The Social Net: SXSW

Interesting day today--it's the last day of the Interactive festival, the first day of the Music festival and St. Patrick's Day. Busy.

And somehow, I forgot that last tidbit and didn't pack anything green for the trip. I claimed that the green neckband on my festival pass counted. Lame, I know.

Lots of folks left yesterday, and even more today. Still plenty of people around, but the energy was considerable less frenetic. People are tired and more focused on the content today.

The Mediocre

1) Like many others I talked with, I'm a little disappointed that the content is uneven. Some panels are really good, in-depth and useful. Those are like an ice-cold glass of iced tea on a hot summer day.

2) Many panels have good speakers but just don't go deep enough into the material to be useful for the type of people at this conference. This is not a beginners conference. If you're here, it's because you're serious about interactive, gaming or social media.

The material should reflect the talent level of the people here. A lot of what I saw was pretty basic. I'll recap the 'winners' tomorrow. I've left feedback on the SXSW site for the other panels, so I don't feel a need to call anybody out in public. I'm sure there are a lot of backstories to some panels that I don't know about.

3) The worst is the bait-and-switch with panel titles, which is more common than it should be. I was in three sessions where the title was very provocative, but the moderators either never lived up to the title, or worse, asked a very specific question in the title and didn't answer it. Or led to the conclusion that the question is unanswerable right now.

Random conversations with folks indicated this was a more widespread problem than you would think. So, here's a note to anyone ever presenting at a conference:

If you've got the moxie to create a really provocative title for your panel, then BACK IT UP WITH A KICK-ASS SESSION.

But let's not be a hater. There were a LOT of really good things today.

The Good

1) Connections! I hung out with @BryanPerson quite a bit today and met a lot of people. Seems like Bryan knows everyone. We had breakfast with the @SouthwestAir emerging media team (including this red-headed leprachaun). They are doing some very cool things with social media and have a great culture there. I got a few good ideas from them.

Bryan had a list of like, a gazillion people to meet during the 5 days of the conference, and at the end of today, he proudly showed me that he had met all but one. (note to self for next year: have a plan)

Bryan doesn't look like a schmoozer, but I tell you, he's got those Boy Scout good looks and is a charming guy. No wonder he won an award as one of the top 25 Social Media professionals in Texas this year. (not to mention he picked up the tab for breakfast, which makes him VERY socialble, in my book)

2) I also met @CarrieBugbee who totally RAWKED THE HOUSE in her panel about being one of the 'voices' behind the Mad Men Twitter characters. (and I even got her autograph!) Didn't get to sing karaoke with her, though. Maybe next time.

3) Got my second free meal of the day meeting (I still take a starving-artist's delight at getting free meals, what can I say?) with @withoutayard who not only is a former Austin local with a LOT of knowledge of the music scene, but is also a great promoter for Toronto as a travel destination. It's now high on my list of places to visit.

4) Met too many other people in casual conversations to list. Random strangers seemed more accessible to chat with today. Lots of ruminating on the conference today, which I will summarize tomorrow. Bryan and I will be getting together to recap and brainstorm more on some cool takeaway ideas we had today.

We both found some inspiration during the conference, and suffice it to say that I learned a lot, had a good time and would definitely recommend others to come here.


5) And of course, I have to give a shout out to my house mate Bruce, his awesome dog Rosie, and Coco Ono, who became my cat away from home. It's been pretty cool living like a local away from the downtown party scene and not out of a hotel.

I'll be back, Austin. Thanks for a good time!




Originally posted at http://thesocialnet.blogspot.com/2009/03/sxsw-interactive-day-5-nerds-go-home.html

Day 4 started like every other day has so far--late. Time and I have not been very good friends this trip.

Since I think the point of an interactive conference is to...well...interact, I
spent the morning having coffee and chatting with my housemate Bruce. He does some work setting up eBay stores for small businesses and we had a really good strategy/brainstorm session on how he could help a particular mom & pop kayak shop use social media to develop an online community that might help grow their business.

Good stuff, and it was nice to connect. We've chatted a few times since I've been here, and I feel like I've made a new friend. We found each other via Craigslist--I'm renting a room in his house for $400 for the week, instead of the $200 per night that the hotels are charging.

Yippee for social networking. By the way--check out Jeremiah Owyang's blog on how connection is evolving. It's a look at how we're liable to connect on adventures like this in the near future.

Hive Mentality

I didn't mind missing some of the morning sessions--it's a bit of grind being inundated with so much information and buzz. One term being bandied about in social media circles these days is the 'hive' mentality, and that's really evident here.

Following the Twitter-stream of SXSW live and in the 'backchannels' of a conference is like tapping into one HUGE thought-stream.

(the backchannel is the unspoken conversation by the audience while the panel is going on. Often snarky, sometimes off-topic, it provides both a source of notes for the topic and a feeling of what people really think about the session, like passing notes in a classroom)

It's both fascinating and overwhelming--like a sci fi story where you can hear everyone's thoughts. Trends, patterns and organization forms out of all the chaos, but there is a lot of noise to filter too, and that process can be very mentally taxing.

One of the useful things about the hive mentality is that it can help crystallize and validate your own thoughts. It's nice to know that you're not the only one feeling something. My own feelings of being slightly overwhelmed and TOO immersed at SXSW were echoed by a check of the twitter-stream.

Well the sun came out today, and after a really good panel session on dealing with difficult clients (one of the best panels I've participated in this week), I decided to get away from the noise and explore Austin a bit.

@MarkWilliams Day Off



I started with a Mexican Martini at the Cedar Door and almost ended the day right there. A Mexican Martini is a margarita-flavored martini that arrives in a 16 oz glass. Since the place was slammed with customers, food service was very slow and I had time to nearly finish my drink before eating anything, sparing me the waste of food absorbing the alcohol entering my bloodstream.

An instant stress-reducer.

Texas Art and Culture

From there, I had intended to stumble to the Birth of Cool exhibit at the Blanton Art Museum, but my motor skills having mysteriously diminished at lunch, I wound up taking the cute 'Dillo (short for armadillo) trolley for just 50 cents crosstown.



Unfortunately, I didn't catch that the art museum was closed on Monday's, but it happened to be across the street from The Bob Bullock State Texas History Museum, which WAS open. Apparently, the good people of Texas only need art 6 days a week, but they'll talk about themselves any ol' time.

The BBSTHM was pretty cool. It's named after a former Texas state Lieutenant Governor, by the way. I've always wondered just what exactly a Lieutenant Governor does, and now I know. They build museums and name them after themselves.

I learned a lot of local history, like how Texans took the land from the native Indians, then Spain and later Mexico. Did you know that Texas used to be an independent Republic?

Texans are proud of their state and history, and I was pleasantly surprised that they were willing to display some not-so-proud momentos of their history, like this:

I spent a few hours in the museum--it's rather extensive and I was not able to see it all in that time. If you go, (and I recommend you do), plan on leaving at least 4 hours for the visit.

Local Austin


Originally posted at http://thesocialnet.blogspot.com/2009/03/sxsw-day-4-austin-social.html

Finally home and mostly decompressed from SXSW. Long travel day yesterday--I missed a flight for the first time in my life!! Totally got caught in Austin traffic and it took an hour and a half to make what should have been a 20 minute trip.

Yeah, I know, I should have left earlier. I had a SXSW recap breakfast with Bryan Person and then caught the Birth of Cool exhibit that I missed on Monday, lost track of time and left for the airport later than I should.

How nerdy am I--missing a flight because I was at the museum. I am definitely not 'cool'.

Anyway, lots of really positive things at SXSW.

Special Recognition Goes To...

1) The SXSW organizing committee.

The event is very well produced and staffed. The volunteers away from the registration and information areas weren't all that knowledgeable and the signage/maps of events could have been better, but really, that's nit-picking. The web site was excellent, you could organize events online and sync them to your mobile calendar, the printed materials were outstanding. There was a wide variety of conference topics, social activities were great, special areas like the trade show, screen burn gaming area, blogger lounge and podcast areas were nice on-site getaways.

Special kudos for the designers of the pocket guide, which was truly a useful guide. Best I've ever used at an event.

2) Twitter.

Love it/hate it/indifferent. I feel all those things about Twitter, and at SXSW, it finally proved itself to be a very useful tool for me. Whether you were connecting with a friend because the cell phone coverage was sketchy, looking to find out what the hot panels were, searching for content in a session you missed or just participating in a backchannel conversation during a talk, Twitter really proved it's utility.

I know some people who weren't at SXSW complained about being inundated with tweets, but on the other hand, I also know a lot of people who didn't make the conference who felt like they got a lot of value by following the twitter-stream.

I still get annoyed by people using Twitter to give a blow-by-blow description about the party that they are at or who they are downing shots with, but who am I to judge?

Well, I'm me, and I rule. So stop it. No one cares who you are drinking with or that you are about to go sing karaoke.

My Favorite Panel Discussions

1) Most Entertaining: Mad Men on Twitter. Now I have a mad crush on Peggy Olsen, and I don't even get Showtime.

2) Most Use(r)ful: Designing for the Wisdom of the Crowds by Derek Powazek . He's funny in a nerdy way, and chock full of useful information on letting users influence design. After all, it's called User Interface, right? Plus there were some really good notes and slides.

3) Most Validating: Managing Expert Clients by Kali Cover and Marili Cantu. These two laid out very practical how-to advice on managing client relations. Lots of nodding of heads in the audience when discussing the special challenges we face helping clients. The notes are by @MeganGarza.

Most Disappointing Panels

I don't want to call anyone out in public because any disappointment I had was *mine*, and I'm sure that for every panel I was in that I thought wasn't fulfilling, there were people in the room who thought it rocked.

Still, here are some things that disappointed me that ANYONE who speaks at a conference should heed:

1) Title are important. If you have a totally kick-ass title for your panel, your presentation should rock too. A provocative title means you will have bold opinions and definitive stance. A title with a question in it should ANSWER THE QUESTION by end of the session. (you'd be surprised how infrequently this happens) A vague title that requires a subtitle to explain what the topic is really about isn't going to get many people to your session.

2) It's not necessary that EVERY panelist responds to EVERY question. I saw a lot of time wasted and thus, not a lot of information being shared in panels where the moderator would pose a question and then the other 4 panelists would give their answers and they were all saying essentially the same thing.

If there is strong disagreement on the panels, that's good and makes for a lively discussion. Everyone agreeing with the first response and then saying why they agree pretty much wastes everyone's time.

I would rather see more points covered than making sure everyone got equal time.

3) Have enough topics to cover the time allotted. I saw several one hour sessions where there were maybe three bullet points covered in the entire hour. I wasn't sure if that was because that's all the moderator could think to cover, everyone just kept rambling in their responses or what.

But each case felt like a waste of an hour. I don't mind getting only one good takeway out of an hour presentation, but if you only cover three things, you're cutting down your odds of getting something awesome in there.

More isn't necessarily more, but less isn't always more either.

4) A presentation isn't a lecture, it's a performance. Please don't just talk about what's on your Powerpoint slides. If that's all you're going to do, just post your slides somewhere and let us get on to someone more interesting.

YOU are as important as your material. I hate to put any pressure on anyone, but if your name is in print, I'm expecting you to entertain me in some way. Be provocative. Witty. More knowledgeable than anyone else out there...be extraordinary.

5) Announce a sensible Twitter hashtag at the beginning of your presentation. If you don't know much about Twitter, then ask someone in the audience to set a hashtag.

Hashtags are how we are going to find notes and information from your presentation afterwards and Twitter just may become the new search. People are tweeting about your presentation and we want to find those notes later.

A clever hashtag like #cake draws a laugh from the crowd attending, but when you try to find a bit of information from that presentation 3 months from now or you weren't at the conference and the topic was really Building a Brand are you really going to look for #cake?

Now, I'm not picking on that particular panel--there were several others I attended that were also inappropriate. This particular panel just illustrates the point most clearly--NO ONE will think to look for #cake to search for the golden nuggets that really were presented in a panel on building a brand presence.

If the point is to share information with those who aren't there, then please choose a hashtag wisely.

Great Connections

1) I loved meeting the Southwest Airlines new media team. Southwest is doing some really cool stuff in the social networking/online community space, and they clearly 'get' this media. It's refreshing to see a corporation that knows how to have fun and be social with their customers.

2) Also enjoyed meeting @LPT--another person at a major corporation that is utilizing social media well, albeit different in tone than Southwest. Her blog is a good, thoughtful read.

3) I was amazed by @carbody, and she really opened my eyes as to what being a 'digital native' means. I watched her effortlessly tweet, listen, take notes, engage in conversation, email, add followers, fact check and absorb everything around her as easily as breathing. I don't even think she is aware of how extraordinary she is-but she is so fluent in this realm that it was truly inspiring.

I chatted with her during the breaks and found her to be quite thoughtful, eloquent, knowledgeable, passionate about social media and her clients and just a down-to-earth, charming person.

4) I was also lucky enough to chat with Andy Carvin of NPR and chat about the future of journalism and some directions NPR will be heading. He's a very thoughtful, forward-thinking person, and NPR is also doing some exciting things with social media.

If you're not an NPR fan now, you should check 'em out! It should be a daily stop for news and entertainment.

What I Take Away From SXSW

1) Inspiration. It was a pleasure to see so many passionate social media practitioners in one place and learn by watching as well as participating. I have many new ideas and information to share with my team, my company and my clients.

2) Have a plan. I went totally free-form. I wasn't sure of what to expect, so I didn't plan much beyond where I was staying. I got a lot out of it by just wandering around and going with the moment, but probably could have gotten a few more connections, developed a few more relationships and learned a few more things by being more organized.

3) SXSW parties are not a good way to connect. They are good for having fun (you can never go wrong with free booze and food!), but it's tough to have meaningful conversations with music blaring.

4) Go with someone. I traveled solo for this, and it can be an extra struggle/effort to constantly meet people. I'm kind of strange, maybe. There are times when I can be very outgoing and love to meet people, AND when I'm in a big crowd, I can also just sort of sit on the sidelines and watch.

I didn't find many people at SXSW who made much of an effort reaching out to me (other than Bryan who I work with, and thankfully, he seems to know a lot of people), which meant that I was the one constantly going out of my way to meet other people.

That's not a horrible thing, just something that takes some effort. I'd recommend going with a friend--it's a better shared experience than solo.

5) Pace yourself. The smartest thing I did was get away from the conference for an afternoon and just enjoy Austin. The energy at SXS Interactive is very palpable and eventually becomes overwhelming. Don't be afraid to get away--Austin has many other nice attractions. Get 8 hours of sleep and drink plenty of water. It's a grind, not a sprint.

6) Blue Bell ice cream. This was recommended to me by a Texas native and I first thought it was just another "everything is better in Texas" kind of suggestion.

Nope.

Blue Bell is REAL ice cream. Made from real cream. Waaaaaaaaaaaay better than Ben and Jerry's, Haagen Daaz or any other ice cream you've had.

Really. It's that good.

The Conclusion

Yep. It's totally worth the money. I got enough ideas, inspiration and new friendships that totally made the trip worthwhile. I highly recommend attendance if you're currently using social media or are thinking about it.

I'll be back next year.

So...what was YOUR SXSW experience like?


Originally posted at http://thesocialnet.blogspot.com/2009/03/sxsw-wrap-up.html