I’ve been neglecting this post and I apologize. It’s not that it’s going to be difficult to write, it’s simply that I have had no time to write it. Rather, I’ve been “micro-blogging” my time at SxSW using Twitter (like usual). It’s so much easier to post a brief “tweet” to my friends than to open up WordPress and hammer out a full blog post.
To call SxSW incredible is an understatement. While I throughly enjoy the “single track” small-crowd style of conferences like Gnomedex, or the multi-track, but not overly-crowded New Media Expo, SxSW is different, with an organized chaotic feel that is too cool. At Gnomedex the god fathers of our geeky ways usually congregate and historic things occur. At New Media Expo a mix of some of the god fathers and some newer folks gather. At SxSW it’s a refreshing mix of god fathers, rock stars, newbies, oldies, film geeks, musicians, business leaders, and just about anyone who’s interested in the interactive portion of this amazing event.
My highlights of SxSW include the following (in no specific order):
- Hugh McLeod’s tweet
to join him for a pint at Champion’s bar patio. This tweet created an impromptu Tweetup (Twitter meet up) with more than 50 people! - Frank Warren’s PostSecret presentation and video of postcards strangers have sent him with their secrets
- Trapper Los MD’s presentation on being a video blogger, military doctor in Iraq (video)
- Michelle Greer’s hospitality and overall awesomeness
- Thai Paradise with Julien, Jackie, C.C., Erik, Sarah, Cian, Sass, J.C., and our other buddies (audio)
- BarCamp Austin battle bot vs. house (video)
- Las Manitas‘ migas for breakfast
- Seeing everyone sporting Emma lanyards and helping to plant 1,000 trees. Thanks!
- Dinner with Kris Smith and the non-dummies
- Damn fine barbecue at Stubb’s with old and new friends - special thanks to The Advance Guard.
- Incredible lunch at Iron Works with Ariel Hyatt and Baratunde
- Waiting from daylight until dark for our table at the Hula Hut with amazing new friends (audio)
- Getting lost with Erik trying to find Progress coffee shop
- Nuclear Tacos (better in than out)
- Seeing a softer side of Ewan Spence
- Coming out of the on-stage-story-telling-closet at The Fray Cafe (video to come)
- Erik Jones’ “Stand By Me” story (audio) and Tod Maffin’s tale of bad meat and condoms (audio)
- Clarence’s NASCAR-esque race up the stairs with a pregnant woman (video)
- The couples on couches video at 20 X 2 at The Parish (video)
- Watching Sara Lacy get grilled by the audience during her horrible Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg interview (video)
- Discovering that the Bloghaus was on the 7 1/2 floor (thanks for the beverages and space)
- Twitter stayed up! Way to go Twitter. Follow the tweets here.
- Rabid bats!?!?!
I’m sure there’s much more that I’m forgetting, but for now these are the best bits of SxSW Interactive for me. Thanks to everyone who helped make my experience unforgettable.
Were you there? What was your favorite?
Technorati Tags: sxsw, sxswi, sxsw2008, south by southwest, austin, gnomedex, net media expo, hugh mcleod, gaping void, frank warren, postsecret, trapper los md, carlos brown, iraq video blogger, michelle greer, thai paradise, julien smith, cc chapman, jc hutchins, jeff sass, myxer, barcamp austin, battlebot, las manitas, myemma.com/sxsw, emma email, 1, 000 trees, kris smith, blogtalkradio, stubb’s, iron works, ariel hyatt, baratunde, hula hut, prospect coffee, nucleartacos, nuclear tacos, ewan spense, fray cafe, stand by me, erik jones, tod maffin, dykc, 20×2, 20 x 2, sara lacey, mark zuckerberg, bloghaus, austin convention center, cian o’donovan, #sxsw, the advance guard, rabid bats
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12 responses so far ↓
1 Edubya // Mar 14, 2008 at 12:40 pm
My highlights: the keynotes, evoking feelings anywhere from compassion to schadenfreude, the food, my god, the FOOD, Guitar hero in the bloghaus (nice to meet you there, btw), The Driskill Bar, Some great panel discussions on user engagement and overall renewed energy for my industry. yay.
2 Adele McAlear // Mar 14, 2008 at 12:43 pm
It was great seeing you at SXSW - apparently we arrived too late for the I heart caveman party and many people told me it was their favourite. We were just having too much fun atht eh SXNW party to pull ourselves away!
My personal highlights were hanging at BlogHaus, my BBQ adventure with Scoble and HP crew, meeting my Twitter buds face to face, and my favourite party was, by far, the 16 Bit party at the Scoot Inn. Two days back and I’m still suffering from SXSW withdrawal and planning my return in 2009!
3 Michelle Greer // Mar 14, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Heckava post. Looks like you got just about everything.
You did forget to mention how you now exude omnipresent coolness after seeing MCA at Las Manitas.
4 Dave // Mar 14, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Ah yes, good point Michelle. I forgot about that one. I guess it’s because we certainly didn’t have to fight for our right to party at SxSW, eh?
5 Phillip Jeffrey // Mar 14, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Glad to finally meet you outside Champions. One of the highlights for me was hearing Jane McGonigal do the keynote. She is an awesome and engaging speaker.
6 Jesse McPherson // Mar 15, 2008 at 1:40 am
SXSW was my first conference ever and I believe it may spoil me when it comes to others. I’m still wrangling in the chaos of awesomeness in my head, but I guess my favorite thing about SXSW was putting faces behind a lot of names, proving that there really is people behind the curtain. In a way the web community seems a lot smaller and more personal now, even though I know it really isn’t. My only complaints are that I wish there was some more technical panels, and shorter lines for beer!
7 Cian // Mar 17, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Dave, great roundup. I think i’ll have some of the mentioned events on Flickr/video over the next week. I’ve over 600 videos/photos to go through on the plane back to London tomorrow.
8 Trish // Mar 21, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Thanks so much for sharing Trapper Los MD’s video with me. It’s a rare find for me to see something like this in the new media community. Thank you again!
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