Opinion SXSW: a glimpse into the networked future

By Dré Labre

For one week in Austin, TX, during the South by South West (SXSW) conference, I got to experience what the future will be like. Beyond predictions of upcoming trends, more tangible than early glimpses into emerging technologies, the one thing that stood out more than anything else: Data. Austin, TX, transported me forward in time to when people openly share their data— the most basic of information— and life was different as a result.

March 2010, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport: As I waited at the baggage carousel for my suitcase, I switched my iPhone out of airplane mode and connected to the local 3G network. I then virtually announced my physical location using Foursquare so that my friends back home would know that I had landed safe and sound. But this time it was a little different. This time my phone told me that I was at the airport with 30 other people who had also just checked in and announced their whereabouts. I wasn't too surprised seeing as SXSW is one of the largest geek conferences in the world, so I knew to expect an abundance of smart phones and overall connectedness.

It wasn't until the next day, the first day of the conference, that I truly got to appreciate the sheer extent of that connectedness. With thousands of conference attendees sharing their data, announcing their current location, the rather large Austin Conference Center and surrounding hotels became a series of rooms on my handheld screen trending in popularity. I could see how many people were attending this lecture or that panel discussion. I could predict if a room would be at capacity. I could tell what topics or presenters other attendees were interested in checking out. I held a barometer of interest in the palm of my hand, all because a savvy group of conference-goers were voluntarily sharing one single data point— their current location.

Now imagine having this predictive ability across an entire city. Well, I don't have to imagine. As the conference day drew to a close, attendees made their way to restaurants, and later on, bars and nightclubs for the myriad of parties and sponsored events. The entire downtown core of Austin, TX, came alive on my iPhone. I could see where my friends were, or how many people were checked in at any given establishment. I could virtually monitor crowds of people migrating from one bar to another. If I wanted to be in the thick of things, I knew exactly where to go. If I wanted a quieter, less busy environment, I knew where to go for that too. A vision of a fully networked city was displayed before my eyes. It dawned on me that this year's SXSW wasn't about the tools but rather the connections that were made by the data being provided.

This perfect storm of geeks, devices and data called SXSW, Austin, TX, exemplified the possibilities of what a networked future could look like. With a temporary population of enthusiastic attendees collectively and simultaneously answering only one simple question— where are you?— the city sprang to life in the palm of our hands. Imagine what information other data sets could offer. My mind was opened to the possibilities of what tomorrow has in store for us. The future won't be about devices, it will be about data.

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Dré Labre, creative director with Rethink Communications in Toronto, Canada.

Photo credit: Foursquare Town Hollar by MariSheibley via Flickr.

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