Though it had been released to the public the previous summer, the Twitter app was relatively unknown until SXSW. The company set up two 60-inch plasma screens in the convention center’s hallways on which it streamed live tweets, and attendees quickly used the service to communicate with each other. On its way to winning a Web Award, Twitter was among the most buzzworthy tech items of SXSW and saw its usage triple during the conference before skyrocketing even further in the months and years afterward.