South by Southwest Interactive Festival Announces Facebook Founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, Among Keynote Speakers

South by Southwest Interactive Festival Announces Facebook Founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, Among Keynote Speakers

The 15th annual SXSW Interactive Festival is on pace to be biggest year ever

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival, March 7-11, 2008, in Austin, TX, is excited to unveil this year's featured keynote speakers. In addition to the keynotes, SXSW Interactive programming includes 500+ speakers, over 150 panels, various breakout sessions and an array of evening events.

SXSW is pleased to announce Facebook's founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, as the keynote presentation on Sunday, March 9, at 2 p.m. Sarah Lacy, author, BusinessWeek columnist and co-host of Yahoo Finance's "TeckTicker," will host the on-stage interview with Zuckerberg, the 23-year old who has emerged as one of the brightest young minds in the booming social media industry. With his direction, Facebook has grown from a college networking tool to a global phenomenon. The site is now used by people of all ages with over 50 percent of users returning daily. As Facebook continues to launch new innovations and expand functionality with Facebook Platform, the number of users on the site continues to soar -- more than 60 million at last count.

"We are thrilled to have Mark Zuckerberg as a keynote speaker at SXSW Interactive this year," said SXSW Interactive Festival Director, Hugh Forrest. "Our community is fascinated with the ongoing growth of Facebook -- and I know they will enjoy hearing Zuckerberg's insights on the future of his company and the space as a whole. Moreover, his emergence as a global technology trend-setter at such a young age reflects the power of new media that we showcase each year at SXSW Interactive."

This year's Opening Remarks will be given by Henry Jenkins, author and Co-Director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at MIT, and Steven Johnson, author of several popular emerging technologies books.

Frank Warren, a New York Times best-selling author and founder of the innovative PostSecret project, will be delivering the Monday, March 10, keynote at SXSW Interactive. Warren's blog PostSecret.com is one of the most viewed websites in the world.

Additionally, game designer Jane McGonigal will be keynoting on Tuesday, March 11, the final day of the Interactive Festival. As a senior researcher at the Institute for the Future, McGonigal develops and specializes in collaborative games that blur the line between virtual worlds and real world experiences.

About the SXSW Interactive Festival

Scheduled March 7-11 in Austin, Texas, the 2008 SXSW Interactive Festival provides practical how-to information as well as unparalleled career inspiration, bringing together some of emerging technology's most creative thinkers. The event features five days of keynote speeches, more than 120 panels, the SXSW Web Awards, the iF! Trade Show & Exhibition, the ScreenBurn Arcade, and dozens of exciting evening events. For more information on SXSW Interactive, see http://www.sxsw.com/interactive.

Contact:
Caroline Traylor
Porter Novelli for SXSW Interactive
512-241-2239
Caroline.traylor@porternovelli.com

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Source: SXSW Interactive Festival

CONTACT: Caroline Traylor of Porter Novelli, +1-512-241-2239,
Caroline.traylor@porternovelli.com, for SXSW Interactive

Web site:

http://www.sxsw.com/

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