We are thrilled to announce our first three Keynote Speakers for SXSW Interactive 2011.
Christopher Poole, Founder of 4Chan and Canvas; Blake Mycoskie, Founder of TOMS Shoes; and futurist Bruce Sterling in the Closing Speaker Keynote slot. We believe these initial keynote selections reflect the underlying community spirit that is the foundation of SXSW.
Christopher "moot" Poole is the founder of 4chan.org, a simple image-based bulletin board, which has grown from a niche site targeting anime fans to one of the most influential communities on the 'Net. With over 12 million users a month, many popular viral videos, Internet phenomena, and memes get their start on 4chan. In 2010 Poole was a featured speaker at the TED Conference, and he has been profiled by TIME, CNN, The Washington Post, and Technology Review. Recently he started a new project called Canvas, which is working on new and better ways for people to hang out and collaborate online.
Blake Mycoskie's company, TOMS Shoes, is a model of philanthropic entrepreneurism benefiting the worldwide community with a simple promise: to give a pair of new shoes to children in need with every pair sold. The TOMS One for One movement harnesses the power of consumers to make positive social change and has become the hallmark of social enterprise, now taught in universities around the world. Thanks to supporters, TOMS is now on track to give the One Millionth Pair of new shoes to a child in need this September 2010.
Science fiction author and futurist Bruce Sterling’s insightful commentary has long fascinated the community of digital creatives at SXSW. His writings have been very influential in the cyberpunk movement in literature, specifically the novels Heavy Weather (1994), Islands in the Net (1988), Schismatrix (1985), The Artificial Kid (1980), and Involution Ocean (1977). Bruce is the editor of Mirrorshades, co-editor of The Cyberpunk Anthology, and co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He currently blogs at Beyond the Beyond for Wired Magazine.
Stay tuned to the SXSW website later today as we will announce the first 200 accepted programming titles for the 2011 event.
Photos courtesy Christopher Poole, Blake Mycoskie, and Bruce Sterling
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