SXSW is loads of fun, but, invariably, there’re some tough decisions on which panels to go to — this year is no different. I've managed to figure most of them out, but there’re some for which I’m still a bit torn. So, for these guys, I’m open to suggestions :).
Saturday, March 11th — 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
- How to Bluff Your Way in DOM Scripting (Room 18ABC) …or…
- James Surowiecki Presentation: The Wisdom of Crowds (Ballroom E)
The DOM panel would normally be a shoo-in for me, but I remember hearing from a few people last year that the similarly-titled panel “How to Bluff Your Way Through CSS” wasn’t merely a snarky title, but literally a panel on how to pretend that you’re knowledgeable about CSS. If that’s the case with this DOM iteration, I’m not so sure I’d be as interested.
Monday, March 13th — 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
- Web Standards and SEO: Searching for Common Ground, Part 2 (Ballroom E) …or…
- Microformats: Evolving The Web (Room 17AB)
Eric Meyer or Tantek Çelik? That’s a tough one. On one hand, I dig web standards; on the other hand, I always end up missing Çelik’s panels on microformats (due to conflicts like this one) and people tell me that they’re very good.
Monday, March 13th — 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
- Peter Morville Presentation: Ambient Findability (Ballroom E) …or…
- WTF: WaSP Task Force Panel: Getting the Job Done Right (Room 16AB)
And, in this case, Morville’s presentation sounds really interesting, but I don’t really want to miss out on the accessibility bits either :-/.
I’m not familiar with last year’s panel, but I’d find it difficult to believe that this panel would be like that one with Jeremy Keith, author of DOM Scripting, helping to present it. That time slot is definitely the hardest one so far for me to choose from, but the Wisdom of Crowds panel is an solid favorite for me and if I go to it, I could take notes.
I haven’t really made it past Saturday in trying to pick panels (and still won’t have finalized picks anyway), so I can’t offer any suggestions past that. :)
Chris: Thanks for offering to take notes there — that does help a bit in the decision-making process. In that case, maybe I’ll go to the DOM Scripting panel, then :-/.
And, for what it’s worth, I’ve selected my panels through Tuesday. So, if you’d like my opinion on any of those, feel free to ask.