2008 Interactive Recap for Saturday, March 8

Friday · Saturday · Sunday · Monday · Tuesday

The first full day of panels was Saturday, March 8, with more than 40 sessions running from 10:00 am though 6:00 pm. Amongst the more popular morning sessions were "Design is in the Details" (a solo presentation by Naz Hamid of weightshift.com) and "Rome Sweet Rome: Ancient Lessons in Design" (from Jennifer Fraser, a Canadian who works for Corel). Meanwhile, Managing Communities that Work" offered practical tips and real-life examples for keeping online communities running smoothly. Attendees could also begin their day by getting physical, choosing either yoga or an old-school game of kickball.

After lunch came the Opening Remarks with Henry Jenkins, as interviewed by Stephen Johnson. Other afternoon sessions ranged from "Ten Things We've Learned at 37Signals" to "Body Optimization: Why Stop at Health and Fitness" to Jim Coudal's "General Theory of Creative Relativity. The "Worst Website Ever: That's so Crazy, It Just Might Work" panel skewered the culture of web 2.0, resulting in hilarious proposals for imaginary businesses such as flockedup.com, the brainchild of Merlin Mann.

Saturday was also the first full day of the ScreenBurn Arcade, where SXSW registrants as well as the general public could play with the latest in games and gaming gear.

In the evening, attendees enjoyed Dorkbot. Sometimes billed as a "science fair with beer," this event gave attendees a chance to get up close and personal with weird and wonderful robotic creations. Saturday night also brought the Opening Party sponsored by frog Design, complete with performances by Grupo Fantasma and Sangre Del Sol Fire Troupe.