SXSW Day Four Review: Ideas, Identity, and innovation

We're halfway through our stint at SXSW, but the good part is that the excitement isn't over. Streets in Austin are filled with innovators as well as people who want to know more about the changing landscape of creativity we're operating in.

We'll top our day today with Innovation Awards sponsored by , which allows us to discover about and celebrate some of the best and creative ideas across the globe.

Discussing Policy and the Creator Economy

We walked over to the Marriott for a lively conversation among Patreon, Take Creative Control, EFF, and Engine to talk about the increasing artist economy as well as the policies surrounding creative output.

We are on the brink (or maybe even in the throes) of the second Renaissance of the economy that is a creator. This is why the panelists suggested that we need to reimagine policies from a Creator-first view. Today there are hundreds of businesses to assist creators in getting paid , and the industry has seen an influx of five billion dollars of venture capital funding. The market for creators is estimated at $26 billion.

However, as with every economic system, there are power imbalances and pay disparities which have been observed in this space. Take Creative Control is publishing a study in the month's to come that reports that women earn just 62 cents on the dollar and that people of color make 71 cents on the dollar in the world of creators. What this study shows in addition to the initial outrage and outrage, is that there's the potential for policy changes and a sea change in favor of creators. We need to examine what access means in this context when we access the economy from different places.

The panelists talked through specific instances of net neutrality as well as instances where the mass of supporters has influenced policy changes. The organizations included on the panel have hosted creator town halls to give an opportunity to the people who are most affected by the current economic climate. They expressed general concern regarding the way legislation that is currently moving forward by congress runs the risk of over-takedown of creator materials that adversely affect independent creators that much greater than those who typically are included in the government conversations. As Kim Tignor commented, "independent creators tend to operate in their own ways, but they are losing all of the voices they have collectively."

In particular, the panelists focused on specifically the Shop Safe Act, which will make it harder for creators to make sales online. It basically brings trademark concern into the creator market and provides safeguards to ensure that corporations benefit while creators can have to suffer. One of the panelists presented an example of how the maker of greeting cards can have their cards sold via Etsy however, if a check is made that they have a too close appearance with Harley Davidson, the Harley Davidson logo, the platform might pull the cards around a pivotal moment in the business calendar (like the time of Christmas), effectively curtailing that creator's income for the year.

The panel definitely had us thinking about our teachers, and the value of their creative work and the ways they share it with audiences. Teachers, we ventured across to...

JVN and ALOK on the phone

The pair began with an acknowledgement of the situation currently in Texas the state of Texas, which JVN declared to be "governmental overreach" before saying that the silence from allies was deafening. They also encouraged people to voice their opinions.

Together, these two organisations to be following and supporting. Particularly: Ten, ACLU Texas, Transgender Law Center and Gender Infinity.

The majority of conversations revolved about the beauty industry because JVN has just completed the release of his new haircare line - JVN Hair. This was the result of many years of being excluded from the beauty industry, as well as having been described as an "ingredient queen, efficacy queen." But what JVN said he wanted more than anything is to create a brand, business, and product that everyone could feel welcome. In simple terms: "no toxic products and the absence of toxic masculinity."

JVN also spoke to subject matter he covered in the original class, namely how to cultivate selective permeability for yourself to ensure that you don't take in all of the toxic substances that are directed at you (in an e-book, it's a form of resilience). He called on the importance of taking care of yourself and ensuring you're pouring from a full cup so that you can embrace an inner sense of self permeability.

One of the main lessons of the discussion was that of holding space to "both as well." Binary thinking doesn't bring us any where. You must be able to hold space for seemingly opposing ideas while at the same time. Maybe they're not so in fact contradictory?

Trust Me I'm Famous: Ben McKenzie Questions Crypto

The main character of The OC and Southland sat down with The New Republic's Jacob Silverman and Vice's Edward Ongweso to talk about the opposite part of the divide between crypto as well as some sinister representations around new technology.

The discussion sparked doubt about all of the tactics crypto has employed to grown to the heights of fame. From buzzy advertising ads featuring the likes of Matt Damon and Larry David as well as the recent legal battles around Ethereum with Kim Kardashian, the panelists discussed this new strategy as being shilling, not advertising - which is much more risky than anyone would ever admit to. Jacob laughed that, should we do the right thing, we'd be able to create ads that say "side consequences include having the need to request a loan from your parents."

Jacob encouraged people to examine the source of money from and the direction it's heading It doesn't need to be a conspiracy theorist in order to draw certain conclusions. He encouraged the audience to study the originator of crypto[dot]com, who, according to Jacob is a suspect with a dark background that is worth examining.

While the overall theme of the panel was skeptical, Ben McKenzie put a concise statement about it: "I'm an artist. I'm a supporter of artists. Digital art can be amazing. I just don't understand why it needs to be put on blockchain."

In addition, Jacob continued: "A large majority of people think of blockchain as a tech looking for a possible use case."

The viewpoint of the panel was a great counterpoint to the general frenzied culture surrounding these emerging technologies this week.

We'll talk about storytelling with the Keynote Speaker Celine Tricart

We took the directive of the previous panel and then stayed in the world for some time to talk about the art of storytelling. But don't worry, we rounded out with the storytelling/NFT/metaverse intersection if you are as interested in emerging technologies as much as the rest of the SXSW attendees.

Celine Tricart, a producer from Lucid Dreams Productions discussed the development of storytelling and urged people to fully appreciate the art of storytelling. She walked us through the mediums that she has employed in, from traditional film up to VR and the metaverse now, with a surprising attention to the realm of LARPing.

She talked about the distinction between storytelling and storyliving.

The art of storyliving allows us to transform into storytellers and react to events all around us. Imagine playing improv with a group of people and how the story is constantly changing depending on how we decide to behave and respond to the people around us. In this situation, we are all authors and readers at the same time.

Celine talked about the common ground we share. Everyone believes in the same myths - like the notion of money as an example. Money's value exists because we all believe in that it is worth something. And similarly, so much is left up to the perception of each individual. As with long-term memory, for example; it's not as strong like we imagine it is. Long-term memory can be fragile and is altered due to the act of recalling (that is, it changes a little every when we remember a particular moment). "That means we live in a false reality," Celine explains.

What does this mean to shared experiences and storytelling? Celine has spent lots of time talking about LARPing and the various levels of intensity associated with the art of storytelling. When we think of narrative mediums, we're looking at emotional bleeding. Emotional bleed refers to the emotions that a situation or character expresses that can affect the audience regardless of the context or game. Emotional bleed becomes stronger in the direction of first person. The distinction between reality and fantasies become blurred and we are able to experience things more fully.

Celine's speech was both profoundly instructive, coming from her evident mastery of storytelling, yet also hopeful. She talked about the power of storytelling that is immersive to ignite deep conversations, instill compassion, and boost emotional intelligence.

SXSW Innovation Awards are sponsored by

Our focus for this week was spent preparing towards our participation in the Innovation Awards, celebrating some of the most innovative projects across categories this year. From audio and sound to health technology The ceremonies we participated in which celebrated the new concepts and those who have a hand in changing the world as we see it.

If you didn't catch our live tweeting below are the full list of the winners. A big congratulations to them along with every one of the amazing nominees.

HealthMed and BioTech: Fluo LabsConnecting People: PORTL Inc.
Visual Media Experience: Frontline PBS and Ado Ato Pictures
A_DA stands for Audio and Music.
Social and Cultural Impact Wundermann Thompson
Specific Design: UBQ Materials
The People's Choice Lift Zones with Comcast
VR/AR/MR: Osso VR
Robotics and Hardware: Vulcan
Smart Cities, Transport and Delivery Velodyne Lidar
Wearable Tech: Strap Tech
A New Economy Star Scientific Limited
AI & Machine Learning: Quicktome
Student Innovation: Tapis Magique
Special Recognition: GiveDirect-Novissi COVID-19 Aid
David Carr Award: Maria Ressa

Nonny de la Pena also was inaugurated as a member of the Hall of Fame, and  the CEO of Strap Tech Matt Cooper presented the best-in-show award to Strap Tech.

What's next for SXSW Day Five

It's been a fantastic event so far, but there's plenty to be seen. In the coming days, we'll explore trend forecasting, move further into the world of web3 and also our panel featuring people like pplpleasr will explore the mysterious and complicated world of digital art and NFTs.