I have returned from SXSW Interactive a new—and nerdier—copywriter. And I’m thrilled. I’ve come back with all kinds of cool new insights into the high-tech world we are attempting to influence each day. So, here are my main takeaways from the conference for you and your own geek to mull over.
-Content rules. Ah, music to my ears. This was a major recurring theme at the conference. It was fabulous to hear VIP experience designers and writers and content strategists say what I already knew but wasn’t sure I could say out loud: that content is the real hero of your Web site. I now feel free to be a stalwart content evangelist. I will take no prisoners.
-Your Web content requires strategic care and feeding. Whether your site is five pages or five million. I had the privilege of meeting content strategy queen Kristina Halvorson at SXSW and hear her break down the content strategy process in clear steps. It’s no longer an abstract concept for me, and I’m excited to start implementing it on all my Web projects. I hope resistance is low.
-Collaboration on Web projects! You know I mean business when I use an exclamation point. We creators of Web sites need to do more talking and sharing and loving. We should all be holding hands from kick-off through concept through QA testing. For some agencies this is a no-brainer, for others it’s really hard to break out of the silos. But I’m inspired to tear down the walls brick by brick.
-Data is a freakishly powerful thing. I just want everyone to think about this and let your minds be blown for a moment. Every minute you spend on a computer shopping online, taking quizzes, signing up for a new social network—you’re giving personal data that is accumulating in cyberspace. If all the sites you are cozy with got together and shared that data, they’d know a heck of a lot about you. And knowledge is power. This is why starting today, I will stop making fun of the kids at MIT.
Check out hunch.com for a site that is going to know everything about everyone someday.
-Mobile gives us the power to do more good than ever. Okay, so your iPhone can help you find the nearest bathroom or organic supermarket. That’s cool. But it can also help you save the world, a notion that makes me a little more okay with people spending so much time engrossed in their gadgets. For some awesome examples of how mobile technology has helped people in recent crises, check out Ushahidi and Mission4636.
-The future is gonna be insane. We’re all gonna be on live video feeds all the time and let robots speak for us at meetings and go to parties as 3-D avatars and order dessert according to our unique DNA profiles. Just so you know.
I also attended a cool discussion hosted by ad hero Luke Sullivan. If you’re a creative who wants to expand your digital savvy, visit http://tinyurl.com/sxswadpro and check out the resources they’re collecting for your edumacation.
Who are you guys!?!?!?! Er...gals?? I feel like I've known you all my life -- just from your voice. This is a great post -- you've got creativity and sharing and numbers and saving the world all rolled into one. What more could you want?
Best of luck, please stay in touch -- and yeah, I like making friends and words like manifesto also. cheers!
Posted by: lisa hickey | May 10, 2010 at 09:57 PM