Each year SXSW does a great job of engaging the interactive community by giving them a chance to vote on what sessions they want to see the following year. They receive thousands of submissions so this process is as necessary as it is inclusive. I would love to speak next year but I need your help to get there as community votes constitute 30% of the selection process. The topic I submitted is called: ‘Will the social web build the world we want?’ and here’s a short description of what it will be about.

Social media is transforming politics, the Middle East, corporate behavior and social activism. But how far can it go? Can citizens and customers, armed with social media and connected by shared values, create the movement for change that our world needs? Or will political manipulation, corporate self-interest and consumer fatigue overwhelm them? Drawing on the latest in social technology, business strategies and global economic insights, I’ll examine how the latest in social, mobile and gaming technologies will impact the way we elect leaders, generate profits and support causes in the future. I’ll look at the accelerating merger of the real and virtual worlds, the rising importance of virtual currencies, and the competing interests of nation states, companies and a connected global community. The speech will address the issue at the heart of the social media revolution – will it be an historic force for good, or merely a further complication of our already fractured lives and world?

Here are five specific questions the speech will answer:

1. How social media fundamentally shifts the practice of capitalism in ways that are good for society and the bottom line.

2. How social media empowers brands, customers and citizens to create a third pillar of social change in addition to government and philanthropy.

3. How game theory, virtual goods and social gaming can become a sustainable force for social change.

4. How corporations and their customer communities collaborate to massively scale social change.

5. What must happen if social media is to build on its momentum and become an historic movement for change?

I’d love your support so click here and hit the ‘thumbs up’ icon to vote for my speech.  I’ll also be sharing links to other speeches and panels I’m excited about once we know who gets in. Thanks for helping to make this possible.

Are there any other issues you’d like me to explore around this topic? Do you disagree with any of the questions listed above?