1. Edward Snowden: Internet security — and freedom of speech — is definitely a talking point at SXSW Interactive this year. Edward Snowden will have a conversation with Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist of American Civil Liberties Union, via interactive videoconference. They’ll talk the limits of surveillance and the future of life online on Monday, March 10 at SXSW. There will be a free livestream of the session, and a free replay of the “Virtual Conversation with Edward Snowden” will be made available as well.
2. SXSW Interactive: The drama isn’t just for the movies. Interactive conferences at previous SXSW fests have been laced with vocalized disapproval, barely-not name-calling, and all around ruckus. This year features five keynote speakers and over 800 interactive conference sessions to choose from. The squabbling might be turned down this year, however. Hugh Forrest, director of SXSW’s Interactive Festival, told Variety: “We have simply become a lot more aggressive in trying to prepare our
keynote speakers for what they can expect, having learned from our
mistakes with the Zuckerberg thing and the keynote with Ev Williams
after that.” Time will tell.
3. Movie LaLa: It’s kinda like finding mutual friends on Facebook. Movie LaLa is a San Francisco startup founded by Dana Loberg aimed at helping people find new and upcoming movies through their friends. The cinema-centric social network will launch in April, per The Hollywood Reporter.
4. Dolby Atmos: Oscar-sweeping “Gravity” made all kinds of history this week. The space odyssey became the first Dolby Atmos-mixed film to win Oscars in the categories of sound mixing and sound editing. The immersive sound format was introduced in 2012, and its unique experience requires Atmos-equipped theaters for optimal showings of the film (and Alfonso Cuaron urged that this would be the case for screenings during awards season).
5. Oscars on Twitter: Wondering how crazy the twittersphere went after Ellen DeGeneres’ famous selfie was posted? Check out this amazing Tweet map. Twitter’s data team created a map using Cartobd’s geospatial data mapping tool, condensing all the world’s tweets with the #Oscars2014 hashtag over four hours into a 50-second visual (h/t Mashable).
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