SXSW can be overwhelming. With more than 20 different options every single hour, for every session you get into, you’re bummed about the other ones what you’re missing! But I digress, here a few of the sessions I attended today:

Gaming the Hospital for High-Quality Patient Care
This was a panel about how to get healthcare workers and physicians to be fully invested in their calling as caregivers, even in an environment of constant scrutiny and compliance. These are people who got into the industry because they are passionate about helping people, but they are becoming more disillusioned every year. One solution lies in using “Game theory” or “behavioral economics” to create an environment where grassroots-led initiatives bubble up in a way that aligns with the core mission of the organization – making the quality of care better.

AI, Immortality and the Future of Selves
Interview with Martine Rothblatt, founder of United Therapeutics. Mind. Blown.

Design in Tech Report
John Maeda ia a bit of a design celebrity – as nerdy as that sounds – so I couldn’t pass up a chance to hear his report on the state of design in the tech industry. In a nutshell: Tech companies are understanding the need for design to partner with both the engineering and the business teams. The past 4 years have seen a boom in designers and design companies being acquired by tech companies, as well as designers being promoted to C-level positions because of the new perspective they bring.

Other Stuff
The most popular sessions have been live-sketched, similar to previous years:

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Keep Austin Weird
SXSW has become such a cultural Mecca for music, technology and film, so it’s an exciting place to be. And between sessions, your eyes are treated to all sorts of oddities. I thought I’d share some of them with you.

IMG_6246 There are 10 GoPros on this man’s head! A few rows over, there is a 360-degree camera. So, your choice.

IMG_6243 Drones, drones everywhere.

IMG_6233 “Accelerating App Growth,” get it?

IMG_6253 I literally have no idea.

 

IMG_6252 Nope, nothing here either.