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Sup Austin. First stop: chicken & waffles then Medici to get some work done. The weather is great here!… instagr.am/p/Whpj6PN2lo/
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I arrived a few days before Interactive to ensure I got situated prior to the show. First step was unpacking my 611 & rolling down Congress in search of food. If there is one key to staying well fed in Austin, it is the heaps of food trucks available all over town. My first stop was Ms P’s for chicken & waffles before I spent the afternoon working from Medici. My time in Texas was off to a good start! This post takes a stab at sharing my experiences, lessons learned & tips for next year.
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On Thursday I took some time to really explore further outside of the city by bike. This involved massive hills, rope swings & some flat tires. An awesome day and having the bike proved to much more than a perk but a real necessity for getting around SXSW quickly.
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Heading another #startupcrawl stop @homeaway HQ #sxswi @ HomeAway Headquarters instagr.am/p/WlGK9Ot2mj/
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That afternoon, I hunkered down & really tried to sort out my agenda. Only somewhat successful at planning out days of panels & parties, I opted to head downtown for the Startup Crawl. This was a great event! Well organized shuttles carted SxSWi pre-gamers to various hotspots in the ATX startup scene. In 2012, it boasted 40 companies and 3,500 party goers! I was amped to start off the weekend making so many new connections! I went back to the hotel filled with optimism for my first SXSW experience.
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There is a MASSIVE line to see #grumpycat. (Like the real cat) art by @bobalgreene. @ Mashable House instagr.am/p/Wm0YWWt2pl/
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SXSWi | DAY 1 | Friday
The next morning I made an early arrival at the convention center to scope things out. I had some things highlighted on the schedule but was prepared to be flexible. I soon had assembled a group of attendees interested in the same marketing panel located north of the convention center & we arrived by foot. As not many options existed that day, I quickly learned my first SXSW lesson: Arrive _WAY_ early & even then sessions fill up. That brought me to my first pivot for the show: focus less on a rigid schedule & more on meeting people. -
Food, music & people at the #sxswi #tacomeetup is so good! Good to meet you chinchilla3000 & #clude @… instagr.am/p/Wm5JcEt2vk/
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I had registered for the taco meetup in advance & made my way back towards Cesar Chavez for what I knew would be an amazing assortment of tacos. Live music alleviated some of the bummer from steady rain. Despite the rain I trekked back west to give attending another panel a go. I encountered a line wrapping an entire city block. Highlights that afternoon included Mashery’s Circus, meeting some of the guys from Over app & stopping by, Austin’s first coworking space, Conjunctured.
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After some recharging, I got ready to head over to the Palmer Events Center for the Frog Design party. My new exciting routine of meeting lots of new people continued & Frog really threw a great party. Not only was it packed but it had heaps of outlandish extras like the Snake Bike above & a zen garden tended by a robot.
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SXSWi | DAY 2 | Saturday
Who is this man? It is Scott Henderson of Hypepotamus, a fellow ATL attendee! At first he didn’t recognize me as I was rolling in from my second big ride outside of the city. Scott helped organize the SXSW ATL Startup Bus. Talk about traveling in style! -
I’m seeing Brand Fans, the New Brand Marketers at SXSW 2013… instagr.am/p/WpT5Yzt2sD/
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My first introductions on Saturday were with some marketers in the cosmetics & fashion industry. I found myself attending an interesting panel with Pepsi, Frito-Lay & Facebook represented. I made some new contacts from Tennessee & we teamed up in search of lunch & they introduced me to even more people. We encountered a food truck literally out of food & luckily was pinged by my recently arrived colleagues just sitting down at a spot on Congress. Again, having my bike made getting around very easy!
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Finally met up with some of my @bignerdranch peeps candynecklaces jubyred & Jason! #bignerdranch #sxswi @… instagr.am/p/Wpgx_DN2uv/
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I headed south over the river to meeat up with Jami, Shannon & Jason. I picked up flyers to pass out for our Gypsy Caravan Party that Monday & talked overall Big Nerd Ranch strategy for the show. I spent time that afternoon in the Startup Village & ended up on T3’s amphibious party in Lake Austin. Having mostly winged it for Saturday, I resolved myself to sticking to more of a schedule Sunday!
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“The best way to complain is to make things” #jamesmurphy quote in #sxswi keynote #aimforhooray #creativemornings #in instagr.am/p/WsEj-RN2i9/
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SXSWi | DAY 3 | Sunday
Several people have asked me for the Wow moments of the week. And at first I came up empty handed as the highglights seemed much more end to end a flowing experience than a collection of brilliant moments. But now in hindsight and reliving the days through these images, Tina Roth Eisenberg’s keynote even surpassed Al Gore’s in my humble opinion. Check it out (and the recap rap) here. The Venn above & Godin quote below resonated both with me & my many of my instagram followers.