At SXSWi, Mark Himmelsbach, BBDO’s SVP and Director of Digital Strategy participated on a panel discussion on community building for non-profits and then took some time to interview one of his fellow panelists, Scott Orn, founder of Ben’s Friends. Scott explains what inspired the creation of Ben’s Friends, a social network for people with rare diseases, and how grassroots community building tactics keep it thriving.

South-by-Southwest is one of those places. It's the kind of place where you can see Jared Leto walking through the lobby of the convention center (which I did). Or sit on a plane with the guys from Epic Meal Time (which I did). It's this place where digital media, new business and technology meet, a crossroads of the future of content, the future of connection and the future of communication.

This year BBDO and Proximity Worldwide have submitted some sizzling ideas that will bring some of the best thought leaders in the digital and content spaces together to cover critical topics designed to make next year’s gathering the best yet. We encourage you to vote as many times as possible for our South by Southwest panel ideas.

The annual South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) conference has just come to a close in Austin, Texas and Digital Lab was on hand to witness a veritable festoon of technorati-laden keynotes and panel discussions, million dollar brand-backed shindigs, graphic sticker and t-shirt soaked trade show aisles and ad hoc hotel lobby smoozefests.