SXSW Interactive Indeed!

What is it about SXSW Interactive? It is just a conference after all. But honestly, it is unlike any other conference I attend. It is simultaneously visionary and insane, brilliant and ridiculous, inspiring and intoxicating. And it dawned on me that whoever named this conference nailed it. The whole point is to interact with each other. To share your wildest dreams, ask preposterous questions, make and renew scintillating friendships.

Highlights of my experience this year include: realizing that the person that just climbed into my van was Veerle (and that she is as nice as her web site is beautiful), reconnecting with my out-o-town friends Andrea, Featherstone, Hicks, Rob, finally meeting Faruk and Anton in person and making so many new friends…like Alun, Geert and Ms. Jen, just to name a few.

But I think the single most important aspect of my experience started when David Nunez handed me a sheet of orange smiley face stickers on SxSW eve. David started tagging people with these stickers at SXSWi 2005. His intent? To encourage people to be open and friendly and interact with people you don’t know. So, I spent the rest of this year tagging everyone I could find with orange smiley faces. And I was thrilled with the response. From the uber famous to the quietly brilliant…my sticker offer was met with enthusiasm.

David’s created a delightful guide to tell if you have not had the full SxSWi experience:

* You find yourself back in your hotel room for the rest of the night right after the last panel of the day.
* You haven’t shaken hands with people who look and act nothing like you
* You haven’t had dinner with complete strangers.
* You’ve stuck only to your clique of people that you see daily back at your hometown.
* You haven’t attended the EFF / EFF-Austin / Creative Commons Party on Monday night (free drinks! free food! live music! delicious food! (I should know, I’m responsible for getting it))
* You left Austin without fifty business cards of new contacts you expect to email at some point soon.
* You left Austin without the intention of calling 3 new contacts to meet up within 2 weeks of getting home
* You haven’t crashed every clique you see
* You aren’t smiling and smiling BIG
* You are talking more than listening,
* You haven’t had a conversation or at least said “hi” to me, David Nunez.
* You don’t have an orange, happy face sticker on your badge.

Hmmmm, I happen to have a few smiley face stickers left. Wonder how they will go over at my next conference stop in Albuquerque, at Museums and the Web?!?!

12 comments

  1. I guess I was talking and smiling too much, as I never got a smiley face sticker from anyone… ;o(

    Hi Glenda!

    Thank you so much for your warmth and Texas hospitality. I truly enjoyed this SXSW. I hug you across the Atlantic.

    smiles, jen ;o)

  2. Well, shame on me for not stickering you! My conversations with you this week were one of the highlights of SXSW. Can’t wait ’til next year (when I double sticker you for sure!)

  3. Ms. Jen, ironies of all ironies…I didn’t give my husband a smiley face sticker either. I need to work on my stickering technique for next year!

  4. Hiya Glenda! It was very good to meet you. The smileys were awesome – David was on to something with them. I felt bad that I still had some left over. I told people at work about them and the reaction was either a weird look or an approving laugh at how simple the idea is.

    I hope we get to meet up again.

    Cheers!

  5. Oh my. All this time, as I saw that you know people I know, I thought I didn’t meet you. And YOU’RE the one that stickered me that first night. Good work! ;)

    (I was storing the 50 business cards I got in my name tag, and it exploded at the Adaptive Path/Odeo party… :( So I lost my smiley when I replaced the clear holder.) I’ll certainly need another next year. It was a blast.

  6. Stephanie….I remember stickering u…at the Frog Party…you were talkin’ to Featherstone. Guess we will have to talk to Hugh about getting badge holders that support 50+ business cards!

  7. Hi Glenda, thanks for those nice words, I’m blushing now :) I still hear you say : “OMG are you ‘V’ ‘e’ ‘e’ ‘r’ ‘l’ ‘e’?” :) That was so funny! The feeling is mutual, you were one of the few people I met on SXSW that made a deep impression on Geert and myself. I really like your uplifting spirit :) And thanks a bunch for the museum tour and thanks to you we got in touch with Anton. Hope we meet you again one day.

  8. Veerle, I’m still tryin’ to learn how to pronounce your name. I swear that my ears have some kind of “Texas” filter on them…it is like I hear with an accent! At least I did learn how to say Geert!!!

    It was a joy sharing the Blanton with y’all. I hope you will be able to visit the museum many more times (both physically and virtually).

    :-)

  9. Hey Glenda,

    Sorry it’s been so long before I popped in to say “Hi”. It’s amazing how much of a backlog can build up by going away for a week…

    Firstly, Thanks for the museum tour, it was brilliant. I’m usually averse to taking the slow thoughtful option but your museum had some really cool stuff and I’m glad I changed my museum ways and went along.

    Secondly, Thanks for the lift to the Apple store. I can’t believe you’d never visited your own Austin store!!! I’m a PC user and I still wanted to go :)

    Thirdly, and finally, Thanks for being such a great ambassador for Austin, it realy makes a difference meeting people who are passionate about the place you are visiting – Keep Austin Weird – at least until next year when I’ll be back again…

  10. Awwww Alun…you are most welcome. And honestly, I enjoy playin’ Austin hostess…gives me a chance to look at her from a brand new view point!

    You’ll be glad to know that I’ve already been to another Apple Store…the mothership actually…in San Francisco! See what you’ve done to me!!!

    And as for museums…my goal is to forever imprint the concept of “art museums are kickass!” into as many brains as I possibly can!

    Now…next year…don’t forget your shoppin’ list for Waterloo Records.

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