South by Southwest Interactive 2006 was a blast -- as many folks are mentioning in their blogs. I learned a lot. Here are a couple things I want to do differently next year.
1. Get invited to a meal with more folks
Meals are where the real interaction takes place -- folks discuss their current projects and lessons learned. Opinions over panel discussions and where things are going and the inside scoop on what's going to happen soon.
My suggestion to the A-List folks is to invite a couple people you've just met to join your lunch group. If you are wondering if you are A-List, here's the definition: You are A-List if:
- You are a SxSW panelist
- You wrote or co-wrote a book related to Web Design
- You designed the Firefox logo
Okay, it's more my fault that I never really approached these folks and actually... well... asked to join them for lunch. Except for Dustin Diaz who ditched me after the Superheros panel. I'll cut him some slack for that one. He was pretty busy that day. I suppose what I really want to do next year is to find the courage to ask.
Important side note: All my dining companions during SxSW were awesome: Robert Nyman, Daniel Hansson, Erik Sagen, Eric Shepherd, Shane Shepherd, Jakob Heuser, Dave Seah (Seah not Shea), Chris Mills, Stuart Colville, Jim Archer, Jonathan Snook, others I'm forgetting sorry.
At one lunch, I showed a Photoshop comp of a project I was working on and an impromptu peer review took place. The suggestions were great and the look improved a lot! My favorite comment was "It needs a color." Thanks guys ;-)
The other good thing is that a couple of those folks above will most likely qualify as A-List folks next year. I'll be able to say as undoubtedly :-) I eat lunch without them, "Yeah, I knew them when..."
2. Bowl
My participation was limited to foosball that evening -- away from the action -- but next year, bowling for sure. I saw the scores. I saw the high-fives after gutterballs. Beverages were flowing. Averages were declining. And a good time was had by all.
Comments
SXSW was great, and lunch was fun. Thanks for the peer review of my redesign.
By the way, I recommend "Wild At Heart" too -- excellent stuff.
@Carl - I had a great time hanging out in Austin. Thanks for showing us around your home turf!
@Mike:
@Shane:
No problem Guys. I learned quite a bit from the sessions and just hanging out with all the "creatives" (new word to me but a cool one) that descended upon Austin. Keep in Touch!
Great to meet you at SXSWi and thanks for squeezing us all into your mustang for the pre-bowling meal.
Carl, I disagree. The meals were always a quick thing, and for me and some of the folks I tagged along with, sometimes didn't happen at all.
I think the real interaction was staying out late and trying to meet people in crowded bars and at different parties. I'll have to try the food angle next year. I didn't eat too well this year :)
@Stuart: I think we reached maximum capacity on those trips! Remind me to bring the wife's minivan next year.
@Jason: Yes, I agree some parties were good for meeting and mingling but some were too loud and too crowded. PS: Thanks for the t-shirt.
Carl,
It truly was a pleasure meeting you! If the world was full of people as nice as you, we wouldn't have any wars or problems at all.
Take care and good luck with everything!
@Robert: Uhm, Wow, Robert. Thanks. I'll include your endorsement to my sainthood application :-)
But really, it was my pleasure showing you, Daniel and Jon around Austin. Daniel got his Big Texan Steak and you got an Amy's Ice Cream with M&Ms and a dollop of mockery. Good times, good times...
It was great hanging out with you, too. I'll have to try to sneak into the Capitol next year.
Orange = good.
@Eric: I will try to arrange the "behind the scenes" tour again next year. You and the rest of the gang are on the invite list.
Orange. Bright color that does not alarm folks. Reduce green to increase red. Orange is good.
I had an awesome time at SXSW. I've been so busy with the current big project at Gaia that I am just now catching up with everyone. Thank you for showing us all around- I am already looking forward to next year!
Me too. It was great meeting you and the other folks.