A social media platform for mobile devices created by Emerging Media and Communication (EMAC) students is creating buzz at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference in Austin.
Placethings is one of 32 finalists in the second annual Accelerator Competition at SXSW Interactive, which has become the world’s premier emerging technology event.
Placethings beat out hundreds of other companies to become a finalist. Its EMAC student creators will present before a live audience and panel of judges at SXSW on March 15 at the Hilton Austin.
“Placethings creates personal, shareable layers of media on top of real-world locations, connecting places with stories,” according to Dean Terry, director of the UT Dallas EMAC program. “Tell people about your trip, guide them through a city, tell stories about where you’ve been, what happened, and what is important with video, pictures, sound, and beautiful, shareable maps.”
Placethings was developed in EMAC’s MobileLab research group under Terry’s direction. It was co-created by Terry, undergraduate Arts and Technology student Nicholas Spencer and EMAC graduate student John Syrinek.