In most-anticipated SXSW talk in years, Edward Snowden fires up Austin

Edward Snowden appeared by teleconference at SXSW on Monday. Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Edward Snowden appeared by teleconference at SXSW on Monday. Daniel Terdiman/CNET

AUSTIN, Texas -- And on Monday, Edward Snowden showed up.

It was perhaps the most-anticipated South by Southwest Interactive talk since Mark Zuckerberg gave a keynote speech in 2008: Snowden appearing live, by teleconference, from Russia.

And though today's talk lacked the fireworks that erupted during Zuckerberg's onstage interview with Sarah Lacy, there's little doubt that the 5,000 people in the room -- plus thousands more in two nearby overflow rooms and those watching a livestream online -- were hanging on Snowden's every word. Indeed, despite reports that Dunham's talk was more popular (as measured by lines to get in the room), Snowden drew a very full house of people eager to hear his wisdom on the NSA scandal he unleashed last year.

Unlike most SXSW talks, Snowden's appearance was only announced last week. And in a bit of unfortunate timing familiar to any SXSW veteran, the talk -- with the American Civil Liberties Union's Ben Wizner and Chris Soghoian -- was scheduled directly against a keynote event from "Girls" creator Lena Dunham. That forced many people, myself included, to make an uncomfortable choice. But though I am a big Dunham fan, in the end, I couldn't justify not being part of one of Snowden's most public talks since he went into exile.

Before anyone showed up onstage, I noticed that a number of people were shooting photographs at the front of the stage, despite no one standing there. Then I saw that there was a standard SXSW name card -- the kind every speaker gets -- for Snowden. Was this the most photographed name card in SXSW history? Hard to say, but almost certainly for someone who wasn't even in the building.Was this the most photographed name card in SXSW history? At least for someone who was not actually in the building, it probably was. Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Was this the most photographed name card in SXSW history? At least for someone who was not actually in the building, it probably was. Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Oddly, though, given how much of a seismic shift in public perception -- and awareness -- of government surveillance and issues surrounding encryption and what can be done to restore public faith in our privacy and security -- the energy in the room was subdued.

That continued, even when Wizner and Soghoian arrived. "There wasn't a lot of applause when we came onstage," Wizner joked. "I guess you're here to see someone else."

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In most-anticipated SXSW talk in years, Edward Snowden fires up Austin