So, let me describe a few of the people I have met. I met Scoble who is also blogging SXSW. Smart guy, shares a lot with you so he comes across as being an authority but in low key, friendly way.

I have also met a whole passel of smaller-time folk like myself, people trying to make a living at the web game with a whole lot of passion. George Oates is actually a woman (George=Georgina) who does user experience for Ludicorp (the Flickr company). We had an interesting conversation about tags and photo sharing. She's an information architect who is into seeing structure emerge from how people tag photos vs. organizing it top-down. She's very happy for people to apply their own idiosyncratic schemes to things.

In talking to her, it became clear to me that Flickr is a platform company. They give you a way of organizing data; up to you to do with it as you will within the technical confines. A business like that depends on social entrepreneurs to make it work. People who are willing to tag and get others involved.

Kyle Johnson is running a start-up called bumperactive, and Steve Turnidge is running a start-up called Weed. They're both start-ups where the major distribution channel is sharing; others have to get involved. Kyle's company will actually deliver to you a custom bumper sticker that you yourself designed, while Steve has figured out a way for you to share songs and your web site and still get the artist a cut.

Both companies will need to run at volume to make their business models work. To be honest, Flickr is the same way. Flickr just seems to be in the happy situation of having gotten the right social platform combined with the right technology platform. The network effect is really working to grow Flickr's subscriber base right now, and their platform so far is carrying forward well under the loads. How much longer until someone with some real cash to keep their infrastructure going makes an investment or buys them?