A few months ago, I had occasion to take an unusual and particularly interesting inventory of my life. I say “unusual” because as a chronic self-dev-junkie-(slash)-overthinker, my default setting is “taking inventory.” Taking Inventory is a sort of state of being, an always-on operation that provides a constant, low-level background hum.1 (Which, given this hearing [...]
SXSW
Weird, one-off disclaimer: Apologies if this gets nerdier in places than our regular program. I’m still processing the events and information of the past week, and via sleep-deprived filters. Which means that given my own standards, I probably should wait to post about it here, but given my iffy memory, I thought it best to [...]
Each of the four years I’ve been coming to SXSW, I’ve learned a little something different. The first time, it was about the value of coming to a conference, period. The next time, about learning to take the time I needed, regardless of the enticing hoopla happening around me (and also about not skipping a [...]
I’m reading a wonderful book right now: Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling memoir, Eat, Pray, Love. Well, I was reading it anyway. I got through “Eat” on the outbound flight to Austin, and most of “Pray” on the return flight to LAX, but I was sobbing so hard during the “Pray” part, I felt like I was [...]
Some people come for the panels and others come for the unprecedented opportunity to party with fellow nerds, but I come to SXSW to have my head and heart split open. This year didn’t disappoint. To the contrary, it was easily the best South-by conference yet. Not just because I got to reconnect with now-longtime [...]
Okay, first? Don’t sweat it; let it go. As with any endeavor that demands time, attention and energy of you, after preparation, the most important thing is to get your head in the right place. No matter how many of the things I mentioned in Weeks 1 & 2 that you ignored, and hey, if [...]
This is Part 2 of a three-part series on prepping for South by Southwest (interactive flavor). You can read Part 1 here. Hopefully, you’ve already tackled some of the bigger to-dos on your list that we talked about in Part 1, like making your reservations and buying a damned cell phone and getting some kind [...]
In a way, getting ready for the annual South by Southwest extravaganza mirrors the experience of SXSW itself: myriad possibilities, a bubbly feeling of excitement, lots to do and a creeping feeling of panic. So the first thing one needs to do in the Planning for SXSW process is this: BREATHE. I’ve been twice now, [...]
While I’m still a relative newcomer to this conference stuff, I learned a lot during my first South by Southwest festival in ’06, and a lot more than that since then. Stuff like…come alone! And with an open mind, the better to let old stuff drizzle out and new stuff pour in. Make plans, but [...]
I’m not a developer. (Oh, boy, am I not, more on that later.) I’m not a gamer, animator, early adopter, Mac fanboy, social network guru, internet celebrity or famous author/change agent/superstah with a new book to shill. But here’s the dirty little secret of the South by Southwest Interactive Festival: you don’t have to be [...]
