Over the course of an exceedingly hectic and travel-filled March (four cities in three weeks!), I finally got the chance to attend SxSW Interactive. I was there for work (Adobe did a 2 day event as part of the festivities) and didn’t get the full SxSW experience.
Despite spending most of my time there snapping photos in a hotel ballroom, I did manage to get out a little, and I came away convinced of two things:
1) I want to go back next year, and
2) SxSW is what you make of it
There’s plenty of articles out there taking about SxSW from every possible angle. Depending on who you listen to, SxSW is anything from a 4-day partyfest to the most important event of the year for anyone touching the interactive world.
But ultimately – SxSW is a lot like Disneyworld. You can focus on a lot of different things when you do a trip to Disney. So much so that two families might have completely different experiences even though they’re both in Orlando at the same time. And you might come away hating the trip, or loving it, or wanting to do everything different the next time, or not wanting to change a thing.
So too with SxSW. And count me as a fan.