I live in my Google calendar. It’s where I shape my family’s destiny — one of few places where my schemes, my husband’s commitments and my kids’ activities all gather to be recognized, dismissed or otherwise accounted for. Today, my Google calendar looks different ... cleaner. I like it. Google asked me if I wanted to learn more about the new look. This phrase caught my eye:

Elasticity: The new design will soon allow you to seamlessly transition from your desktop computer to your mobile phone to your tablet, while keeping a consistent visual experience. We aim to bring you this flexibility without sacrificing style or usefulness.

When someone asks me what Springbox does, I like to say “we make interactive stuff that feels effortless, meaningful and fun” — and that means on any device. The concept of elasticity fits right in with what I think interactive should do for humans. After all, we don’t care what device we’re on — we just have stuff we have to get done. Thanks, Google!

The new look:

Springbox is sending a dozen employees to this year's SXSW Interactive festival. So we asked them: "What topics are you interested in learning more about at SXSW Interactive?" Here are Senior Designer Jonathan Bowden’s topics of interest.

With our digital world changing at a tremendous pace, it's almost comical to try and map out what topics, trends and themes I will be interested in three months from now, but here it goes:

The Creative Agency
Though I have had the privilege of working at two great digital agencies, Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Springbox, I am still very interested in hearing from other leading shops to find out the struggles, unique viewpoints and victories that they have discovered. Whether it's exploring the digital pod/team concept from R/GA, a new compensation model from Fahrenheit 212 or hopefully a dozen of other innovative agency models and structures, I am looking forward to hearing other's thoughts on forming and unleashing creative teams, adjusting and finessing the creative process and evolving the digital agency in general.

Digital in Our Daily Life
How is the ever present stream of information and connectability helping andor hurting our lives, our relationships?, our family, our health, our careers, our neighborhoods? What are the psychological affects of always being connected and checking in? Specifically for me, as a new dad and young husband, what precautions do I need to take to keep my digital intake at a healthy ebb and flow?

Technology for the Greater Good
How can we move past shiny gadgets and time wasting games and use technology for the greater good of our community and our world? How can we use technology to provide basic necessities such as clean water / food / dignity / freedom from slavery? Much closer to home, how can we restore wonder and play to a dilapidated education system? What can be done to improve easy access to locally grown foods? I know this one is a bit vague, but I have a feeling that there is so much that COULD be done, but is currently being trumped by angry birds and shiny plastic. I mention this topic, not as one who is an expert or even currently active in this field, but rather as an area that I want to invest more of my time and energy into.

Springbox is sending a dozen employees to this year's SXSW Interactive festival. So we asked them: "What topics are you interested in learning more about at SXSW Interactive?" Here are Group Creative Director Adrian Taylor's topics of interest.

While there are plenty of exciting topics to look forward to at SXSWi, the subjects I'm most eager to engage with focus on the rapidly advancing world of mobile. Over the past few years we have seen an explosion of feature-rich smart phones completely transform how we engage with the internet when away from our computers. Our ability to access information, connect with each other and have powerful experiences through pocket-sized portables is shifting the way we think about how we integrate technology into our lives. Obviously the topic is wide reaching so here are a few specific areas of interest:

Touch Interface
As small-form-factor, touch-screen phones and tablets flood the market, a new world of user interface opportunities and challenges is emerging. Whether it's groups naturally collaborating on tablets or kids attempting to apply learning from their mom's iPhone to the household laptop, it's clear the UX designers will need to take a fresh look at their approach.

Mobile Commerce
Having an always-on computer always on you is going to impact your shopping and buying habits, but the open question is: exactly how? Early growth areas like deal hunting or time-based offers, mobile ticketing and money management were pretty easy to anticipate, but where do we go from here? Consumers are projected to spend as much a billion dollars on mobile transaction in North America next year. Will these transactions simply be evolution of current online shopping or completely new shopping paradigms?

Completely Contextual
One of the things that I love about having a GPS-enabled smart phone with a compass and connectivity to the internet is the ability for information and experiences to be properly contextualized for my situation. This type of information has the power to help us create experiences that are focused and rewarding for users. I'm eager to hear stories and see examples of how people are taking advantage of these new tools.

Springbox is sending a dozen employees to this year's SXSW Interactive festival. So we asked them: "What topics are you interested in learning more about at SXSW Interactive?" Here are Senior Developer Grant Norwood’s topics of interest. 

I’m going to take the non-profit route at this year's SXSWi. I volunteer my time and talents to several non-profit organizations because I share a belief in their causes and I support the ways in which each execute upon their respective missions. But more than that, during SXSWi, I want to narrow my focus within the almost overwhelming choices of panels offered.

I've spent much of my career in the enterprise and product development worlds and I'm programmed to keep an eye on increasing revenue and reducing costs within any business environment.  By eliminating the distractions of my natural interests with my non-profit strategy at SXSWi, I'll have a comfortable and comprehensive list of panels I can attend without feeling spread too thin. Here are my overall areas of interest:

Non-Profit Branding
It’s no surprise that every non-profit needs to market itself in order to be successful. I'm looking for answers to these questions:

• How does one take their charitable organization from a moderately successful size with loyal users to one with exceptionally rapid growth and a fully mainstream presence?
• How does a non-profit organization build and leverage public partnerships with other successful brands and personalities to better achieve its mission?
• How does partnering with other for-profit organizations benefit the partner, and how does one best approach those partners for their support?

Attracting Talent and Growing a Team
Whether you’re building the next great product or saving the whales, a talented team of individuals can make or break your organization and its endeavors, and how are teams of volunteers are managed differently than those made up of paid employees.

Measuring Success
How does one know when their efforts are paying off, when their message has been received and where they can improve? I’m not just talking donations and ROI here; I want to know more.