With SXSW interactive winding down today, the geeks are heading in droves to the airport, and they're probably more than a little bummed about the driving sheets of rain that have plagued Austin the last couple of days. But at least they're going out on a high note, their heads filled with the hilarious wisdom of Bruce Sterling, whose annual SXSW State of the Net-style rant entranced a packed Hilton Ballroom crowd.
Sterling was bemused that wearers of this year's music RFID-embedded wristbands could be being spied on and would never know it; bemoaned the fact that the U.S. is still only the 22nd-ranked country in terms of broadband; and fretted at how the internet's common space peer production (CSPP) wave is pushing incumbent businesses toward bankruptcy.
I can't do justice to Sterling's wide-ranging talk in this space, but the podcast is definitely one to look out for when it becomes available. As for the outgoing geeks, please say hello to the incoming musicians at the airport. And let's all hope the rain lets up a little as the five-day music extravaganza kicks into full gear tomorrow.
(Update: The podcast is now up and can be found here.)
