Social Media Top Five: SXSW Edition (or Not), and Happy Birthday Internet!

It’s South by Southwest Interactive this weekend, since everybody’s attention span is shortened by imbibing in too much, um, Internet knowledge, I will keep things short this week.

********
First, a SXSW Twitter Break (all Twitter breaks are actual Tweets), to give you a taste of the great thoughts being flung across the Internet from the SXSW crowd in Austin, Texas:

“Overheard at #sxsw Emo’s event: Q – “are you into social media?” A – “oh no, we’re here for the Lone Star””
********

The Web is 20 years old? All that means to me is it still needs a fake ID, but at least it’s old enough to vote. Maybe the Internet did elect Obama after all.

********
*SXSW Twitter Break*
“At the Pasties and Pastries Party (that’s cupcakes and burlesque) at Emo’s. #sxsw”
********

For Social Web, is it “Federate” or “Aggregate?” While Om Malik has the details down, I see the choice between federation (essentially, having portable social media ideas) and aggregation (pulling your social media content into one place– or maybe it’s pushing it out from one place- I forget) thus; geeks will love Federation because it’s a Star Trek word; slackers will love aggregation because it’s less work. I bet a bag of Doritos that aggregation wins.

********
*SXSW Twitter Break*
“I once beat six ninjas for a hot Asian women in beer pong #SXSW”
********

Is Twitter’s “Suggesting” Celebrities for New Users to Follow Alienating Long-Time Users? Dave Winer thinks so. Me? It took Winer’s article for me to notice Twitter was even doing that. So, new users get recommended certain “celebrities” to follow. That’s a standard pre-package feature. They could charge for it, as Jason Calacanis suggests. It has nothing to do with conversations and relationship building, so I will go back to not noticing.

********
*SXSW Twitter Break*
“Ted just gave a nickel to a black man wearing a confederate flag. I guess this Texas #sxsw”
********

Geoff Livingston’s “Anti-Fan” Movement, or “I Won’t Not Join a Club That Would Not Have Me as an Anti-Member”: Aside from my tortured misquote of Groucho Marx, this has grown out of frustration with the charlatans, idiots, and “gurus” (please kill that word and embarrass anyone who uses it– thanks) who either game social media systems to amass large “follower” numbers quickly or simply pay too much attention to numbers of followers over quality of network and/or conversation.

Great idea, but as of this writing the Facebook Group only has 81 fans. Kinda lame. Let me know when you have 1,000, Geoff, then I’ll pay attention.

********
*SXSW Twitter Break*
“#sxsw Tomorrow I have to choose between BJ Novak and Lawrence Lessig. DAMN YOU, SXSW!!!”
********

Social Networks Now More Popular than Email:
Oh, you mean in numbers, traffic. Effectiveness of marketing newsletters aside, Email’s popularity has been pretty low with me for about five or six years- at least. I’d love email to die and say it would be gone in five years, but you know how ridiculous those kinds of predictions sound.

While I’m riffing, here’s my prediction; in five years, all blogs will be consumed in pill form. Or maybe it’s all bloggers will be real pills. Whatever sounds better to you.

Thank you, I’m here all week. Wherever here is, perhaps you think I’m in Austin?

********
*Final SXSW Twitter Break*
“Homeless guy with no pants on is A-OK in my book. #sxsw”
********