All of the major SXSW Interactive parties featured dazzling performances such as Frog Design’s fire dancers and breakdancers. They were fun but not exactly an interactive experience. Crowd stands in circle. Takes pictures. Claps. Yawn… The most fun I had during the entire time at the conference was when 16 Bit’s Freak Show stopped, the 80’s tunes started, and the geeks went nuts.
Below: Sarah Lacy chats with folks at 16 Bit shortly before the fun really started. (Note: I also had to hop a fence to get in)
The most discussed event of SXSW Interactive 2008 was probably the now infamous interview with Business Week’s Sarah Lacy and Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg. This was an interview that started with excited geeks dancing in the aisles (seriously) and ended with an audience revolt. I can’t think of another SXSW discussion, panel, gathering, or event that captured so many themes that are at the heart of the changes in media, PR, social networks, tech, Web 2.0, and so on.
Julio Fernandez (with permission)
So what happened? Jeff Jarvis, Brian Solis, and the Guardian’s Jemima Kiss do a great job of breaking it down. Take your pick and you’ll have a pretty good understanding of how the interview unfolded.
