Category Archives: Travels

I finally got to attend the South by Southwest Interactive conference this year. As the website says, SXSW Interactive “features five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders, the incredible new SXSW Trade Show and an unbeatable lineup of special programs showcasing the best new digital works, video games and innovative ideas the international community has to offer.”

What that means is that Austin, TX is a crazy place to be for a week or so in March. And since it was my first time experiencing this chaos, I quickly learned that SXSW is all about choosing wisely. The problem is that there is so much going on that it is impossible to experience it all. So you must choose. You need to figure out which sessions and which events to attend and which sessions and events you are willing to miss. I primarily chose sessions based on the presenter instead of the topic. In most cases, if the presenter is engaging and thought-provoking you’ll get more out of the session than attending something that may sound interesting but with a relatively inexperienced speaker. This isn’t to say that all of the smaller sessions aren’t worth attending – a couple that I did attend were very good. But, like I said, you have to make choices.

Complicating the choices were the long lines. There were a lot of people in Austin for this event, so there were lines for everything. For a couple of the most popular sessions, the lines started over an hour before the session which means skipping something in order to wait in line. In order to get lunch, either at the convention center or in town, you waited a really long time and likely missed some great sessions. After one day of trying to find food, I relied on energy bars to get me through the day and ate one real meal a day – usually an early dinner.

Some attendees even chose to skip hours of the conference all together in order to get the iPad 2. Apple setup a pop-up store in downtown Austin just for selling the iPad 2. There were long lines for the entire weekend after the release.

And there were lines for everything else. Bathrooms and escalators were very busy and there were lines for both during most of the day, especially as sessions ended and everyone was trying to move around at the same time.

There was even a line to play foursquare (the game) with the people from foursquare (the social network). Of course, they were giving away t-shirts if you played so I guess that made it worth the wait.

Adding to the complexity of choice was the fact that my hotel was not in the downtown area. I decided to attend SXSW rather late in the process, so all the downtown hotels were booked. I relied on a shuttle van to get me to and from my hotel every day. It was only a 10 minute ride down the interstate, but if I wasn’t ready to get on the first shuttle of the day at 8:00 am, then the wait at the hotels for shuttles quickly reached almost an hour during the morning rush.

Choosing the proper footwear was also very important. I knew from talking to SXSW veterans that I’d be walking a lot. This was all too true, I’m sure I walked about 10 miles a day. If I go again, I’m wearing a pedometer all week just to see how far I go. It’s crazy how much you are on your feet, either walking or standing in line. I took a couple of pairs of my favorite Converse Chuck Taylors to walk around in. But please don’t get started on the whole hipster thing. I’ve been wearing these shoes since at least the late 1980s and remember a long stretch before this decade when they were actually hard to find.

This is where the skinny jeans part comes in. I don’t think I’ll ever choose to wear tight fitting clothing. It’s just not going to happen. I guess it’s kinda hip right now to make fun of hipsters, but I’m not going to do that. I don’t have a problem with any of the so-called hipster culture, except for the skinny jeans. Those just look way too uncomfortable, and I’ll go for comfort over style anytime. Oh, and PBR too, just not going to embrace that part of hipsterism either.