Will This Year’s SXSW Get Political?

Digital Savant Omar Gallaga of the Austin American Statesman’s 512 Tech weighs in on what how tech and politics may collide at SXSW 2017.

By Alain StephensFebruary 17, 2017 7:12 am,

You don’t have to look far to see that America’s political climate is quite polarizing. It seems politics have moved past individuals and government and into every other facet of life.

Nordstrom made a bold statement when it decided to drop Ivanka Trump’s clothing line. Businesses and advertisers spoke their peace over the Super Bowl and now the massive tech conference SXSW is weighing in on some of the new administration’s policies.

Digital Savant Omar Gallaga of the Austin American Statesman’s 512 Tech says changes in SXSW’s panel topics this year reflect a change of political tone.

“Every year we have these panels about ‘how do you use technology to change the world, to do good things, to disrupt everything,'” Gallaga says. “I think this year it’s going to be ‘how do we resist or use technology to disrupt or make change in the government when the outcome is not what we like.'”

 

Written by Emma Whalen