AUSTIN, Texas, March 19, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Austin Chamber of Commerce, through its Innovate Austin initiative, and in partnership with leading integrated marketing firm W2O Group, today announced key analysis of 2014 SXSW Interactive festival highlights tracked through their collaborative social media heat map over the festival's five day run.
"Austin prides itself on being cutting edge, we are continually reviewing our target sectors to align opportunities to better prepare for economic cycles," said Michele Skelding, Senior Vice President of Global Technology and Innovation at the Austin Chamber of Commerce. "During SXSW, Austin is at the center of creative and disruptive ideas. Through this initiative, our goal is to identify and cultivate these conversations and trends to drive strategies that will accelerate development through new talent, ideas and funding. We are thrilled to partner with W2O Group to further drive growth in our innovation ecosystem."
Five Top Takeaways: SXSW Interactive Trends Snapshot
- Over 540,000 tweets were associated with the #SXSW hashtag around the world, peaking Monday, March 10 with 160,881 unique mentions surrounding Edward Snowden's session.
- Surprised? Only 10% of SXSW-related tweets originated in Austin, though still comprised the highest geographic concentration. Nearly 4% originated in New York City, over 3% began in San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively.
- Global Reach: Of 13 international cities analyzed, London was the most active, followed by Toronto, Paris, Vancouver, Singapore and Buenos Aires.
- The top trending topic was the relationship between national security and technology, driven by appearances by Edward Snowden (185,005 mentions) and Julian Assange (48,252 mentions).
- Additional hot topics included wearable technology, 3-D printing, food innovation, mobile, and social business.
- A full analysis is available here.
"The ideas that flow from SXSW shape what's next in technology," said Bob Pearson, President, W2O Group. "Our partnership with the Austin Chamber enables us to utilize algorithms and cutting-edge software solutions to sort through what is important in Austin and share it with entrepreneurs wherever they may be. It's our way of accelerating knowledge sharing from our city to yours."
"SXSW Interactive brings together creators and innovators from across the country and around the world. The event serves as an incubator coalescing the brightest minds in emerging technology with forward-thinking ideas, cutting-edge technologies and digital creativity," said Hugh Forrest, Director of South by Southwest Interactive. "Amidst the five days of compelling keynotes, presentations, panels and workshops, it is always intriguing to see the relevant topics and trends that rise to the top of SXSW social media engagement. Leading and driving dialogue that shapes the future of technology is one of the most important outcomes of the festival."
To learn more about the SXSW Heat Map and Innovate Austin, visit AustinChamber.com/Innovation.
About the Austin Chamber
The mission of the Austin Chamber of Commerce is to provide leadership that facilitates the creation of a prosperous regional economy and effective advocacy for its members. For more information about the Austin Chamber of Commerce visit AustinChamber.com.
About the W2O Group
W2O Group is an independent network of complementary marketing, communications, research and development firms focused on integrated business solutions to drive change and growth through "pragmatic disruption" for the world's leading brands and organizations. For more information, please visit http://w2ogroup.com.
About SXSW
Founded in 1987, SXSW is a private company that manages all official SXSWeek activities. For more information on SXSW, see www.SXSW.com.
