The biggest conversation of SXSW Interactive Day 4 was one that had been building all week, since the featured guest was first announced. Via Google Hangout, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden addressed attendees regarding government surveillance and improved security standards. Snowden chose SXSWi for his first live video appearance because "South by Southwest and the tech community, the people in the room in Austin, they're the folks who can fix this.” The event has been lighting up Twitter all day, with over 40,000 SXSW mentions of Snowden and rising.
Adam Savage got people talking in a different way during his afternoon keynote on science and art. The MythBusters co-host explained how the public often sees science and art as opposites, which he sees as a misconception. The two “have always been the twin engines pushing us forward as a species." And if you’ve ever suffered from imposter syndrome, Savage admitted he can relate. In fact, “getting notoriety only accentuates your feeling of being a fraud.”
If anyone knows how to stay in the conversation, it’s Grumpy Cat. The curmudgeonly feline got people talking again this weekend by making an appearance at one of SXSW’s interactive exhibits. Question: What do you get when you cross one of the internet’s biggest phenomena with one of the hottest shows on TV? Answer: #grumpofthrones