SXSW 2008 - The Loooooong Write-up

SXSW 2008 flew by. It went so fast! Too fast, I think. But that seems to be a theme of getting older, doesn't it? I think I tried to stay up too late that entire week. It occurred to me yesterday that I'm just too old for that kind of thing. I need to drink during happy hour (you know, 6-8pm) then head for bed before 11pm. That's the sad state of being in my 30's. (I turned 31 on the last day of SXSW so I think I'm well into my 30's.) The conference was so impressive, especially for such a large audience. I'm constantly amazing that things run flawlessly for those of us attending. I was quite impressed with the presentations, but as usual, I didn't attend as many as I probably should have. I went to SXSW with my coworkers from Integrum, but I didn't feel like I spent enough time with them. It's hard trying to balance hanging out with friends I only see once a year and chilling with people I see on a daily basis.

I'm still decompressing from my time in Austin (and the RV trip to and fro), but it's hard because I've got a lot of other things going on as well. There are work things and then there's the whole wedding thing. Both deserve their own posts and will get their due in time. This post is about SXSW! While I could easily ramble on and on, I think I'll make a list. This is mostly for my own memories and may not be interesting to anyone else.

Frank Warren of PostSecret.com
"All of us have a secret that would break your heart if we just knew it."

I've been following PostSecret for a couple years and it always, always touches me. It's an amazing community art project run by an amazing man. Frank is a wonderful speaker. He was eloquent and entertaining. He is humble. His talk reminded me that not everything on the Internet has to be about money. Frank had so much hope and was so positive. He said he wants PostSecret to make us treat people with more compassion. I agree. I love that Frank has created an amazing project and chooses to be humble about it. He plays an important role but he has never made the project about him. With so many people seeking fame, it's refreshing to hear someone who isn't.
"Free your secrets and become who you are."

Meeting Dooce

My favorite blog is Dooce.com by Heather Armstrong. I'm not sure how long I've been reading, but I remember when "dooced" became a word. Yet we had never met. She setup a meet and greet at a coffeeshop so I went to chat. To my surprise, there was a line (kinda like a book signing but without books). I waited in line an hour to meet Heather. Sure, that's totally silly, but I'm totally glad I did. She was so gracious and kind and totally human. While we only had a short 5 minute interaction, I love her even more now. Plus, I got to meet Vanessa and Connor, who were waiting in line with me.

Breaking Bread with Brad

Brad has been hosting dinners at SXSW for 9 years now. I'm lucky to be included in these parties and to get to hang out with so many awesome people. This year it was back to a small group (small-ish...there were 60-80 people?). I had a lovely, lovely time catching up with everyone and meeting a few new friends.

Props

My coworkers at Integrum were struck with a great idea for an app and sat down at the convention center and built it. It's an add-on to Twitter. Check it out - Props.IntegrumTech.com.

Visit Red Fly Studio

Kris is a friend from high school who is now running his own video game studio, Red Fly Sudios. Last year the studio had just gotten started. This year the studio is in full swing - fully staffed, and working on two games! It was awesome to see a sneak peak of Mushroom Men, a game for the Wii slated for release this summer. Thanks to Kris and Jeff for taking time to hang out with us!

Lunch with Noor
Noor, DesertofMyDreams.com, and I have been reading each other's blogs on and off since 2002 or 2003. We *finally* met in person this year! We met up, grabbed lunch, and just got to know each other better. She has an awesome story of the path she's taken to get where she is today - a User Experience Researcher at M$. It was so nice to get to know her in person after all these years. Definitely a highlight for me.

Jason (formerly known as JPlay)

Jason is a Dallas friend who is now in Charlotte. Jason and I met via DFW Blogs quite a few years ago. We went to grad school at the same time so we share some similar experiences. We're quite a few states away these days, but get to keep up with each other via Flickr (I enjoy watching his girls grow up) & my blog (Jason's happy I've found my best friend, Chris). After Break Bread with Brad, I had the chance to sit down with Jason. That talk was definitely a highlight of the trip. It was refreshing to be both catching up on personal stuff and talking about work stuff with a friend who knows where I'm coming from.

Erica's Lunch

I had lunch with two other Erica's! I met Erica Douglass in San Francisco at the first Girl Geek Dinner. She introduced me to Erica O'Grady from Houston. I had a great time getting to know them over lunch. Both ladies have great entrepreneurship experience and great stories about how much networking on the web is helping them.

People I Met
I'm always thrilled that at SXSW people are so friendly and anxious to connect. I met a lot of wonderful, new people this year!
Jenni P, ChronicBabe.com - I was aware of chronicbabe.com because Cinnamon made a bag for the cause. It was awesome to meet Jenni and understand for myself what a babe she is!
Lacey, Lay-C.com - We met at a panel about crafts and technology. She was knitting. Cinnamon introduced us. Later I hung out with Lacey at the tradeshow and at dinner. I could have talked with Lacey for ages...we instantly clicked. I hope, hope, hope to see her again very soon!
Helen Jane, HelenJane.com - I'm pretty sure this was the first time we've officially met. But it was just like we're old friends. (Aren't blogs wonderful?!) I was thrilled to see her growing belly, knowing there's a baby inside!
Heather, Dooce.com - My first major internet celebrity!
Vanessa, AmIDoingOKAY.Blogspot.com - Met in line to meet Heather
Connor, CTOverdrive.ca - Met in line to meet Heather
Ariel, Electrolicious.com & OffbeatBride.com - I loved her book, Offbeat Bride, so it was exciting to meet her in person!
Tim (who has the coolest last name that starts with a B), no site but a picture - Brief talk at Breaking Bread with Brad
Ryan & Arjun, Publi.US - Live in DC and are passionate about politics!
Gareth, GarethRushgrove.com - Runs the Refresh group in New Castle (UK!)
James, Semaphoria.com/James - Sat next to her at Heather & Maggie's panel about Boundaries. She looks SO familiar, I swear we met before. Career woman and mom extraordinaire!
Lauren, Oodelday.com - Gave us great advice on shopping in Austin after overhearing our conversation before the Branding talk.
Joshua, Tilzy.TV - Talked over breakfast tacos (thanks, Six Apart) at Kick! Lives in NYC & does online video stuff.
Halcyon, LifeStudent.com & HugNation.com - I got a hug!
Will, a recruiter for Yahoo! (anyone in User Experience & Design need a job?)
Andrew, a recruiter for Zappos.com (anyone need a Java job?)
(Ohh, Slideshare.net is looking for Ruby developers too.)
Raza, RSyed.org - Who has the loveliest metal business cards! We met at almost 2am and much is blurry. But his cards are sharp!
Derek Powazek, Pixish.com - OK, so I totally knew who Derek was, but we hadn't officially met until Saturday night.
Maggie, MightyGirl.net - I've read MightGirl for ages. I introduced myself after her talk on Boundaries. I was thrilled when she new who I was! (Turns out we have a mutual friend.) I followed her to her book signing and got an autographed copy of "No One Cares What You Had For Lunch."
Bryan, B-May.com - Maggie's husband who was totally supportive to Maggie and really, really friendly to me as we walked to Maggie's book signing.
Geri, GDruckman - I spotted Geri smiling at me during a round table discussion. Turns out he recognized my name because he knows Erica from Houston. Small world!

Who I Missed
Lyn, I saw your husband at BBWB, and heard you were working. I'm so sorry I missed you!
Cameron, rumors were you were in Austin, though our paths never crossed. I wanted to congratulate you on your engagement!
Arena, I'm sorry we weren't able to meet up! Though I'm glad you ran into Lindsay and said hi.

View the set of pictures at SXSW 2008

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