Austin , Texas ( CNN ) -- When you consider ( 1 ) that he 's a comic actor known for playing dysfunctional characters , and ( 2 ) the photo above , you might expect Rainn Wilson 's presentation at SXSW Interactive to have been full of laughs . And you would be right . For the first 20 minutes . Wilson , best known for his role as the aggressively clueless Dwight Schrute on TV 's `` The Office , '' began his talk with random slides ( `` Here 's a baby monkey riding a boar '' ) , gags about the early days of the Internet and jokes about his postings on Twitter , where he has almost 3 million followers . `` Friendster still exists , '' he said while reminiscing about his dial-up Web history . `` It 's like an Internet ghost town ... where all the people are preserved in amber , circa 2003 . '' An audience of several thousand people , who packed a cavernous hall for a talk billed as `` The View from Inside Rainn Wilson 's Brainstem , '' laughed along . But then Wilson shifted gears , turned earnest and devoted the rest of his session to Soul Pancake , the website he co-founded to help people explore life 's big questions . `` Soul Pancake is really an expression of who I am as a human being , '' said the actor , a member of the Baha ' i faith . `` It 's very important to me . It 's very personal . '' Launched in 2009 , the site encourages users to post thought-provoking musings about spirituality , philosophy , creativity and other meaty topics . Users can read original content while posing questions , engaging in discussions and undertaking creative activities such as writing exercises . It attracts a modest following -- about a million page views a month -- and is still not profitable , Wilson said . He said he launched the site to `` de-lamilfy spirituality , '' to promote conversations and to bring people together about metaphysical topics . Also ? `` Spirit Taco was taken . '' Wilson argued the Web has a unique power to inspire users -- he cited his own past as an awkward , lonely teen-ager who was looking to connect with like-minded people -- by helping them make sense of things and find their place in the world . `` I believe the Internet is the future of spirituality , '' he said . `` It 's a spiritual act to share a beautiful photo on Instagram . It 's a spiritual act to sell something beautiful you 've crafted on Etsy . '' Wilson said Soul Pancake has evolved into a media-production company that is launching a YouTube channel and creating programming for Oprah Winfrey 's TV network . He showed a brief original clip of a `` Heart Attack '' -- cheerful dancers in cartoon-heart costumes , making people smile by engulfing them on a California boardwalk . `` That 's why I 'm sharing this , '' said Wilson , a 46-year-old husband and father . `` We need connection . We need compassion . We need nurturing . '' Wilson 's heartfelt tone and proselytizing may have caught audience members off guard . Some trickled out midway through his talk . But he still found time for a few comedic riffs . On audience interaction : `` Any questions ? I do n't care . Shut up . '' On the Buddha : `` He 's a chubby guy . He 's like the Andy Richter of religious icons . '' On his ill-fated ( and made-up ) attempt to launch Twatter , a social-media service in which messages must be a minimum of 140,000 characters : `` I lost millions of dollars . Terrible idea . ''
and Owen Wilson ( ` ` The Office '' ) performed Saturday at South By Southwest . Wilson has a website , Soul Pancake , that attempts to connect people around spiritual issues . Wilson : ` ` It 's a spiritual experience to share a beautiful story on Instagram ''