This year’s virtual version of SXSW was a big moment, as it was one of the first big US events in 2020 to be cancelled because of the COVID pandemic. The festival is part tech exhibition, part film festival and part music festival. This year, of course, the tech had a different and even more pivotal role to play.
For me, the truly innovative aspect of this event was the understanding that the way people consume virtual content has changed. You could cast the platform experience to Apple TV or Roku, which led you to a TV guide style screen with content on five separate channels. I could channel surf, just like I would with my family while watching TV. I suddenly felt as though I had exclusive access to a new streaming service, rich with interesting content. Over the weekend, my family and I were able to watch several films, comedy sets, and musical performances that were part of their respective SXSW festivals. By allowing me to move away from my desk, psychologically I felt much more inclined to get involved and consume more of the content. In a world where many of us still spend much of our day in virtual meetings at a desk, that simple act of allowing me to change location was incredibly effective.
The platform itself was beautifully built, allowing me to track the sessions I wanted to see, watch them on-demand, meet 1:1 with other attendees, text chat with others during a live session and ask questions of presenters. It even used Picture-in-Picture (PiP) so that you could navigate the platform as you simultaneously watched a session. They also re-created the landmarks of Austin, the event’s usual venue, in XR. You did need access to a particular VR platform for this, though it would function without a headset. For those with the technical access though, this was a great immersive experience and an important reminder of the places around the globe which are missing out on their real life visitors right now.
Congress Avenue image courtesy of Blake Kammerdiener and SXSW
XR Meet-Up image courtesy of SXSW
As someone who loves and makes their living from live events, I can’t deny that I miss the random interactions that you get at the ‘in real life’ SXSW. Those moments where you stumble across a film, a band, or a piece of tech you might not have considered before. Having said that, the effort made by organizers to allow you to network virtually and chat with others was phenomenal to see. In a world where we all feel that sense of ‘Zoom fatigue,’ it’s great to see that organizations across the globe are still getting creative and making sure we have lots of great content to watch.
Image courtesy of SXSW
Content is key for me at any event and from a talk on the impact of 5G on the music industry with DJ Steve Aoki, to live comedy performances from NYC, this event certainly delivered. The fact that we were able to consume it in such a relaxed way was also a big bonus. Did I miss the usual plane ride home, where I’m buzzing with ideas about what I’ve just seen and the people I accidentally met? Yes. But, SXSW more than met the challenge of bringing one of the most artistic, creative, and engaging live events to the virtual world. Let’s hope it’s not too long before we see those great virtual innovations combined with live experiences on the ‘real’ streets of Austin once again.
