SXSW Hall

While SXSW is a special event, drawing together creative minds to collaborate in Film, Interactive and Music, and is usually a well-attended event, the economic roller coaster had its mark here too. The exhibition hall was sparse, to say the least, and the actual number of attendees was down from last year. While the attendees could be classified as hard-core Internet-types who are "here to stay," the sheer lack of volume made for a slightly watered-down feel to the overall impact. In my travel around the hall, though, I did get a picture with Elvis on his "hog" at the TrueLook booth. Here they offered visitors a photo with The King when you retrieved your email. You also had a chance to get a real-time snapshot of what was going on at that moment in the hall. The Robot Group took more booth space this year and showed off their homemade gadgetry that whirled, spun, lifted and catapulted. Brooks Coleman showed off his Art Bras, made out of metal and other wires (hot-tool.com). NetSpend drew people to their booth by offering sealed cards that "might be worth some money." Inside.com definitely had the most exciting and useful element at the conference - you could go and sync your palm at their kiosk with the most updated SXSW information.