NerdXSW: Day 1 Recap
Well, it’s the first session of Day 2, and I made it only 10 minutes late! (I had to finish my breakfast of crepes–sustenance is key to a successful SXSW). I’m currently in the front row of “Web Fonts: The Time Has Come”, listening to some history of web fonts and writing up this update about my day yesterday.
For the first session of SXSW, I found myself in “History of the Button.” Bill DeRouchey presented a really fascinating look at the history of the button, from its original mechanical incarnation (the lever) to where we are today (flat surface, digital buttons on touch screen interfaces) to the future of buttons (dynamic surfaces that can raise and lower on demand to provide tactile buttons – cool!). Overall, it was an eye-opening presentation about something that we all take for granted in our everyday lives.
Next up was “Jacks of All Trades or Masters of One?,” a discussion about generalists versus specialists in technology. The panelists presented many of the characteristics of generalists and specialists, and walked the audience through a series of yes/no questions illustrating the difference between each. I found the panel quite interesting and engaging at the time, but even better was the discussion that it prompted over dinner later that night. Speaking of dinner…
I spent the last panel of the day camped out in back of ”Time + Social + Location. What’s next in mobile experience?”, tethered to an outlet, furiously twittering to organize dinner plans. While I was thinking about food, the panelists discussed where we are with location-based social media services (like Foursquare and Gowalla, the darlings of SXSW 2010) and what the future might hold.
Once the final session of the day let out, 20 or so Minnesotans at SXSW got together for dinner at The Boiling Pot, a cajun restaurant where they dump shrimp, crab, and crawfish in front of you right on the table. Dinner brought a lot of Minnesota camaraderie, as well as follow-on conversations about the panels each of had attended and what we had taken away.
I’m looking forward to what today holds–it’s shaping up to be a nerdy day for sure, including the web fonts panel I’m currently sitting in, and then a series of workshops: wireframing, CSS3/HTML5, and more web fonts! Wee!
Until next time,
Gillian
