3/25/14

SXSW

I have so many things to say, and such little time to write.

Let me start by explaining my radio silence the last few weeks, SXSW happened.
South by Southwest (SXSW) is a film, interactive and music festival that takes place in Austin, Texas. It started in the late 80's and has continued to grow in size every year, becoming one of the biggest tech conferences in the country.  Last year I enjoyed the festival by hanging out with friends and going to parties. This year, I had a battle plan- work the events during the day (makin' dat cheddah $$$) and play with my homies by night.

I worked a few events,
the first being at the interactive conference. It was really fun to be able to see a lot of really cool up and coming technology. It also became a bit tiring to stand all day.

Don't believe me? See picture below.

You can click the link and watch this video to see what it is like working a trade show- My friends and I had a real good time, but got a bit loopy from saying the same pitch 3,000 times to anyone that would listen. 


http://www.theverge.com/sponsored/samsung-austintatious-sxsw/week-6
(my cameo is at 3:10 if you want to get straight to the goods..)


 I also worked an event with CUSP for Neiman Marcus. It was a fun event with fashion panel discussions, Bobbie Brown makeovers, music and a free bar.
..but no photos to show ya- No cell phones at work, remember??

The battle plan was successful, I made some rad friends and
networked myself into 60 new business cards. 


I also had fun with all the professional photographers that flooded the city. 


It seemed like everywhere you went someone was asking to take your photo to post it on Vanity Fair or Free People. The fashionistas ran the city into the ground. It was really fun. 



SX (see how the name just keeps getting shorter?) also has a fun tradition of having free photo booths at a lot of the events. You can get into them with your friends, snap some shots and have printed pictures of the gang in minutes. 



When I wasn't at work or parties, I was riding around with this guy on a motorcycle and hitting up my favorite local places. 


This is a photo of an interactive mural that my TexMan worked on. 
It was so. rad.
How it works is you download an app and then look at the mural through the screen of your phone/Ipad. You can actually play around with the mural, making the gears turn, people move and all sorts of cool things. 


Ludacris show with my other half Shelia.

The city really transforms during the festival for the better and for the worse. 
There are planes pouring into the airport, full of outta towners who think that Austin is this big of a party year round. 
I mean, it is always a party- but SX is a whole different beast. 
I personally believe that SXSW is one of the reasons Austin is one of the fastest growing cities in America. As long as the growth stays true to Austin roots, I am all for it. 

It was a really fun couple of weeks- now off to new adventures!