director for President Bush’s last 2 years
Also attending was Scott Thomas design director for President Obama’s Change.gov and BarackObama.com
Put government data out there and allow people, non profits and the private sector to innovate with, around and on top of it
In Canada, any information created by the government is jointly owned by the creator and the Queen
Lots of innovation around open government is happening in local communities around the Country
How Start-Ups Can Take Advantage of the Recession

Large corporations are making cuts and focusing on their core business; time to take market share
Talent that wouldn’t be accessible to small businesses is now available
Don’t sign long term deals for office space; maybe co-locate with a larger company that has made cuts
Ask lawyers and accountants to defer billing until start-up has achieved 1st round of funding; they either believe in you or they don’t; no reason to work with those who don’t
Keep overhead expenses low and use creative marketing techniques
I ended the day with a walk through downtown Austin and visited the state capital.