1. Social is here to stay

If there was one consistent theme at SXSW, it was this - social is here to stay. Social media can no longer be viewed as a fad to be ignored. Too many smart companies are achieving success within the social space. If your company isn't at least exploring how social could help, you need to start.

2. Mobile on the horizon

"With search, users type what they want to find. With Ubiquity, they type what they want to do."

Yesterday Mozilla Lab launched Ubiquity, an interactive search tool that takes web usability to another level.

Ubiquity is in version 0.1, so it's okay to be skeptical. Sometimes you want to wait until the Company knocks out all the bugs (i.e. iPhone), or until enough buzz is created around it that you have to see what's all about (i.e. Twitter), but you don't have to this time. Jump on the train before it leaves the platform.

Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo

It was 5 days, 4 nights, 3 cars, 2 petty cabs, and 1 song later. I had made it back from SXSW Interactive 2008. Aside from the fact that this festival is in the greatest city in the US, SXSW was chock-full of the industry leaders and inspirers in web design, social media, gaming, and film. I felt like a six-year-old kid with candy in my mouth walking around my dad's office suite on the 60th floor. Except, to the left of me was a corner area filled with legos ... in front of me a beer garden ... and to the right was guitar hero!