★ Vote for our SXSW panels

Preparations for SXSW seem to start earlier and earlier every year. No matter, for we love the festival that brings the world to our door step every March. The panels featured at SXSW are chosen in part by the votes of the audience. That's where you come in.

Ben has proposed a panel called Behind the Scenes of Online Communities. Vote for this panel here. His pitch:

Join real people who run real communities to learn what it's like to run a site with thousands or millions of members. Building a loyal community is a key component to the success of your website, whether you're running a content site, a web application, or something in-between. They may not have a voice on your site yet, but the community is out there, talking amongst themselves. We will discuss the practical realities of opening the doors of your website to member participation - how, when, and why. When "users" become "members," you are sharing the ownership and management responsibilities of the site with them. Your most loyal members will be with you on launch day, they'll help you through redesigns, and they'll mourn the passing of each feature that doesn't quite make it out of beta. We will discuss the risks and rewards your community will bring.

Katie's panel, which she will theoretically moderate, is called Tales of the Future Past: Web Pioneers Remember. Vote for this panel here. Her pitch:

This year, millions of people will start their first blog. Millions of people will write their first tweet, join their first social network, or post their first picture to the Web. Welcome to the future, guys, but some of us have been at this for nearly two decades! Join a panel of industry veterans who rode the waves of the first boom and lived to tell the tales of the '90s Internet. Featuring practical stories of life lessons learned online as well as fond (and not so fond) memories of bygone sites, startups and memes, this will be a great panel for those who lived through it, and those who wish to learn from the hilarious and heartbreaking mistakes of others.

Let the beautiful democracy of SXSW panel voting begin!

- Katie Spence, Aug 12, 2010