I realized I didn't finish my email about SXSW perhaps because I am conflicted a bit about the festival. For those that haven't followed it in the past, it was originally a music festival in 1987 followed by a film festival followed by the interactive festival. All take place during spring in Austin with different start and end dates. The interactive/social media part of the festival is famous for launching Twitter, and also to a lesser extent Foursquare. Of course, with anything this successful, the festival has become more crowded (or maybe cluttered is a better word) with both big brands and smaller start ups all hoping to generate some ever elusive buzz. So the question is now that this at one time underground festival has gone mainstream, will it still have that same success in the past and will it help to catapult a new social media trend?
What do you think? Feel free to share your SXSW thoughts here!
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4 comments:
I agree SXSW used to be obscure and relatively unknown but now it seems to have become more mainstream. I feel like the Twitter launch just happened there by chance and it is unlikely that the next big thing will come out of the festival
I agree the festival has gone mainstream, but I also think that the whole "indie" scene/movement has become more widespread in general. As far as launching the next big social media trend....yes and no. Companies have certainly seen the opportunities for exposure at the festival, but smaller start-ups often emerge from less well-known places. So maybe the question is...what is the next SXSW? Haha!
Even though the festival may not longer exist on the fringe of the conference world, as long as there are innovative minds behind the conference I think it will continue to enjoy success and recognition as the birthplace of certain trends such as those connected to social media. The history of the conference alone−from music to film and music to interactive, film and music−is testament to how new approaches to bringing creative and knowledgeable people together can be quite successful, particularly when these people work in somewhat interrelated fields. Perhaps smaller gatherings specific to certain topics that are organized in conjunction with the larger festival is one example of how the festival might keep its innovative roots. This year a new two-day technology summit was added to the festival mix. And of course other new events introduced this year such as the Meet Up Pavillion (“a space for registrants to connect with people in each industry”) and SXsaloon (“the SXSW Hiring Hub, where registrants may discover new career opportunities”) are also good ways to bring creators and innovators together/to set in motion what may end up to be contributions to the world of tomorrow.
"Jack of all trades, master of none" - that is what the SXSW website makes me think of. There is sooo much happening. The amount happening is extremely overwhelming and I wonder how they can really focus on and promote one area solidly with so many other competing priorities and distractions. I guess it can go back to the idea of integration and promoting different types of media with one goal - creative content. But I'm skeptical. I feel like a smaller start-ups will get overlooked in the sea that is SXSW.
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