SXSWi: Top takeaways

It's been nearly two weeks since I returned from South by Southwest Interactive, but work has been very busy since I returned, so I'm just now coming up for air.

So what did I learn? Lots. Here are my top takeaways.

• Smaller, intentionally-cultivated online communities equal more signal, less noise.
• Social networking sites are moving away from profiles as being the primary point of interaction and more toward status messages (basically, Twitter is the future).
• Someday, not too far from now, which social network(s) you're on will mean as little as which email provider you use. You'll be able to see and interact with all your friends' info, regardless of what platform they use (or we'll all be using Facebook). Activity should belong to the user, not the platform.
• "As people take control over their data while spreading their web presence, they are not looking for privacy, but for recognition as individuals. This will eventually change the whole world of advertising" -Esther Dyson
• If you want to be good at marketing on the social web, focus on your operations first rather than a campaign. How you do business is what people will talk about - not what messages you're pushing.
• When you're doing a PowerPoint presentation, "Don't put the script of the film up on the screen." (In other words, don't spell out your points, illustrate them somehow.)
• To know your users and get a good sense of how to improve your site, don't do a random focus group of folks off the street. Instead, engage the people who are already on your site through surveys and other means. You need both qualitative (surveys) and quantitative (Google Analytics) data to be able to make sense of things.

I also wanted to share some takeaways specifically from a panel entitled, "What Do I Do With Myself, Now That the Economy Has Collapsed?" It was geared more toward folks who were job hunting than those who are gainfully employed, like myself, but I think the advice was good no matter where you are in your career.

• Make time to learn new skills (especially programming languages) to build up your resume.
• Be a generalist. The more different kinds of things you can do, the better positioned you'll be for your next job.
• Pursue your passions. Learn about the things that interest you, even if you don't see a direct connection to your career now. It may come up in the future. (For instance, one person on the panel was very interested in wine and took a two-month class on wine tasting and pairing. Not directly related to what she's doing, but if there's ever an opportunity for her skills in that industry, she has an edge.)
• Work through stress by working. In a down economy, buy an option on yourself. Invest in yourself. Take that stress and burn through it in a productive way to invest in your self, your skills, your network, and what it takes to get to the next thing.
• Organize small, weekly dinners with local people in professions like yours. Bounce ideas of each other, get inspired.
• If you're looking for work and you have a blog, make sure you mention that you're looking for work on your blog. You may have fans out there looking to hire somebody that fits your skills.

I had a really great time, learned a lot, met Felicia Day, went to some great parties, spread the gospel of KaBOOM!, and met some great people who I hope to remain in touch with.

If you want a taste of the event, check out their podcasts of the various panels. I particularly recommend these:

• Social Media Marketing
• Career Renegade: How To Make A Great Living Doing What You Love
• The Ecosystem of News