So I knew before coming to SXSW that it was going to be an incredible learning experience, and only two days in I have learned a ton. I have been attending panels and discussion groups and learning from some of the most prominent people in the industry. Sure, I've learned the basics: how to attract and keep an audience, how the marketing landscape has changed, how to engage users in the sensory overloaded environment that is the Internet, and how to pitch bloggers (well, really how NOT to approach bloggers.)
However, I have also learned some other fascinating things.
1. If I ever design a convention center, the escalators will go to all floors, and not from the 1st straight to the 4th.
2. Guitar Hero is amazing and it is something that everyone should at least try once. It is a great distraction and a great way to meet people.
3. People love giving out business cards- it's almost like a game. "How many can I give out today?" For a lot of people these conventions are just places to network and not necessarily places to learn. And during my first two days here, part of me has come to believe that SXSW is more successful at connecting people than it is at teaching people- which isn't a bad thing.
4. Tech people are nice, in a very unassuming, unpretentious, genuine, "I actually care what you are working on" kind of way. My kind of people. (Except for the Google man who thought the closer he spoke to the mic the more important he would sound.)
5. I am addicted to Twitter.
All in all, my weekend in Austin has been beautiful and a complete success. Tomorrow will only add to the already great weekend I've had. (Side note: Even though I have come down with a nasty cough, have a fever, and am 5 coughs away from losing my voice, I still think this weekend was amazing.)
More to come on my last day at SXSW....
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