A Preview of SXSW in Tweets

Can't attend SXSW Interactive this week? By our count, more than a hundred alumni are presenting at this year's conference, and four alumni joined us for last week's #MITAlum SXSW Preview Twitter chat, co-sponsored by MIT's Comparative Media Studies/Writing Department.

Sam Ford SM '07 tweeted about the paid editing conundrum on Wikipedia, and Geoffrey Long SM '07 tweeted his predictions on how virtual reality will impact storytelling. Denise Cheng SM '14 and Matt Stempeck SM '13 discussed how reputation management and online rating systems are changing the market and free speech. Check out the conversation recapped in tweets below.

Keepin' It Real At their March 13th talk "The Real Risks of "Keepin' It Real" Cheng and Stempeck addressed how the share economy is bringing issues of credibility to the forefront. They previewed key points with us on Twitter.

.@MIT_alumni prob biggest issue is that online reputation sys don’t really tell us much. Too crude & can feel inauthentic #MITAlum #sxswi

— Denise Cheng (@hiDenise) March 10, 2015

Key point #1: Reputation systems are not objective #MITAlum #sxswi — Denise Cheng (@hiDenise) March 10, 2015

Key point #2: A certain type of profiling happens that excludes people from ever entering a platform #MITAlum #sxswi — Denise Cheng (@hiDenise) March 10, 2015

Key point #3: In these cases, the market does not correct itself #MITAlum #sxswi — Denise Cheng (@hiDenise) March 10, 2015

 

.@MIT_alumni if we rate uber/lyft drivers 5/5 b/c we fear for their livelihoods, it tells us nothing about quality/consumer safety #MITAlum — Denise Cheng (@hiDenise) March 10, 2015

 

@hiDenise I’m reminded of the person I bought my car from telling me if I didn’t give him a perfect rating he wouldn’t get a bonus #MITAlum — Sam Ford (@Sam_Ford) March 10, 2015

 

.@MIT_alumni #MITAlum #sxswi pic.twitter.com/BYloFagZI1 — Denise Cheng (@hiDenise) March 10, 2015

 

@Sam_Ford @hiDenise #MITalum As a user, I appreciate some verification if I'm sleeping in a stranger's home in a foreign country — Matt Stempeck (@mstem) March 10, 2015

 

@MIT_alumni my ultimate point w/all of those examples is: forget about the market correcting itself #MITAlum — Denise Cheng (@hiDenise) March 10, 2015

 

@mstem @Sam_Ford #MITAlum right. so airbnb has more of a multi pronged rating sys. we need more of those pic.twitter.com/QBnhZM32uE — Denise Cheng (@hiDenise) March 10, 2015

Storytelling of the Future Geoffrey Long SM '07 gave his predictions for the future of storytelling. His talk "Storytelling with the New Screens" was held on Sunday, March 15.

@MIT_alumni @sxsw As for what we've learned, we've been thinking a lot about "asymmetrical multiplayer storytelling" with wearables #MITAlum — Geoffrey Long (@geoffreylong) March 10, 2015

 

@MIT_alumni @sxsw 1 thing I learned making a 360-degree ghost story was that designing for VR can be like designing for theme parks #MITAlum — Geoffrey Long (@geoffreylong) March 10, 2015

.@MIT_alumni @sxsw Google Glass actually is neither virtual reality or augmented reality so much as it is a hyperpersonal screen. #MITAlum — Geoffrey Long (@geoffreylong) March 10, 2015

@MIT_alumni @sxsw Such a hyperpersonal screen allows us to create intimate media augmentations like sign language, translation, etc #MITAlum — Geoffrey Long (@geoffreylong) March 10, 2015

@MIT_alumni @sxsw For storytelling, imagine a story augmentation like a character whispering in your ear as you watch a movie. #MITAlum — Geoffrey Long (@geoffreylong) March 10, 2015

@MIT_alumni @sxsw "Hyperpersonalized and multiplayer": you and your spouse could have two CSI detectives whispering different clues #MITalum — Geoffrey Long (@geoffreylong) March 10, 2015

@MIT_alumni If the Apple Watch takes off I think we'll see a resurgence of earpieces and "wearable" stories that unfold as you walk #MITAlum — Geoffrey Long (@geoffreylong) March 10, 2015

 

@MIT_alumni We've already seen some of these (see @sixtostart's WANDERLUST) but it'll be a Renaissance for mobile storytelling. #MITAlum — Geoffrey Long (@geoffreylong) March 10, 2015

Wikipedia Sam Ford SM '07 discussed the conflict-of-interest policies that Wikipedia has in place and how they are thawing the once icy relationship between PR executives and Wikipedians. His "Getting Past 'Gotcha'" talk was on March 13.

This leads to a lot of corporate representatives who try to make edits directly to the page, not understanding why they shouldn’t #MITAlum — Sam Ford (@Sam_Ford) March 10, 2015

 

As well as some companies that have been offering services counter to the ethos under which the #Wikipedia project was founded #MITAlum — Sam Ford (@Sam_Ford) March 10, 2015

Last year, several big PR firms came together-I was part of this-to issue a statement of ethical standards in approaching the site #MITAlum — Sam Ford (@Sam_Ford) March 10, 2015

And our goal has been both to educate those in PR about Wikipedia and what ethical engagement looks like…#MITAlum — Sam Ford (@Sam_Ford) March 10, 2015

Free Speech and Anonymity We also explored how reputation management brings up questions of free speech.

@MIT_alumni @mstem It’s also basically a ? of trolls. Ultimately, the ? should be whether a comment is useful to the convo #MITAlum #sxswi — Denise Cheng (@hiDenise) March 10, 2015

@MIT_alumni @hiDenise At the same time! Should everything I say be tied back to my life? #MITAlum — Matt Stempeck (@mstem) March 10, 2015

@MIT_alumni @hiDenise Or is there some role for pseudonyms and anonymity in democratic discourse? #MITAlum — Matt Stempeck (@mstem) March 10, 2015

@mstem @MIT_alumni @hiDenise And that becomes the balance. Anonymity enables whistleblowers, community organization, identity play…#MITAlum — Sam Ford (@Sam_Ford) March 10, 2015

We run into this issue w/ Wikipedia, too. When encouraging those who work in marketing/PR/etc. to be transparent…#MITAlum

— Sam Ford (@Sam_Ford) March 10, 2015

And connections were made...

@mstem @hiDenise Indeed. Perhaps we can meet up in Austin sometime over the weekend tho. Be good to have a little CMS get-together. #MITAlum — Sam Ford (@Sam_Ford) March 10, 2015

@MIT_alumni @hiDenise @Sam_Ford @mstem Thank you for having us! Can't wait to see everyone in Austin! #MITAlum — Geoffrey Long (@geoffreylong) March 10, 2015

Follow MIT Alumni's Twitter channel all week for additional on-the-ground updates from SXSW. Check out the MIT CMS/W complete Storify of the chat. 

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