Newbie tips from SXSW

The following is going to posted to my Company's Blog, so I thought I would share it here as well…

 

We have plenty of experts at Definition 6 and several of them were able to join me at SXSW this year. In their blogs they will give you great insights into the fantastic technical content and incredible creative features that SXSW provided. As for me, I was your basic wide eyed child seeing a new world for the first time. Every experience and many of the sessions were sensory and information overload but I did bring back a few good nuggets that will be helpful for 2011 and beyond:

 

1. Do NOT ignore the early panels and sessions – I am an early riser and not a 'huge' partier so this one for me was easier than some of the other Conference Attendees. Every day sessions began at either 9:00 or 9:30; set your alarms early, get up stretch (workout if you do that) because you are in for a fully packed day!
   
2. Speaking of panels and sessions – there are TONS of them and if you don't pre-plan your day you will get lost, overwhelmed and miss things. SXSW has gotten so big that many sessions no longer take place in the Austin Convention Center (ACC). They use the Hilton across the street and several other hotels around downtown Austin. If you aren't paying attention you could very well miss your session.
   
3. Use the tools SXSW provides – If you weren't using my.SXSW.com then you missed out. Additionally, I am an iPhone user and the SXSW app was a LIFE SAVER! Everything from my custom schedule to maps to venues, it is a must have.
   
4. Network, Network, Network – I know this sounds rather elementary for a Conference, let alone SXSW, but I would focus on where and when you can do your best networking. For me, I found that to be in TWO places. My favorite place to network was before a panel/session. For a generally small panel I would arrive about 30 minutes beforehand (take note, for big sessions, like Keynotes, I would arrive 60 minutes before, take a good seat, and be ready to talk to my neighbors. I met everyone from the head of Interactive for a Fortune 50 to someone who had actually read one of my blog posts! The second place was in the 'Lounges' on the second floor of the ACC. In general, I had about 60-90 between sessions. I would head up to the Bloggers' Lounge and process my thoughts and get to meet great people from around the world.
   
5. Bring your laptop! – A few folks suggested I leave it behind but for me it was my SINGLE BEST TOOL at SXSW. Why you ask? During every panel/session there was a hashtag for Twitter associated with it. I would open up TweetDeck and add a column for that hashtag. From there I could pose a question, make a comment and follow what others were saying. This actually became ANOTHER great 'place' to network as I started picking up 'followers' and I began to 'follow' others in the room.
   
6. Work the parties – At least until 10:00pm or so. I noticed that most of the sponsored after hour gatherings were also good places to network but only up until a point, and that point was generally around 10:00. From then on places were very crowded and the atmosphere was no longer conducive to very strategic business talks. Stick around, pick up cards and talk about your business but think of that like early snow – it's coming down but it most likely won't 'stick'
   
7. Book in advance – Hotel rooms fill up fast! See you March 15^th, 2011.