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In
South
by Southwest Interactive,
the tech-geek festival that begins here Friday, some see a five-day
spring break of sorts: a chance to discover some buzzy new apps,
catch a few panels and party alongside Web celebrities, futurists and
many, many bloggers.
But
others see the festival as a microcosm of the larger tech-culture
community, a place to preview things that may become mainstream in a
few years and where trends that play out in downtown Austin are
indicators of what's to come.
Which
is why we wonder each year: Has the festival peaked? Will the
irrationally app-exuberant bubble finally burst?
If
SXSW Interactive doesn't keep growing at up to 40% every year, does
that mean the tech industry is slowing down or that the festival
itself has reached capacity? Or is it only the hype that has
plateaued?
This
year, some SXSW veterans feel the maturing festival, which began in
the late 1990s, may have reached a saturation point, especially when
it comes to start ups trying to draw attention to new products. SXSW
Interactive famously helped Twitter get off the ground in 2007 and
gave apps such as Foursquare and Highlight a boost in recent years.
But
as SXSW has gotten crowded, it's become much harder to stand out.
"I
feel like people are having to put more effort because there's so
much noise and so much going on," said Jennifer Sinski, an
entrepreneur who runs RSPVster,
which will auto-RSVP attendees to unofficial parties and events for a
fee.
This
year, Sinski said, "There's really no big app expected to
launch, nothing huge people are excited for on the tech side."
That
thought was echoed by a recent TechCrunch
article wonderng whether
the era of big SXSW app launches may have passed.
Just
days before the festival starts, there have also been no big blow-out
events announced to rival 2012's American Express concert featuring
Jay-Z, Bruce Springsteen's powerhouse gig or the
party for the app Mobli that
drew investors Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire to town.
American
Express will still be at the festival, but it will likely keep a
lower profile given
it announced 5,400 job cuts in
January. Microsoft is no longer a sponsor at Interactive this year,
and the annual TechKaraoke event will be missing.
That
being said, rumors that Justin Timberlake will perform continue to
swirl and notables such as former Vice President Al Gore,
entrepreneur Elon Musk, broadcaster Rachel Maddow and NBA star
Shaquille O'Neal are part of the official programming. And this
year's themes of private space travel, 3-D printing, hacker culture
and crowdfunding, still feel forward-looking.
Hugh
Forrest, the longtime director of SXSW Interactive, says a slowing of
growth may actually benefit the festival, which in recent years has
put a strain on Austin's infrastructure. Forrest says that based on
registration so far, the Interactive part of the festival is expected
to grow at a more modest rate of 5% to 8% this year.
"It's
definitely not the sharper increases we've had in the last few
years," Forrest said. "In many ways, that's a good thing.
It gives us the bandwidth to work out some of the rough edges."
Some
of the growing pains, especially in the festival's Startup Village
and Accelerator (a kind of "American Idol" competition for
startups), prompted the festival to expand its reach beyond Austin.
In August,it
will launch V2V in
Las Vegas, a new SXSW Interactive conference focused on tech
entrepreneurship.
It's
one way SXSW is hoping to alleviate the hotel crunch and downtown
congestion that happens here every March.
Stephanie
Wonderlin, a senior manager and social strategist with Momentum Factor, will be attending Interactive for her third year. Last year,
she hosted videos for Chevy, which was pushing its Volt vehicles to
techies at the fest.
Wonderlin
believes things have been quieter going into Interactive this year,
at least from her perspective. "I keep asking myself, 'What do I
feel is missing?' I don't know if it's me being snooty."
For
2013, she says her schedule has shifted from big parties to smaller
gatherings and networking, a trend she's seeing among friends, some
of whom aren't bothering to pay for a badge.
"I
think the size and how big it's gotten were just so overblown that
maybe people who have to be there now want to do things on their own.
One person told me, 'I would rather grab a bottle of wine and head up
to a rooftop with a small group of friends' than go to the big
parties," Wonderlin said.
"A
lot of people I know who are big company sponsors say they're not
even going to any of the sessions. I think the purpose of SXSW has
changed."
Sinski,
who's been going to SXSW Music for eight years and became more
interested in Interactive as she launched her company, says that
people who use her service are less interested in hype and big stars
than they are in free food, real networking and companies that have
something unique to show.
"Spending
a lot of money isn't as big a deal as it was two or three years ago,"
she said. "Now it's about what you can offer people."
Source:
cnn
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