http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10197920-52.html
March 17, 2009 2:50 AM PDT
At SXSWi, Twitter is the new Twitter is the new Twitter
by Daniel Terdiman
AUSTIN, Texas–A couple of days ago I wrote a story suggesting that the Twitter saturation level here at the South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) festival was so high that the service's value was being affected.
Now, after four full days here, I think that conclusion is worth a reality check: Twitter is out-and-out dominating SXSWi.
To be sure, the massive numbers of tweets that are being posted using the "#sxsw" tag is making it more difficult for those using Twitter to find specific information than was the case at SXSWi 2007 or SXSWi 2008. But the reality is, if you're part of the conference this year, it feels very much like you simply cannot do anything, go anywhere, talk to anyone, see any panel or have a meal without Twitter having played a role.
From the 32bit party Monday night to people's reactions to science-fiction author Bruce Sterling's annual SXSWi rant to alerts of free ice cream being handed out on the streets of Austin, the collective agenda is being directed in 140-character bursts, even if it takes a little more work to find out what you want to find out.
Add that to the fact that the iPhone has proven a magical and nearly ubiquitous device on which to conduct that 140-character orchestra, and you've got a seriously hard-to-topple-off-the-throne combination....
http://yvoschaap.com/twitterthoughts/?map=1
*Austin bulging to half the size of California:
