SXSW | March 24, 2004
SXSW sounded great this year. So good in fact, that I plan to organise a Brighton contingent to go over next year. The quality of the panels sounded excellent, however it’s the social angle that seemed the biggest hit.
The majority of blog chatter focused less on the actual event, and more on the people they’d met. The chance to meet in person the people whose books you’ve read, who’s work you’ve admired and who’s RSS feeds you’ve been subscribed to for the last few years. That would be the big draw for me. I know just from attending local meet-ups, how cool it is to finally put a name to a face after so many years of reading peoples posts. SXSW seemed to do this to the power of 10.
This really brings home the power of the web, and in particular the power of blogging. It’s all about people. About fostering a community and creating new links and new friendships based on interest, not just geographic location. So I definitely plan to visit next year, for the social aspect alone.
In between all of the socialising, the panel discussions sounded great. These links have been in my todo file for a few days now, and have already filtered through the blogsphere. However, if you’ve missed them, you should really check out the following SXSW presentations.
- HiFi Design with CSS by Douglas Bowman
- HiFi Design with CSS by Dave Shea
- CSS: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly by Douglas Bowman
- CSS: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly by Dave Shea
- CSS: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly by Tantek Celik
- High Accessibility, High Design by Joe Clark
- The Frontiers of User Experience by Jeffrey Veen
- I Don’t Care About Accessibility by Jeffrey Veen
- Interface Design by Jason Fried
Comment
The people are great, the panels are excellent, and the chatter in the hall alone is worth the price of admission. Start planning now for next year, and you’ll definitely have a great time! (I’m already planning on going again!)
Comment
I’m with you on the Brighton contingent thing. I’ve been thoroughly envious reading everyone’s accounts of the festival and there’s a whole raft of bloggers , designers and their ilk that I’d like to meet up with.
Comment
I’m planning on going next year, assuming my company makes enough cash; maybe even roll it into a two week work holiday (working from my laptop when I get a chance, and, er, a laptop). That would be cool.
I’m not from Brighton though, I’m in Ireland. I wonder if any Dublin based people would be interested in attending?
Comment
Andy, don’t limit the trip to Brighton. I’d hazard a guess to that you’d find enough takers for a sizeable UK contingent. I want to go too!
Think about organising this trip, but don’t restrict it to Brighton people… PLEASE!
Comments on: SXSW
Jump to the comment form