The next big whatever is being contemplated this week at the South by Southwest conferences, which have expanded over the past 20 years from a festival of primarily independent roots music to gatherings dedicated to film and interactive media. The rock ‘n’ roll delegation is listed on CBC Radio 3’s Canadian Blast site, which links to the 78 homegrown acts who’ve made a largely subsidized trek in the quest for glory beyond CanCon regulations – The Meligrove Band, Jason Collett and Sam Roberts have been granted prime slots in a showcase assembled by SXSW’s Toronto counterpart, NXNE. The cinematic segment of the event included the premiere of Ron Mann’s latest beatnik documentary, Tales of the Rat Fink, where talking custom cars with celebrity voices narrate the story of hot rod cartoonist Ed Roth. And while Toronto Star entertainment wags Geoff Pevere and Ben Rayner are posting items from their respective beats on a SXSW blog, the interactive event is presumably not deserving of such mainstream treatment. Don’t the personalities behind websites pack a comparable celebrity cachet? Dispatches from a keynote conversation between bloggers Jason Kottke and Heather “Dooce” Armstrong suggest maybe they’re not ready for such prime-time coverage: Kottke was one of the earliest bloggers, and gained a following for glib link roundups and cultural observations – last year, he got around 1,450 micropatrons to float him an average of 30 bucks each to become a professional blogger with grand ambitions, and then proceeded to put even less effort into the site. Dooce was famously fired for blogging in 2002, and has since played up all her personal life drama interspersed with toddler pics – asserting her decision to stay home with her kid while living off blog ad revenue generated 1,544 comments*. A more intriguing generation of online narcissists hopefully awaits to take their places. Writing is Fighting blogger Laina Dawes is apparently the only local who appeared as an interactive speaker at SXSW, including a panel called “We Got Naked, Now What?” But, unlike for those in the music or film sectors, a pilgrimage to Austin is a pricey proposition for anyone lacking a benefactor. (Joe Clark stayed home this year, and explains why.)
The Star at SXSW [blog]
1 response so far ↓
Laina Dawes // March 17, 2006 at 7:25 am
Hey Marc;
Just got back from SXSW, and while I had a fantastic time, paying for the trip WAS a bitch. It caused more damage to personal relationships than I imagined it would. but was it worth it? Well, as a freelancer who is unable to land a full-time job in Toronto,I would have to say yes, simply for the networking opportunities.
but one thing about being a panelist - which was great - was that the IT world is predominately white and male - women still have to make some serious inroads into the industry, but I kinda expected that when I went down to Austin. I hope to go next year, but it is a very expensive trip for those who just want to attend the conference.
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