jbrotherlove

You remember how much I enjoyed SXSW last year, right? I went again this year with little expectation other than seeing old friends and attending some panels. Somehow, I had an even better time than last year! That doesn’t mean every panel or event was a home run (there were definitely some disappointments). But the combination of geekery, social media enthusiasts, sidebar conversations, feminist energy, lightbulb moments, gamers, uncontrollable laughter, late night connections and alcohol, adds to an experience that’s hard to beat.

So much so, that I haven’t quite or fully assimilated back into my day-to-day.

Next year, I’m going to have to force myself to document each day as it happens. It’s too difficult to recap five days and nights of nonstop stimuli. I was losing track of the days even while I was still in Austin. One night during dinner, Clarence made a comment about a panel we attended earlier that day. I turned to him and asked “Was that today?”

Since a list worked so well last year, I’ll give it another try.

Favorite Things About SXSWi 09

• Seeing an evolution of diversity at SXSWi (feminism, race, privacy and equality issues)
• Meeting a bunch of great people for the first time
• Feeling like an intregal part of several communities

Least Favorite Things About SXSWi 09

• Again, the weather in Austin was cold, wet and windy. And on Sunday, it was sunny and 80 degrees. Ugh.
• Attending panels in the neighboring Hilton (I just didn’t like going to another building).

Favorite Panels/Events

• Blacks in Tech Meetup at Carver Museum and Cultural Center – Great turnout and panel discussion.
• From Freelance to Agency: Start Small, Stay Small – The topic worked for me and Jeffrey Zeldman is hilarious.
• That’s Not My Name: Beating Down Online Misogyny – Wow!
• Can Social Media End Racism? – Wow 2.0!
• CSS3: What’s Now, What’s New and What’s Not? – A great breakdown of the future of CSS (Molly has links to the slides). Welcome to the party, IE.

Least Favorite Panels

• Not the Same Old Story – Somehow this interesting topic made for a not-so-interesting discussion. The panel’s energy felt low and I expected more visuals based on the topic. Bummer.
• Can the Afrosphere Survive the Age of Obama? – Unfortunately, the panel got stuck on discussing identity and didn’t adequately answered its main question. This happens often when race is introduced into a topic. It almost occurred in Can Social Media End Racism? when an attendee wanted to debate “racism”. But that panel skillfully steered the discussion back on track.
• Digital Urbanites: How to Become Part of the New Social Capital – An interesting premise. But too much time was spent on discussing “social capital” for my taste (then again, I’m sensitive to PR/marketing/social media “buzzwords”). I’m still not convinced I know what makes a “digital urbanite”.

Most Heartwarming Experience

• Offsite Party at Cheryl’s!
• Meeting Shani and Davidé on the flight to Austin and instantly bonding.

Most Bizzare Experience

• Watching my (mostly) drunk friends sing karaoke at Feministing/Pandagon Karaoke Happy Hour

Most Annoying Experience

• Watching a few people get “caught up” and treat others as if they were unimportant

Beverage of Choice

• Ketel One & Red Bull

Favorite Food

• Moonshine (old favorite)
• Le Café Crêpe (new treat)

Least Favorite Food

• Paradise (and the service was crappy, too)

Favorite Dinner Conversation

• Paradise (isn’t it ironic?)

Favorite Parties

• I didn’t attend any “big name” parties this year. I refuse to stand in a line to get free beer. Besides, the first nights of SXSWi were cold and rainy. The Feministing/Pandagon Karaoke Happy Hour was fun (Spitfire Grrrl agrees). But I prefer local parties where the music is more conducive to dancing. That said, the Beauty Bar party with DJ Mel (my favorite Austin DJ) had crazy energy and allowed me to flex moves I forgot I had.

Most Used Gadgets/Accessories

• Twitter (duh)
• Power Supply
• Ipod Touch
• Brightkite
• Digital Camera

Things I Missed But Wished I Didn’t

• How to Rawk SXSW: The Basics
• Are PR Agencies a Dying Breed?
• Try Making Yourself More Interesting
• Adobe 12th Annual SXSW Web Awards Ceremony
• Beyond Aggregation — Finding the Web’s Best Content
• Ultimate Showdown of Content Management System Destiny
• 20×2 v. 9.0: “What’s It Gonna Take?”
• Designers and Developers: Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Overheard on Twitter (you know who you are)

• “if it were warmer out, I’d be walking around, party-hopping + people watching. but it’s not.”
• “Right now, my iPhone is Rhianna and AT&T is Chris Brown”
• “Seriously, it seems EVERYONE got action this week except me. I think my vagina is allergic to SXSW. “
• “If you write about pop cultural things that people are really invested in ‘like fraternities and games’, that’s crazy bait”
• “#bitchlips”
• “Working for yourself is great; you get to work half-days.. any 12 hrs you want.”
• “someone said ‘I want to be internet famous.’ Shouldn’t you raise the bar just a little bit?”
• “so crowded in this CSS3 panel. starting to smell like a gym locker room.”
• “Breaking News: I will be launching an End Racism App for the iphone. It will cost 1 million dollars.”
• “Riding on some little ass bike rickshaw bullshit thing. I feel bad for this tiny thighed cyclist cause…well, I’m fat.”
• “It smells like baby powder and pussy in here”
• “my friends are drunk. but you knew that already.”
• In ur party, tweetin ur disappointment”
• “I have not smiled this much in a long time.”

Blissfully Reconnected

Angela, Baratunde (aka “Mr. Everywhere”), CC, Cecily, Cheryl, Cheryl, Chris, Clarence, Denise, Eric, Derrick, Erica, Ernie, George, Gillian, Jason, Lanie, Liz, Lynne, Melissa, Samiya, Twanna, Wayne

ATL Crew Members

Brandon, EJ, Jayson, Kimberly, Leatrice, Michael, Scott, Tessa, Tiffany, Victor

Met For The First Time

• Ann Friedman
• Brad Graham
• C. C. Chapman
• Corvida Raven
• Davidé Di Cillo
• Fredric Mitchell
• Jay Smooth
• Latoya Petersen
• Matt Thompson
• Markus Robinson
• Mike Knight
• Molly Holzschlag
• Nichelle Stephens
• Samhita Mukhopadhyay
• Sarah Dopp
• Shani Petereson
• Others who have slipped my mind