By Hannah Johnson

I love to recount the story of how Penguin tried to host a panel at the 2009 South by Southwest Interactive conference (SXSW) and how the audience ate the panelists alive with snark via Twitter and accusations about unfair gatekeeping practices (read about it here, here and here). Afterwards, one of the panelists explained the audience-speaker clash by saying: that was unfair! We couldn’t defend ourselves against the Twitter onslaught because we didn’t even know what Twitter was!

My fellow book people, I think we can represent a little better this year, don’t you? Download a Twitter app to your phone, put on your coolest t-shirt, and brush up on some social media vocab.

SXSW might be another annoying future-of-the-world conference with high-schoolish cliques of ueber-cool digerati trying to impress each other with their Ray Bans and their MacBooks, or it might be a place where people get together and create something that will change your life and business very soon. Mostly likely, SXSW is a little of both.

Here are a few must-see panels in 2010 (if you aren’t attending, videos will be made available online):

• Touch + The Holy Grail of Delight
  Find out how to optimize the customer experience in apps and stores on multi-touch devices.
• What Are Analytics? A Guide To Practical Data
  Hear from the geeks how to really analyze analytics data
• The Power Shift: Who Stands Between Creator and Audience
  Discuss whether to cut out the middle man in film distribution (and consequently, book distribution)
• Why Keep Blogging? Real Answers for Smart Tweeple
  You might recognize some of these bookish panelists!
• How to Create a Viral Video
  Find out how to get your book trailer in front of millions of people
• iPad: New Opportunities for Content Creators
  Learn how to create e-books that will save the publishing industry!
• Transmedia 2010: Are We There Yet?
  Stories don’t just come in books anymore!
• New Publishing and Web Content
  Book publishing is now called “content strategy”
• A Brave New Future for Book Publishing
  Penguin panel repeat?
• Why Gen Y Wants to Work ‘With’ You, Not ‘For’ You
  Figure out what makes your new hires tick
• Music Licensing for Emerging Media: Apps, Widgets, Viral Videos
  Need some music for your enhanced e-book?
• Cracking the Books’ User-Generated Content in Education
  Is it a good idea to crowdsource educational material?

More tips for SXSW attendees:

• The Twitter hashtag for each panel and session can be found at the bottom of the panel description online. Add your snark to the stream!
• It might not be as warm as you want it to be in Austin.
• Visit the South By Bookstore hosted by Barnes & Noble to find out just how many of these speakers and panelists still make their money from traditional publishing (despite what they may be saying about us!)
• Absolutely do not leave Austin without eating at the Salt Lick. Prepare yourself for a BBQ overload at this sprawling restaurant just outside of town.