The Lacyration of SXSW

Props to Lacy (I read her piece) for being able to rise above the mud and some of the less slimy stuff that was slung at her, but I'd disagree with many of the points that she makes, including the stuff on women; it's way basic and simplified in her account.

As to the matter of whether the conference was (1) a learning conference, or (2) a conference where "things breakthrough" (two different things of course) I'd counter that there was a huge variety of panels and keynotes to go to, and you could pick dud ones (as you could in previous years BTW) but I learned a lot from the ones I went to.

Also, learning isn't always about computational outcomes. I know I'm gutted that I missed the PostSecret founder's keynote for both computational and more "fluffy" reasons.

As for breakout companies, even if you discount the likes of Seesmic (who did quite well methinks - but it's still a more alpha play was than Twitter in 2007); well there are other trends and issues that are bubbling to the surface that maybe aren't such sexy headline grabbers for reporters who operate in the old-school "news-story" sphere.

Five that I would note from SXSW08 are:

- social design, design for mobile and the impact of the iPhone
- work/life balance and maintaining creativity and productivity when you're enveloped in "the cloud"
- the nitty gritty of dealing with business and clients (IMO always covered excellently at SXSW for both newbs and more mature peeps)
- data portability
- green technology

The last two may register bigger on the trad reporter's radar by next year, but the first three have had very nuanced explorations at SXSW 08. I'll ping this post when I've blogged them in more details.

Almost finally, big conference/festivals like SXSW (or The Big Chill http://www.bigchill.net/festival.html - my other fave) normally do lose a little something as they get slightly bigger every year, but I have to say (and I try to be highly attuned to and critical of the ecosystems of events) SXSW has something in its DNA that's kept if fresh as if it was my first time, even if it's never the same

Finally - you meet so many great people at SXSW (granted there are ways this could be improved on) that it's incredibly valuable and life/work enriching for this reason alone. Sure that sounds schmaltzy & networky etc, but I swear by it's veracity from my three years attending.