SXSW prides itself on many things, but expanding the mainstream hivemind through a series of fascinating panels is one of its loftier aims. Expect the festival to host plenty of discussions by various high-profile characters in the media, on topics as broad-ranging as musings on why happiness is "the new currency" (by Dave Morin, CEO of Path) to answering, "Is aggregation theft?" (A talk by Gawker empire kingpin Nick Denton).

But personally, we're most excited for the panel called "The Curators and the Curated," led by esteemed custodians of the web David Carr (of The New York Times) and Maria Popova (of the @brainpicker Twitter account), along with Max Linsky, Mia Quagliarello and Noah Brier. The panel is supposed to discuss the tensions that arise in the art of appropriating original content for curation, how it is different from aggregation and how important curators actually are to publishers. We deem it a must-see event.