Howdy folks! It’s that time of year again. SXSW kicks off this Friday!

During the opening keynote last year, Hugh Forrest, SXSW Interactive Director said, “The killer app at this year’s South by Southwest, as it always has been… is the community.” We couldn’t agree more.

Despite whatever amazing new piece of technology is debuted. The diverse community from a variety of industries is one the reasons we keep coming back for more. That and the Boiling Pot, if you love shellfish we strongly suggest you stop by!

But seriously, from a nonprofit’s perspective SXSW provides an amazing opportunity to learn and be exposed to technology and trends that could help expand the impact of any organization. Also, every year more and more nonprofits are attending, and we’re seeing some interesting panels and discussions being scheduled. We can’t wait to learn and take copious notes, or at least download the awesome Ogilvy visual notes.

Join us for the Smokey Bear Tweet up on Friday!

With that in mind we’d like to share a list of events we plan on checking out. Starting with an event of our own! Smokey Bear will be attending the conference for a tweet up! It’s on Friday, March 9 from 5:00PM to 6:00PM in the Assembly Room at the Intercontinental. Make sure to stop by and say hello!

But that’s not the only opportunity to link up with the Ad Council. This year the four Ad Council staff will be descending upon Austin, and we’ll be hanging in the Beacon Lounge in between panels.

Enough of the shameless self promotion here’s our schedule:

Friday, March 9

2:00 PM – Social Change, Social Media & Social Filmmaking

3:30 PM – Fireside Chat with Vic Gundotra on Google+

3:30 PM – Can Growing a Moustache Change the World?

3:30 PM – The World Turns to Ustream in Times of Crisis

5:00 PM – Smokey Bear Tweetup

5:00 PM – Sparking Real World Action with Social Media

5:00 PM – Build. Community Is Easy, Saving the World Is Hard

Saturday, March 10

11:00 AM – Philanthropy Is Not the Future of Journalism

12:30 PM – Rise of Analytics: Impacting the Editorial Process?

2:00 PM – How to Read the World (keynote)

3:30 PM – How Meaningful Design Can Save the World

Sunday, March 11

9:30 AM – Can Gaming Make the World Better?

11:00 AM – 21st Century Giving: Social Philanthropy’s Rise

12:30 PM – Celebs & Causes: A Thin Line btwn #winning & #fail

12:30 PM – No Brochures: Digital Storytelling for Nonprofits

12:30 PM – Once & Future King: Can Syndication Save Content?

2:00 PM – Ambient Location and the Future of the Interface (keynote)

3:30 PM – Designing for Awareness in the Attention Economy

5:00 PM – SXSW Action: Collectively Outsmarting Malaria

5:00 PM – Don’t Just Sell Things: Change the World

Monday, March 12

9:30 AM – What’s Good for the World Is Good for the Agency

11:00 AM – How to Harvest Consumer Intent from the Social Web

12:30 PM – Social Apps and Charitable Giving

12:30 PM – Data Vis Is Dead, Long Live Data Vis!

2:00 PM – Expanding Our Intelligence Without Limit (keynote)

3:30 PM – What’s So [Bleeping] Hard About Social ROI?

3:30 PM – It’s Not News, It’s Business

Tuesday, March 13

9:30 AM – Epic Battle: Creativity vs. Discipline in Social

9:30 AM – How to Raise Awareness Through Blogger Outreach

11:00 AM – Philanthropy for Everyone: Community Grantmaking

11:00 AM – The Science of Good Design: A Dangerous Idea

11:00 AM – Gaming the Environment for Positive Change with Philippe Cousteau

11:00 AM – Social Media Boundaries: Personal/Personnel Policy

2:00 PM – Coding the Next Chapter of American History (keynote)

3:30 PM – Boost Fundraising & Engagement with “Gamification”