SXSW - Day 1!
Trying to keep up with the geeky spirit, I’m posting directly from SXSW!!! Everyone is sporting an iPhone, a Mac computer and a t-shirt with some clever coding/tech innuendo…
The lines for getting the conference’s pass, which is no longer mailed to participants, ran close to 2 hours. I was happy to get my pass from the speakers’ booth in 2,5 mins (now that is what I call a benefit!.:)
2 sessions today:
How to rawk SXSW 2008 – The basics of the festival: how to deal with alcohol during parties, how to pick your panels, how to go with the flow of the whole thing, how to meet people and where the cool stuff is at in Austin. Panelists: Min Jung Kim (minjungkim.com), Ian Lloyd (accessify.com), Matt Mullenweg (Founding Dev, Automattic/WordPress), Jason Toney (Disney Online), Rannie Turingan (photojunkie.ca), Tim Ferriss. These guys drank a bottle of Jack Daniels during the 1,5 hour session (apparently a tradition at this specific session) . The session ended with one of the panelists dancing on the speakers’ table while the Accordion Guy (seriously) played Britney’s “Baby one more time”…
Battledecks II –Powerpoint meets Karaoke in a battle of wits – some of SXSW’s favourite speakers got on stage to deliver 5 minute presentations using crazy slides they’d never seen before. 3 judges gave them marks based on criteria such as use of jargon, gesturing and credibility. Very entertaining and educational!
Several opening parties tonight. Tomorrow we have the real deal. View the schedule here and let me know if there’s something you’d like me to check out for you (one of the correct answers is “please tell me all about that really interesting panel on Location-Based Entertainment!”)
