Since 1987, Austin has played host to SXSW. In it's first year organizers expected about 150 people to attend - this year, SXSW Interactive alone brought out about 20,000.
Austin is known as the "Live Music Capital of the World."
Yes, that is a Yoda backpack - order yours here. (ThinkGeek)
Although there was a SXSW mobile app, and a schedule on the website, this was the best way to scope out the whole day's agenda. SXSW is so massive that the app was almost impossible to navigate.
The Hyatt in Austin played host of most social media centric sessions - the Hyatt however is a nice little walk away from the main convention center area and across the Congress Ave. bridge.
Walking back from the Hyatt provides an awesome view of downtown.
Apple opened a special store in Austin just in time for the release of the iPad 2.
The line up of people to get the iPad 2 also made for great film subject matter.
Street interviews in Austin - never ending.
Party at the Belmont included a QR Code piñata.
Edelman Digital (@armano) hosted a great event at the W Hotel.
Chevy had a great presence at the event...perfect showcase for the new electric Volt.
CNN tour bus outside the CNN Grill.
Nikon tour bus outside the convention center. Ashton handed out free cameras at SXSW.
Brian Solis leads a discussion about influence with Joe Fernandez - founder and CEO of Klout (L), Sean Rad and Arnie Gollov-Singh from ad.ly (they brought Charlie Sheen to Twitter - you can thank them later), and John Chu (Director of the new Justin Bieber movie).
Trust me on this...that guy with the giant head in the middle of the picture - it's Conan O'Brien.
Charging set-up for the Chevy Volt.
Hank Williams of Kloud.co talks about free tools to manage your data - his session "The Death of the Relational Database" was awesome (really, it was) - learn more on the topic here, on his blog.
Chris Guillebeau and Jonathan Fields talk about doing thinks that make you happy - and not being afraid.
...more interviews. Everywhere.
Why yes - that is a QR Code on a pastry!
...even more interviews.
deviantArt sandbox - this was amazing.
The Volt...charging.
Lego area.
Brandon Evans from Crowdtap at the company's launch party at The Belmont.
Hoodie Allen performs at the Crowdtap launch party - check him out.
Clever branding from Chevy on the electric strips...you know, with the electric car and all.
Felecia Day talks about what's mainstream and her web series The Guild.
Gary Vaynerchuk talks about getting it right...his energy is contagious.
Guy sitting next to me buys Gary's book The Thank You Economy
during the speech - that's influence.
during the speech - that's influence.
Gary taking a second to meet me after his keynote.
The Sounds at Seaholm Power Plant.
After winning the Golden Ticket badge from Pepsi and Foursquare - we got tickets to the private Big Boi concert.
Press pass for Big Boi - thats basically row -3.
Big Boi recruits some back-up dancers from the crowd at Seaholm.
No where to hide at SXSW, the camera-phones are always rolling!
After the Big Boi concert, the Local Natives at Speakeasy.
Luck J's Waffle Tacos - fried chicken, swiss cheese, bacon, wrapped in a waffle.
Simon Mainwaring - social change guru.
Reuter's blogger Felix Salmon leads a panel on online banking and innovation.
Steve Krug solves all your problems with easy website usability testing.
BBQ from Ironworks.
Your guess is as good as mine!
items that were so helpful - I thought they might be worth sharing:1. Splash Intense External Battery
- there isn't enough battery power in any of your devices to last an entire day at SXSW (maybe only the iPad could last - but its not as if your sticking it in your pocket). Your phone will certainly not make it. My Evo 4G from Sprint had trouble making past lunch - of course the usage at SXSW is much higher than it would be at home. The Splash battery pack recharged my phone at least twice on one charge. Simply plug your phone into the battery, turn the battery on and let it do its thing.
- I had my iPod Touch, phone, small camera, chargers, batteries, and wireless mouse along for the ride while I was in Austin. It can be tough to keep up with all of your stuff - especially at an event like SXSW - walking all over the city, constantly taking your devices in and out of your bag - it can be easy to lose something. The Built organizer allowed me to keep up with everything. Shout-out to Responsys for giving me mine after I spoke at their conference in February.
3. Puma H-Street Running Shoes - I didn't do much proper running while at SXSW, but I did absolutely tons of walking. I wanted a lightweight and comfortable shoe for the trip and this was it. I was able to toss these in my backpack when I wasn't wearing them for back-up.
