SXSW Archives - Sandy Carter

The retail industry goes cognitive at SXSW

What a great weekend it was here at SXSW in one of my favorite cities... Austin!

Let me start by saying that I love to shop and what woman doesn’t, right?! Have you ever thought about the reason why you love to shop? Sure, we all appreciate a great bargain, but have you ever thought about what draws you to a particular store, website or brand? Things like product placement and assortment, digital media, customer service, packaging, visual displays, coupons or special events? Even more, have you thought about the experience of shopping that you enjoy, what goes into the process of purchasing your favorite new bag? Well I’m proud to say that cognitive is here to stay in the retail world and its introducing major innovation in retail! All of which is being showcased here at SXSW in the retail innovation lounge.

To give you a bit of background, retailers are spending millions of dollars and collecting astronomical amounts of data to analyze what makes you knock down their doors and remain loyal to their products! Thanks to new technologies and a strong emphasis on employing innovative individuals, companies are becoming more focused than ever before on enhancing the shopper experience.

Today at SXSW I will be leading a panel with some of the latest and greatest retail innovators who are also female founders!

Join IBM and some of our retail partners at the Retail Innovation Lounge http://ibm.co/1R7o955

@ SXSW Friday March 11th- Tuesday March 15th for panels discussions, keynotes, and networking sessions. Bring your best handbag!

-Sandy

by sandraanncarter

Anatomy of a cognitive startup - LIVE from SXSW

Every year, SXSW Interactive comes alive. Like a human body, all of these various systems of technology intermingle and create something magical for a few days here in Austin. Today, I had the chance to talk about some anatomy myself: The Anatomy of a Cognitive Startup.

On the outside, the anatomy of a cognitive startup is just like any other in the IBM Ecosystem: focused, innovative, and always forging the future of tech. The true difference comes when you examine the tools of the trade our cognitive startups leverage as they achieve their goals. The IBM Cloud offers a diverse set of software and services dedicated to maximizing developer and startup utilization of the defining tools of the Cognitive Era. When coupled with the laser-focused guidance of the IBM Developer Ecosystem,

Cognitive startups are utilizing IBM Watson visualization, trade-off analytics, personality insight, tone analysis and other cognitive services, with cutting-edge results. Atlanta-based Simple C uses both the IBM Cloud and cognitive systems to provide media-delivered therapies targeting the behavioral symptoms of dementia and related cognitive disorders, providing breakthroughs in the medical industry.

Look at FinTech startup Alpha Modus. By utilizing IBM Bluemix, they’re disrupting the entire investment management industry with tremendous results by using social media to analyze the market sentiment. In fact, their efforts won them the Beacon Award for Best New Application on IBM Cloud from an Entrepreneur at the PartnerWorld Leadership Conference 2016.

Stay tuned for so much more from SXSW Interactive as we dig deeper into the innovations and the people behind them that are truly defining Cloud, Cognitive, and social influences of the future.

by sandraanncarter

SXSW - let's get some great Diversity Speakers! Vote today!

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by sandraanncarter

SXSW voting has started! I love SXSW!

Campaign season has begun and no, I’m not talking about the presidential race. I’m talking about South by Southwest (SXSW), the annual festival that is to innovation what gadgets are to CES.

Every March, professionals from the film, music and tech industries make a pilgrimage to Austin, Texas for a melding of the minds, and every year, the world watches in anticipation as new innovations emerge and trends are established.

While SXSW may be months away, voting has already begun to determine who is most qualified to speak at the festival. 30% of the decision process is by public vote, and thousands of submissions are currently under consideration.

Follow these simple steps to cast your votes:

Step 1: Create an account on the SXSW PanelPicker

Step 2: Cast your votes NOW by giving your favorite panels a “thumbs up”

Step 3: Add a thoughtful comment below each panel - this weighs heavily in the vote

TIP: anyone can vote for SXSW panels - so consider sharing these steps with broader groups of friends, family and professional networks. Voting ends September 4.

Lastly, here are my panel submissions - I appreciate your vote!