I went to Austin, TX to go to a conference (drink).
At a stupidly early time on Thursday, March 6th 2008 I got on a plane at Edinburgh Airport bound for Newark. At Newark I spent couple of hours in the bar (across the room from Dennis Rodman plus entourage I think) before boarding a plane to Austin. By around 7pm local time I had arrived at my hotel in Austin, TX. The next day SXSW Interactive would commence.
This is not a blow by blow account of my time at SXSW. I have read quite a few recaps over the last month or so, and I have barely made it all the way through even the most interesting ones. I just wanted to put down some easy to digest thoughts and notes, as well as a quick recap of the events I attended and people I met. This will not take long, I promise.
Panels Attended
Friday
How to Rawk SXSW: The Basics
Respect!
Saturday
Design is in the Details
How to Rawk SXSW: Achieving Geekgasm
10 Things We’ve Learned at 37signals
Sunday
Everyone’s A Design Critic
From Frustration to Elation: Getting Emotional by Design
Everything I Know About Accessibility I Learned From Star Wars
Logos: Why They’re Irrelevant and Can Actually Hurt Your Business
Monday
The Art of Self-Branding
Social Networking and Your Brand
Frank Warren Keynote
Tuesday
Content Management System Roundup
10 Ways to Green-ify Your Digital Life
How to Rawk After SXSW: Staying Inspired
Parties attended
Mix At Six
Avenue A | Razorfish Happy Hour
Frog Design Opening Party
AMODA Digital Showcase
Yahoo FireEagle Party
People Powered Party
Get Weirdly Wired
Great British Booze-up
Rock Bands Rock Opera Party
Limewire Party
Frrvrr Launch Party
Other events/things I saw
Zuckerberg Q&A at the Facebook Developer Event
Duelling Pianos
Most important of all, people I met
I met a LOT of people during Interactive. A lot more than I thought I would. Almost to a man, they were all great people who were genuinely interesting and interested in what you have to say, and encouraging to a fault. There is not point in listing them all here, so I’ll just mention the people I got to spend some proper time with, who were awesome. In order of appearance:
Robert Brochu
The Zurb crew – Hunter, Rob, Jeremy and Bryan
Connor Turner
The Stalelife boys – Joe and Kurt
Madhu Prabaker
Alex Lemanski
…to name a few.
Things I would have done differently
Not much, actually. I wish I hadn’t missed the LOLWUT panel and the McGonical keynote. Both were, by all accounts, really great. I wish I had made more of an effort to see a film at the Film Festival. I had the pass, I should have used it, and there looked to be some great films showing. Finally I wish I had not blown off so much the last couple of days just because my friend Colin had arrived in Austin and when you are really tired it’s easier to hang out with your friend than make new ones. Next year I’ll be pushing myself. Oh and next year I’ll be making it out to the Salt Lick.
Thoughts on the whole event
SXSW Interactive is amazing. there, I’ve said it. For someone who lives and works a very long way from Silicon Valley, this conference was like a candy store. I don’t think anything you can read on the internet comes close to describing this event (which is strange for an event so well covered by all sorts of digital media). As someone who hasn’t attended many conferences before, a lot of the panels I attended were helpful and insightful, but that’s only a small part of the story. The main thing that made SXSWi worthwhile for me was BBQ the people. Meeting so many people who work in your profession is a mind blowing experience. Finding out that these same people are so passionate and encouraging about what we do is even more mind blowing. The ‘South By High’ that you get is just incredible, and really puts things into focus. I feel energised and ready to take things to another level in the coming year.
Suffice to say, barring any major disasters I will be returning next year for another South By High.
