On Saturday I had an opportunity to hear James Surowiecki discus the potential of intelligent group forecasting and decision-making from his book,The Wisdom of Crowds

3 things necessaryto make groups intelligent:
(1) aggregating people’s judgments in a genuine bottom-up decision making process
(2) diversity: experience, background, pov
(3) independence of thought: Independence based solely on individual  knowledge, information or intuitions (No piggy-backing on others' ideas)

Yesterday I posted my first blog entry (as if my newbie-ness isn't obvious) from the lobby of my hotel. The "free in-room wireless" connection was just not happening, even after two staff people took a look at it. So I typed that entry from one of the two desktops downstairs in the "business center," while three people waited in line, looking over my shoulder, sighing impatiently. I've since relocated, and today I'm happy to report that I'm posting in my pjs from the comfort of my own room. Ah, bliss.

I made my way to the Convention Center, only after a 30-minute wait for a cab.  This has been the norm since we got here-- apparently,  there are four-times more people here than last year, which is like eight-times more than when SXSW Interactive began. All hotels within a five-mile radius are completely sold out, and it's no less than an hour wait to grab some grub at even the skankiest hole-in-the-wall. While these huge crowds look like good news for the tech economy again, it can pose a real challenge on the logistical end. Somehow I managed to catch a few excellent speakers and panels, including James Surowiecki, Kathy Sierra and more (click thru to full post)...