2013 SXSWi Food+Health+Tech Panel Recommendations

21 Aug 2012

South By South West, the largest digital-interactive conference in the United States, offers a unique opportunity to connect with and learn from a diverse group of people using digital technology to make the world a better place.

Here at Food+Tech Connect, we often write about the innovative companies and people using information and technology to disrupt, democratize and bring transparency to the food industry. If you enjoy our insights and analysis, we think you will like some of the SXSW panel proposals we have listed below. You can vote for the panels of your choice by registering here and then clicking the thumbs up on the top left corner of each panel description page.

Please be sure to check out our panels: “Hacking Food and Health Research” and “Food, Tech & Music: The Future.”

Let us know what you think and comment away if you find other proposals that we should highlight!

Hacking Food and Health Research– Danielle Gould, Food+Tech Connect
Food and health startups developing apps to help consumers make more informed food choices are capturing real-time data about food preferences and consumption habits on a scale never before possible. Can this data be trusted? What can it really tell us? Hear from pioneers in this emerging space about real life examples of how their crowdsourced data is being used.

Food, Tech & Music: The Future– Destin Joy Layne, GRACE Communications Foundation
This panel seeks to energize the food and music convergence as we discuss the latest models for growing movements, mapping information and leveraging technology.

The Future of Food: From App to Fork – Michael Fedyna, Engrocer
Learn what lies in the future of food connectivity as we open the floor to explore new opportunities, challenges, and pitfalls that affect all of us in the evolution of food apps.

DIY App Publishing and the SXSW Community Cookbook– Babette Pepaj, BakeSpace.com
What better way to understand the latest self-publishing technology than by using it to literally create a crowdsourced book at the conclusion of the presentation? Once published, the SXSW Community Cookbook will be available for anyone to download free via the Web or iPad.

Food Startups and Financing the Future of Food– Matt Wise, Founderly
The panel will explore the intersection of food, tech, and fundraising. We will discuss the kinds of startups being funded, deal mechanics, navigating pitfalls, and the implications of crowdfunding on food startups and innovation.

Food Fight: Web Tech as Battleground for the Local– Susan Leibrock, Sustainable Food Center
What tools and tactics are local farmers and food producers using to spread their messages into an already-saturated marketplace dominated by an agriculture reliant on big-budget corporate communications campaigns?

The Grocery Store: Going “Tech” Fresh To Survive– Daniel Lantowski, Maloney & Fox
In this session, learn about what’s new and what’s next to help make going to the grocery store exciting again, and place it ahead of the innovation curve, rather than behind it.

What do Sensors Mean for News, Society & Science? – Javaun Moradi, NPR
From governments to universities to utility companies to the media, organizations are tapping into the wealth of data generated by mobile phones and sensor networks. They’re using that data to understand and sometimes solve scientific and civic problems, creating beneficial feedback loops between policy and outcomes.

Sweet Memes Are Made of This: How to Go Viral– Michael Selvidge, Twilio
From tactical tagging to tweeting at influencers, the panel will discuss the “how,” “when,” and “who” of strategic creation, so companies can target the best audience that will want and need to share their content.

Prizes and Challenges: Good for Gov, Good for Biz– Kate Ahern, The Case Foundation
Leading prize evangelists from the White House, the Case Foundation, and Luminary Labs will describe the innovative ways that they have crowdsourced innovation using prize inventives, and will invite a lively discussion on ways that audience members have seen prizes and challenges work in their industries.

The Rise of the Impact Entrepreneur– Halle Tecco, Rock Health
Meet the founders of three “impact accelerators”, learn about the technologies and companies poised to tackle our 21st century problems, and witness the growing movement of “tech for good”.

99 Problems But A Niche Aint One– Erin Edgerton, Danya
Participants in this session will discuss the best ways to reach targeted user groups (such as local, sustainable, and urban farmers, or members of the media) and provide examples from government programs that are doing this successfully.

The New Health Paradigm: Radical Transparency– Carissa Caramanis O’Brien, Aetna
Here why Aetna Chairman, CEO and President Mark T. Bertolini, and Tim O’Reilly, the founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media, Inc., passionately believe the intelligent sharing of data among patients, providers, payers and communities is critical to solving the nation’s healthcare quality and cost challenges.

Some additional panels that might be relevant to our readers: