Thanks to a bout of SXSars/SXSykness/Nerd Bird Flu, my annual round up of SXSWi is admittedly a bit late this year, so please forgive me in advance.
I’m happy to say the number of winners far out-numbered the losers this year. Thanks to a swell in attendees, lame parties thrown by lame startups were filled to the brim with cool party overflow. Speakers with nary a following were treated to a real audience. And LacyGate bumped traffic for geek gossip rags and of course, Twitter. I would venture to say at this point that the only losers this year were our immune systems and perhaps a certain NY Governor.
So, without further ado…
Mark Zuckerberg’s Keynote
Although, not a winner, the train wreck that was Zuck’s keynote certainly takes the prize of conference highlight. From the higgledy-piggledy interview stylings of Sarah Lacy to Mark’s inability to go off script, the hour just confirmed what we knew all along. Mark Zuckerburg is not human, but in fact, a machine and/or a Bangalorean customer service agent.
Twitter
It goes without saying that Twitter was 2008’s biggest winner. Last year, I voted it number one for beating Dodgeball as the primary means of party tracking. However, this year it was like breathing air. From LacyGate to Pure Volume, the sheer number of tweets this year was unparalleled. I’m surprised Zuck’s lame attempt at banter didn’t bring down their servers entirely.
BlogHaus
AMD served up some valuable Blog Lovin’ with its second round of BlogHaus. Despite the heat, noise, and lack of adequate space and food/beer, the lounge served its purpose of fostering community amongst bloggers. (Note to AMD: Reserve at least three rooms next year – one for video, another for meetings and conversation, and the last for actual blogging. You had it right the first time around during BlogHaus CES at the Bellagio – open bar, HDTV, tricked out studio, and plenty of power strips.)
Ruby Red Labs/dipity
The unlikely bro-mance between the two startups offered substantial after-hours entertainment via their roving RVip. Random passengers absconded from the street were treated to open bar, karaoke, free hot nachos, and Austin Urban Legends - all from the comfort of a fully loaded RV. Honorable mention goes to GETV’s live streaming taxicab confessional chauffeured by the legendary Ms. Irina Slutsky.
Social Media Academic Rockstar Henry Jenkins
MIT’s formidable expert on children and social media’s keynote on reevaluating standardized teaching methods was inspirational. (Apparently, MySpace is not a waste of time, but job skills training!) I’m biased of course, given the man was my grad school idol, but general consensus suggested he was indeed a conference highlight.
The Onion /Barbarian Group
Best play on attendee Web 2.Ho’ness goes to The Onion and Boston’s own Barbarian Group who co-sponsored the official “launch party” of hot new Social Networking site frrvrr. In addition to rockin bands, the party provided brilliant commentary on how even the most web savvy folk are all too willing to sign over their personal data out of sheer laziness.
Rana Sobhany
WashingtonVC’s PR prodigy threw not one, but two destination parties this year – the iheartcaveman.com party and the Official Rock! Band party. Ballroom Blitz took what was left of my voice and most of my dignity, but thankfully no one was really watching (at least I hope).
The Rest
There are several more winners that deserve mention in this post, most notably digg’s Bigg Digg Shindig (featuring Marc Cuban, Moby, and the very sassy/savvy Aubrey Sabala). Unfortunately, my SXSyckness has taken hold again. A complete list will have to wait for 2009.
Until next year then…
