Do you know what South by Southwest is? Sure, it’s a great music festival, but did you know it is also one of the best tech conferences around?

SXSW Interactive is a compilation of some super quality speakers and panels as well as some of the best networking (read: parties) around. It is by far one of the best events I’ve attended.

Loading…This year’s event, however, has a different appeal for me. I was able to secure a pretty powerful panel for Etelos founder & CEO Danny Kolke. OpenID, OAuth, Data Portability and the Enterprise will explore the challenges enterprise class companies face over data ownership.

Featuring Joseph Smarr from Plaxo, Kaliya Hamlin, AKA “Identitywoman” and Bob Blakely from the Burton Group will join Danny to discuss if OpenID and OAuth are good for the enterprise and how to implement them.

Shifting the focus

I think this will be an excellent topic for this year’s event. Layoffs are piling up, mandatory furloughs are being enforced and startups are folding. As the emphasis shifts from true innovation to a successful business model, the debate over identity and data ownership becomes essential.

A prospect or sales lead is an invaluable commodity, and this is even more true in today’s economic climate. But who owns that relationship? Who owns that customer’s contact information?

Meetup Tweetup Restup

Lots of exciting parties have already been announced and dozens more will undoubtedly pop up as March approaches. I have an awesome idea for a smaller, more intimate meetup opportunity if anybody is looking for an opportunity to host something.

I look forward to meeting you all out there and discussing some public relations goodies. As an extra bonus, Kaliya is organizing a lunch that will follow the panel. Come, join us there too!

I’m in the process of building up a schedule, but I want to get your input. What sessions have you excited? What speakers must you see? What parties are already on your list? Fill out the handy-dandy form or post a comment.