I spent last week in Austin at the first South by Southwest festival to occur in-person since 2019. I’ll admit that I had missed the frenetic energy of the weeklong multimedia event, which has become a part of my annual routine. I started attending SXSW in 2006 and have attended almost every year since. In 2016, in fact, I was inducted into the SXSW Hall of Fame, so I’m a certified fanboy. This year, I drank all the agave-based spirits, ate all the permutations of meat on tacos, rode all the electric scooters, and got a taste of a high-tech future that we increasingly recognize doesn’t simply happen but must be consciously shaped. 

There were three unmistakable themes that animated this year’s event. And they explicate, more than anything else, that future that we are collectively building. 

The Pace of Change Is Accelerating
(And Our Memories are More Important than Ever)

I’ve heard this mantra for more than 20 years, to the point where it becomes hollow pablum, but I really feel the truth of it when I immerse myself in future-oriented gatherings like SXSW. Austin, itself, provides a dramatic example of this point. As a nearly-annual visitor to this city since 2006, I’ve had the benefit of a 16-year timelapse perspective on its changes.