SXSW Interactive has opened their Panel Picker process. You suggest panel ideas, attendees vote on the ones they want to see, and then if you are so lucky as to be chosen (or take on a massive publicity campaign to get the most votes), you can be on a SXSWi Panel. I’ve had tons o fun with this, and highly recommend. Get the details here>>

If you are in NYC and looking for something fun this weekend, Newfest is ongoing and highly worth checking out, and the inimitable Nina Davenport’s Operation Filmmaker is playing at the IFC Center. It’s a highly enjoyable doc, and will give you and a date plenty to discuss. Davenport will be a several screenings this weekend. I’m including this awesome photo that Mary Kerr took of Nina at a holiday party last year just cuz I love it! Have a great time at the screenings Nina!

And if you are in Austin? Here’s my Sunday plan: “The Austin Symphonic Band is presenting a free concert in honor of Father’s Day.  It will be held at the Zilker Hillside Theater on Sunday, June 15, at 7:30 p.m.  The band will perform marches, light classics, and other musical selections you and Dad are sure to enjoy.  Bring a picnic supper, spread a blanket under the pecan trees, and watch the stars come out as the band performs.”

First, SXSW community members suggested and voted on panel topics, and now, the SXSW programmers have waived their magic wand over some 600 + suggestions to come up with initial panels for their March extravaganza here in Austin. In other words, get ready, get set, here come the panels. And in true community form, they have asked those of us who are participating to help get the word out by announcing them. You’ll have to go on a blog scavenger hunt to find more panels but here is my contribution to the roll-out:

Blogs, Buzz, and Buddy Lists (Sunday, March 9)
Use the Internet before the Internet uses you. Thanks to blogs, web-video, and social networking sites, the online universe is a valuable (but no less intimidating) landscape for artists. How do you get the best out of blogs and other sites, to maximize your potential for an audience? Or, how do you get yourself introduced to the booming industry of online journalism and video sharing? These experts will dig deep into these ever-changing trends.

Stay tuned to the SXSW Film Conference site for updates on panels and confirmed speakers. You can also still submit your film for consideration (late deadline is December 7), and of course, you can get your badge to attend with deep discounts. My couch is already reserved, so book your hotel early too

UPDATE: More panels: Film Miss-takes at GreenCine; Deal or No Deal: The Road to Self-Distribution at All These Wonderful Things; Digital Cinema for Indies at Variety’s The Circuit; Animation and Digital Effects on a Budget at Drifting.

The first time I went to a film festival, Planet in Focus in Toronto, it was a truly eye-opening experience. It was like looking through a window to a world I previously had no concept of, and by that I mean the film industry. Up to that point, I was a Hollywood movie watcher and was learning the basic tools of production in school but I couldn’t have told you anything about what made up the industry or how it worked. Obviously, I am enamored with this world since I continue to make exploring it my business. This experience is familiar to everyone, as at some point we are all beginners at something that we hope to make our work or hobby or whatever.

Yesterday’s PodCamp NYC was another such experience. I’ve written a lot about how SXSW 2006 opened my eyes to new thinking in new media, web 2.0 and building communities online. But PodCamp was a window into the business of new media. It wasn’t that helpful in terms of figuring out how to launch a new podcast, which I’m hoping to do at Renew Media, because I already know most of the tools – from actual production to dissemination and building audience. I didn’t have any issues to work through with the podcast as I haven’t started it yet, and I couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity to meet the “big” names there because I didn’t know who I should be looking out for.

Who am I talking about? Chris Brogan, C.C. Chapman, Christopher Penn, Jay Moonah, Leesa Barnes, Jason Van Orden, Bryan Person and many more. They are folks who are on the frontlines of the new media industry and have a lot of experience to share. I didn’t hear all of them speak but no matter, because all of them are recorded and online in sessions from various previous PodCamps – Boston was first, Toronto was recent, if you want to start exploring; NYC media archives will be up shortly.

I don’t want to go too much into the Camp phenomena; it’s branded as an “unconference” meaning anyone can add a presentation and talk about what they are an expert in and others come to learn and share, not just sit like blobs. It’s kind of odd that these guys who kicked it off continue to travel around to speak at them, so in that regard, it’s the same as any other industry conference. That was one of my revelations.