When people say that SXSW runs on beer, energy drinks and breakfast burritos, they weren’t kidding. I’ve been having an absolute awesome time the past couple of days, with great panels and meeting amazing people. One of the highlights of the trip so far was getting to hang with Erika Napoletano, Gary Vaynerchuk, Tom Martin, Shelly Kramer, and Katherine Meyer – all at once and in real life, at an amazing party thrown by Jay Baer. All amazing folks to not only follow online but also to meet in real life. Lots of talent and good vibes all around. I also challenged Gary V to pencil wars (and was beaten handily – I think he’s still undefeated) ((video below)).
- Panels
- Panels
- Panels
- Meet ups
- TequilaNOW party
- Jay Baer in a Mariachi outfit
- Pencil Wars with Gary V
- Kickin’ it with RedheadWriting
- Panels
- Happy hour
- Actually winning at pool against @katherinemeyer
- Amazing Crawfish dinner
- BED
Experiences like this remind me how much of social media and SXSWi truly are social, but they’re just tools to facilitate relationships. Getting to meet up with previously online-only friends I think is something that SXSWi and other tech conferences really are about.
But of course the panels have been amazing. I’ve gotten to sit in on discussions ranging from the future of social media, ad agencies, and community management, but also have taken in amazing keynotes from the likes of Guy Kawasaki and Moot (4chan). And we’re not even half done. I’ll be posting, notes, videos and recaps as well over the coming days, but wanted to just check in to say hi and let you all know I’m having a kick-ass time so far.
