A few months ago, my friend and boss Chris Kolehmainen asked me to do some research on the costs of our team attending the South by Southwest Conference this year in Austin, Texas. I put it on my list but sadly it kept getting pushed further and further as my work stacked up. Now it’s too late (SXSW is next week, March 12-21), and I can only apologize to my co-workers and mutter “maybe next year”. For the music fix, at least we have the Pit Stop Music Marathon going on this week in Bloomington, but that doesn’t cover the film and interactive jones.
Out of curiosity, I decided to go through the SXSW schedule and see what I’d be missing. As I dug through the massive schedule of events, I realized I’d be missing out, BIG TIME. So just for fun, I put together my very own wishlist of events for the week to remind me of how lame I am for not going.
Some selected highlights include…
Friday, March 12:
Saturday, March 12:
- Jason Fried (of 37 Signals)
- Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
- Supermeet-Up!
- IFC Films Party
Sunday, March 13:
Monday, March 14:
Tuesday, March 13:
- World Cup 2010: Engaging U.S. Soccer Fans Online
- Interactive Infographics
- SXSW Interactive Closing Party Hosted by (mt) Media Temple
Since the interactive portion ends early, the rest of the week would include a deep cultural immersion in the ways of Austin (READ: awesome food, awesome live music, amazing film and animation). Highlights would go as follows:
- Heypenny, ‘Copcar’
- Texas Shorts
- SATURDAY NIGHT
- We don’t care about music anyway…
- Beijing Taxi
- Royal Bangs
- Japandroids
Plus, as a Texan native, I’m sorely missing the taste of the world’s best Tex-Mex, particularly from Guero’s, Matt’s El Rancho, Maudie’s, The Screaming Goat, and, oh… I could go on and on.
And you should. If you go to this year’s SXSW extravaganza, I want to hear about it. Let me know how much I missed out. Let me know what your favorite events were. Let me know your strategy for maximizing your time down there (you’ll definitely need one).
To get started, here’s a full listing of SXSW events. Have FUN, and we’ll see you next year!
