The new celebs of interactive are boring.

Reflecting on the keynotes at SXSWi.  It’s well enough documented elsewhere, but Danah Boyd and Valerie Casey gave us thoughtful wide-ranging provocations – on the importance of privacy online (http://www.danah.org/papers/talks/2010/SXSW2010.html, http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23openingremarks) and ideas for how to approach systemic change in relation to some of our most challenging social problems (http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23sundaykeynote, http://twitpic.com/18sj7z).
Intelligent, pithy and extremely articulate, [...]

How the internet disrupted the music industry

Very practical session from Songkick – the UK based site that lets you know when you’re   favourite bands are gigging.
Nicely handled by Ian Hogarth (CEO Songkick) all alone which made a refreshing change from the endless panel format.
Basically, the internet has brought fans more choice, made it easier for unsigned acts to build a [...]

Heading out to Austin

Leaving tomorrow for the UK Arts Council’s second delegation of artists and producers to SXSWi.  So, on the eve of this portentous moment, what’s it all about then?
The UK has one of the brightest and most significant creative industries economies in the world – contributing nearly £60bn a year into the UK economy, about 7.3% [...]

An evaluation narrative – What did the SXSWi trip deliver for artists and producers, and what should the Arts Council do next?

Inside conference centre

Reflecting back on the UK creatives trip to SXSWi earlier this year, and the things that seems to have impacted most on people who went were the network that was created between the UK group, the opportunity to almost breathe in all things interactive, and how useful it was to get away from [...]

Thoughts a year on

As we prepare for the 2010 delegation to SXSW, those of us who took part in the first one reflect back on what the trip delivered.  As we met in a wet and wintery January with the new group of delegates who will head off to Texas for the 2010 trip, thoughts turned to experiences [...]