Ryan Loomis

Opinions of this year's South by Southwest Interactive conference vary wildly, from Jolie O'Dell's "Why SXSW Sucks" to Cameron Moll's "SXSWi: Surprisingly Good".

This was my second visit to Austin for the much-hyped conference of all things Web. My first visit was in 2009, and this year the conference was noticeably more crowded. Session doors closed sooner, seats filled up faster and lines were longer. There is no denying that this event will either need to increase conference venues or limit attendance to keep the experience fun and engaging.

Growing pains aside, SXSWi is an amazing experience. While O'Dell is frustrated by the lack of technical content in this year's sessions, I think she misses the point: it's about the people. Granted, with high numbers in attendance, fewer technical sessions will be presented. However, the conference consists of over 15,000 industry peers (who are normally scattered around the globe) within walking distance of each other for an entire week. For me, it is difficult to think of a better opportunity to learn something new.

In my opinion, the best thing about this conference is the flexibility it provides to make of it what you will. When you purchase a badge, you are not necessarily paying for a week's worth of planned content. You are securing an opportunity to network with peers of all web disciplines and of all skill levels. I was fortunate to meet Project Managers, Visual Designers, User Experience Designers and Developers from San Francisco, Seattle, New York and Portland. You can attend sessions, keynotes, panel discussions, or heck, create your own event away from the hullabaloo.

It would be unrealistic to expect that the landscape of the conference would not change over time. Crowds will continue to grow. Session nomination procedures and venues will improve as needed. In the end, if you are motivated to seek opportunities and make the best of things, then SXSWi is the conference for you.