SXSW Day 1: Tablet users don’t want the news experience to mimic the printed newspaper – at all

By Scott Woodhouse

Mish (Fabok) and I always knew SXSW would be a hectic trip, but this is ridiculous. Three days in, I’m still rocking some mean jetlag, can’t shake this perpetual hangover, and am suffering serious choice overload from a presenter lineup that’s impossibly good.

Here’s a wrap-up of my first day here in Austin – complete with reality checks for the SXSW first-timer.

Mish and I did all the due diligence. We carefully crafted our schedules, and rocked up to the AT&T Convention Centre 90 minutes before our first session.

We tacked onto the back of a short line at the foot of a staircase thinking we were there early. What we didn’t realise is that upstairs, the room was already filled to capacity, and had a line of 100+ people standing outside the front door. This happened three times that morning. Lesson learned.

Winning at SXSW is like strategy: 1] You have to make tough sacrifices – really, you can get into two or three sessions a day; 2] Once you know what’s really important, you need to over-commit to those things to make them happen. People have travelled a long way to get here and everyone’s a hustler – and knowledge, access and party RSVPs the currencies they’re trading in.

A bit devo’d that we’d missed three great sessions, Mish and I went and met Sydney Whybin\TBWA crew @anthonydever and @benxtan at Casino El Camino – dive bars is something Austin does very well.

Things started to go our way in the afternoon. My first session “Lean Forward, Lean Back: Tablet News and Experiences”, by @DrMarioRGarcia, @saraquinn and @gotoplanb explored how newspaper can best be translated into a tablet experience. Key takeout: tablet users don’t want the news experience to mimic the printed newspaper – at all. Publishers need to be brave, think differently and throw out what they think works in content.

In the next session “Spreadable Media: Value, Meaning & Network Culture”, @henryjenkins, @joshgreen and @Sam_Ford looked at how content moves really across the web, and questioned some of the conventions and buzzwords we use as marketers – like “sticky”, “viral” and “influencers”. Key takeout: brands need to dig into the complex human and cultural context in which conversations are taking place – things you won’t find in social media listening reports.

So the rest of the night is a bit of a blurr. Key moments of interest though: cocktails with bacon in them, Jeff Pulver’s Party and the VICELAND party [co-sponsored by TBWA] – thanks for the RSVP’s guys, I think Mish and I pushed our luck to the limit with +10 guests!

Scott Woodhouse is a planner and Mish Fabok is a digital producer – both are from Whybin\TBWA Group, Melbourne and both are in Austin to get serious about interactive, tacos and parties. Woodhouse is writing exclusively for Campaign Brief.