SxSW Group Texting

Every year it's fun to see what comes out of SxSW, which was last week down in Austin. It's gotten to be quite the event for movies, technology, and music. How Austin nailed it down and keeps it growing is one of marketing's great mysteries. The thing is physically and culturally huge.

Something cool always comes out of it - there's always one big thing that captures everyone's attention.

Last year it was FourSquare - the social networking, location-based phenomenon got all the buzz. This year?

Group texting. Not the most sexiest of ideas I would say. Even somewhat predictable. But huge nonetheless.

There are now quite a few platforms out there that allow groups to text together, kind of like the old chat rooms back in the day. Or a private version of the Twitter #hashtag which has also caught on like wildfire.

Designated groups of people can now (at lightening speed) communicate with each other on their cell phones. So logical, so smart, so convenient, so "conference call". The applications for social communication are obvious, but also think about groups at work using it. Could speed up communication immensely amongst teams managing projects.

And think of the marketing. Look at what American Idol did for audience participation via texting, imagine what brands and entertainment properties will do with this feature now. Group commenting, group voting, you name it. I love it all!

What's your experience? Jim.