SXSW 2009: A Parting Shot

This was a particularly good year for the SXSW Interactive, Film, and Music Festival, even in the economic "downturn," or whatever you are choosing to call it. One of the things that was not unusual to see were job seekers. What was unusual to see was how open to new projects most people were. It seems that in years past, whenever you heard talk of a project, specifically when it was between a successful business proprietor and a hungry talent start-up, there was a high wall to scale because of the risk. It seemed those walls were not so high this year as many professionals spoke of breaking into new and dangerous territory. That is awesome news in my book. I am speaking mainly of interactive endeavors, but even on the film side of the fence, greater risks were being openly discussed.

A hard topic to pin in conversation is money. Most who have it right now are keeping it. There was a real sense of barter-ism, as I heard many times that people just wanted to be doing something, even if it was free. There was just a great entrepreneurial spirit alive at the festival.

It was a very enlightening and successful time for myself. I hope that it was for others as well. The hospitality of the folks who put on SXSW was unmatched compared to other conference experiences. Austin showed itself well. Some of the bouncers along the infamous 6th street could stand to chill out just a lot, but that is another story for another time.

There was a closing panel called Rawking SXSW Year Round: Staying Inspired, and it was a very good theme for the entire festival. I hope people take the idea to heart and end up making half of the great ideas I heard being thrown around. If you're in the Austin area next year, or even if your not, make attending a priority. See you there next year.