The Trajectory of Social Media with Hugh Forrest
On the show today I'm joined by someone I've known since before the turn of the millennium! He is someone who looms large and shines brightly, both actually and metaphorically, in the world of digital media. Hugh Forrest is Chief Programming Officer at South by Southwest. We met while he was running SXSW Multimedia which then became SXSW interactive in about 1998 or so. We discuss the long, strange trip it's been, the power of an engaged, innovative, forward-thinking community, reminisce about the "good old days" a bit - things like the Industry Standard, twitter coming to life at SXSW and more - discuss the trajectory of social media, the moment that rocked the world in March of 2020 and much more. Hugh is a generous, brilliant, fun and authentic guy whom I know you'll love. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
Live Like a Leader with John Bates · John Bates, Hugh Forrest
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Show Notes
The South by Southwest (SXSW) festival has been held every month of March since 1987 in Austin, Texas, and is considered one of the most important meetings worldwide related to music, film, and digital/interactive media. Hugh Forrest is the Chief Programming Officer at South by Southwest.
In 2012, the Austin Chamber of Commerce named Hugh Forrest “Citizen of the Year” and the rest of his colleagues from the management of the SXSW festival. Ernst&Young named SXSW Entrepreneurs of the Year. In addition to his work for the festival, Forrest forms part of the National Board of Advisers of the Poynter Institute of St. Petersburg, Florida. Forrest graduated in English Literature from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Before joining the SXSW team he founded a small alternative publishing company called The Austin Challenger and worked as a writer for different newspapers.
We also discussed Eddy Zang and the New Breath Foundation: https://new-breath.org/
Follow Hugh on Twitter @hugh_w_forrest and on LinkedIn
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John Bates provides 1:1 Executive Communications Coaching, both in-person and online. He also gets 92+ Net Promoter Scores for his large and small group leadership development trainings at organizations like Johnson & Johnson, NASA, Google, Intuit, Boston Scientific, and many more. Find more at https://executivespeakingsuccess.com.
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