Comments on: SXSW 2010: Highlights and Trends

By: John Leschinski

John Leschinski — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:31:18 +0000

I was one of the first people in Toronto to use Gowalla, and for the first 6 months it was pretty much the game aspect of it that kept me using it. Since then a ton of people have jumped on board as well as my group of friends and it’s become more useful. Though it’s not often I check to see where my peps are at, when I do it’s helpful.

I only recently got on Foursquare, but to be honest the design snob in me hates using it, and there is less of a game aspect to keep me continually using it.

By: Elke Hinze

Elke Hinze — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:37:57 +0000

I definitely thought this year’s conference was great. This was my first time and I took so much away. What stuck with me the most was the importance of content strategy and how to plan for it appropriately. <3 Kristina Halvorson, she's a genius.

Looking forward to applying some of the strategies that were discussed to the sites I work on.

By: Adam Schwabe

Adam Schwabe — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:36:24 +0000

@Chris:
Yeah, I didn’t really have a name for it before either, but I think it’s something we’ve innately been doing as UX designers for the past several years without really knowing it. I was glad to see the panels this year that defined the terms and techniques.

@Dave:
I’ll have some video up in the next couple days (incl. Lionhead Studios’ Peter Molyneux who designed the Fable games, and Dan Roam from Back of the Napkin). Agreed re: the wireframing sessions, particularly the “Nobody likes a wireframe” panel resonated with me as I’m trying to reduce our dependence on them as a practice where they don’t really serve a useful purpose.

By: Dave Vogler

Dave Vogler — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:15:24 +0000

Nice wrap-up. I look forward to reading your other highlights.
I had a similar experience there this year, and my head is still buzzing from all I took in and all the people I met.
Highlights for me include the wireframing/prototyping demonstrations, as well as Persuasive Design and Seductive Interactions.

I think UX in general was the big topic, at least in my impression.

By: Diesel Laws

Diesel Laws — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:19:02 +0000

Great post! It’s a great insight to an event miles away from me, but we are so lucky to be able to read all about it with the click of a button. Ah I love the web.

By: Chris Ovsenny

Chris Ovsenny — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:45:26 +0000

Great posting Adam – sounds like a facinating conference that seems to have made the leap to the mainstream.

And Persausive Design? I’m a firm believer in it although I never knew it had a name…
I’ll be digging through your links and session slides on the weekend…

thx!