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

Wow! SXSWi 08 was incredible! I had a great time attending panels, hanging with old friends, making new ones, meeting internet famous folk, eating, and drinking. Did I mention drinking?

There was an awful lot of walking involved too. Yikes! The Interactive portion of SXSW took over the entire Austin Conference Center. Oh well, it’s not like I don’t need the exercise.

Most of the panels I attended were good. Some of the technical ones were below my expectations. I found myself thinking: “I already know that” too many times. This probably means I need to go to conventions or meetups that are more focused on a singular aspect of the web.

The Core Conversations concept got a bad rep early on. So I didn’t attend any of them. Something about not being able to sit or hear well if you didn’t get there early. Also, another friend of mine didn’t like the idea of sitting in a circle talking when we get better info using that format over lunch and dinner.

Two Suggestions for SXSWi 2009
I think it’s time to start rotating people on the panels. We can almost predict the presenters at this point. If a panel calls for more than three people, then at least one of those people should be on a SXSW panel for the first time. Pass the torch.

Also, regarding tech panels, can we get a rating on them (e.g., newbies, intermediate, guru). I understand presenters are aiming for a skill-set sweet spot. But it’s aggravating to attend a panel thinking I will learn something when I know the material just as well (if not better).

The List
I wish I had the time and energy to detail each day of the conference. But I barely had time to make it to 10:00am sessions! So, here’s my official SXSW List (subject to changes and additions as I remember them):

Favorite Things About SXSWi 08

• Meeting a bunch of great people
• Eating good food
• Feeling like part of a community

Least Favorite Things About SXSWi 08

• The weather in Austin was cold, windy and sometimes wet. Fail.
• The hiccuping wi-fi (well, after Sunday anyway)

Favorite Panels

• Battledecks II
• Where Are The Black Tech Bloggers?
• Sexual Privacy Online

Least Favorite Panels

• The Art of Self-Branding
• The Contextual Web
• Sponsored Panel: Responsible Web Design

Most Heartwarming Experience
Blacks in Technology Meetup with Jeffrey Bowman

Most Bizzare Experience
Riding in Irina Slutsky’s TechCab Confessions with Jason Toney (1:08:38 thru 00:57:30)

Most Annoying Experience
Watching Ms. Budget Fashionista lose her shit with George Kelly in front of folks ready to clock her train.

Most Overated Beverage (tie)

• Shiner Bock (I just don’t get it)
• Bulleit (I shiver just thinking about how it tastes)

Most Overated Event

• Keynote Interview with Mark Zuckerberg

Favorite Food

• Moonshine

Favorite Dinner Conversation

• The Clay Pit

Favorite Parties
As a rule I don’t stand in long lines to attend “big name” parties. Therefore, the frog design / SXSW Interactive Opening Party and Frrvrr Launch Party rocked because I walked right in (with a little VIP help).

Least Favorite Parties
I heard the Laptop Battle at AMODA was disappointing. My crew opted for pancakes at Magnolia instead.

Most Used Gadgets/Accessories

• Power Supply
• Clarence’s iPhone
• (Everyone else’s) Digital Camera (I have serious camera envy now)

Favorite Reveal

• ExpressionEngine 2.0 Preview

Things I Missed But Wished I Didn’t

• 10 Tips for Managing a Creative Environment
• 20×2 v. 8.0: “What’s the Difference?”
• FM 2.0: The Future of Internet Radio
• Fray Cafe 8
• How Piracy Will Save the Music Industry
• Pimp My Non Profit – Real Non-Profits Kicking Ass with Online Technology
• Respect!
• Roll Over Gutenberg, Tell McLuhan The News
• Social Networking and Your Brand
• SXSW Clicks: Web Designers
• The Heather Gold Show: Opting Out

Most Referenced Song In My Circle
“Touch My Body” by Mariah Carey

Most Overheard/twittered Phrases

• “______ rocked!”
• “Ballroom A?!”
• “Do you have a car?”
• “He’s drunk as hell.”
• “I gotta pee.”
• “I’m blowing off panels for the rest of the day.”
• “I’m drunk as hell.”
• “Free food at _____.”
• “Free liquor at _____.”
• “Long line at ______.”
• “My feet hurt.”
• “My back hurts.”
• “She’s drunk as hell.”
• “That sucked!”
• “What’s your twitter name?”
• “Where are we eating?”
• “Where is the _______ party?”

Most Referenced Non-Web Celebrities

• Amy Winehouse
• Britney Spears
• Justin Timberlake

Blissfully Reconnected
Baratunde, Cecily, Denise, George, Jason, Lanie, Lynne

ATL Crew Members
EJ & Tiffany

Met For The First Time

• Angela Benton
• Anika Myers Palm
• Anil Dash
• CC Stinson
• Chris Brogan
• Clarence Smith, Jr.
• Erica
• Ernie Hsiung
• Gillian
• Irina Slutsky
• Jonno
• Melissa Acedera
• Rannie Turingan
• Shaun Inman (and wife, Leslie Inman)
• Stephanie Sullivan
• Twanna
• Violet Blue
• (more when I find where I put business cards)