At first glance, there appear to be scores of great panels addressing a wide variety of topics with a latent promise to offer up profound answers and emotive solutions. In reality, this is likely not the case. So how will I identify what topics I am most interested in learning about at SXSW Interactive? I’ll need to find my discretion grove. I’ll have to constantly ask myself: “Specifically, how is this directly relevant to my daily questions and challenges?”

Being on the account side, I’m immediately interested in how other agencies are addressing clients in new, relevant and valuable ways. It’s easy and enticing to get fully caught up in creative solutions and technology, but there are equally challenging tasks in helping anxious clients navigate unchartered territory. With the digital landscape constantly evolving, how can we improve upon our relationships with our clients and continue to serve them responsibly? ?  

Additionally, how can we find ways to improve our internal operations and behaviors? The solutions we are offering our clients today are different than they were a year ago, so our approach to building these new solutions should also evolve. How do we remove activities that do not directly benefit the end product? How do we cultivate an empathetic atmosphere that is collaborative and solutions-oriented but also embraces chaos and change?

Finally, I’m excited to hear about new and creative uses of technology. To me, that intersection is still where it’s at. I wanna hear about APIs, apps, platforms piggy-backing on other platforms and repurposed data sets that are going to blow my mind.