Thoughts About SXSW 2008
posted at 6:32 pm
on Mar. 17, 2008
Prrrevious entry:
I’m On Me Way Down (in Size)
'nother entry:
Kinzin, Facebook Ads and th' Inadvertent Huckster
Did I really go?
Time flies. It just does. Life’s short, and gettin' shorter. No matter how smartly I can pop popcorn in th' microwave or fill up a tank o' gas or have pizza delivered, time just keeps on zippin' by, and, like TiVo, I’m also gettin' better and better at smartly forwardin' through th' “boring” parts.
Whar be I? Oh aye, Austin. Fer South by Southwest, th' annual uber-tribal gatherin' o' social Web designers and developers.
Susie, Matt and I headed down together, and Shane Birley o' LeftRightMinds came along as well.
Th' size o' th' conference be, t' me untrained eye, perhaps doubled this year. I figured that, since I’ve gone fer several years now, and since I be knowin' morrrr and morrrr people who be goin' (i.e. th' Vancouver Mafia), that I’d meet fewer people.
But in fact th' opposite be true. Not only did I meet morrrr people this year, but th' people I did meet, th' majority be attendin' fer th' first time.
Wi' all those new people, I also worried that th' conference would “jump th' shark” a bit as well, but that wasn’t th' case at all. Not only be th' panels excellent, but th' quality o' th' people in th' halls and th' parties be still high.
And by high, I mean: smart, doin' interestin' projects, and fer th' most part, not huckster-ish self-promotion. I mean, yeah, there be a lot o' bravado and new projects launchin', but th' energy powerin' it be still a wide-eyed “gee-whiz,” check out this thin' called “Twitter”, and not a jaded “let’s reach additional marketshare and penetratin' a new vertical by rebrandin' this product wi' new social features” attitude.
I also had many, many good meals that be hard t' come across in Vancouver, mostly built aroun' re-fried beans and red sauce.
It be definitely colder this year, but not as rainy as last, and th' parties be as off-th'-hook as e'er. One bad note: Facebook, yer invite process sucked, and if it be 1/100th as hard t' join yer site as it be t' get into yer party, ye’d only have 8,000 members today. Th' buzz aroun' Facebook I heard at SXSW be almost uniformly downbeat: privacy issues, leadership issues, valuation issues, “spam” issues*. If it wasn’t already such a juggernaut, I’d be worried about it.
* “spam” because it’s not really a spam issues bein' discussed, it’s attention-interruption and useful app development issues.
Oh, and Susie’s book readin' went well, but be as sparsely attended as ye’d expect th' first session o' th' day on th' last day would be. No one at SXSW gets up early, and by early, th' first session’s just at 10 a.m. 😊
So, that’s me round up. Photos come later, when I have time.
Prrrevious entry:
I’m On Me Way Down (in Size)
'nother entry:
Kinzin, Facebook Ads and th' Inadvertent Huckster
