After another long absence, its time to resume my blog, covering the SXSW Interactive/Film/Music convention in Austin, Texas.
Its interactive that first got me interested in the festival, and that's the first thing on the agenda.
Since the first sessions didn't begin until 2 pm, I felt it necessary to have some Texas Barbeque before I got started. I sated my appetite at Iron Works, conveniently located next door to the convention center. Just ahead of me in line was Leo LaPorte, host of my favorite podcast, This Week in Tech. I asked him if he had ordered his iPad, which just went on sale that day, and he said he had ordered two. Alas, I only ordered one.
One button. Sounds like an Apple idea. Appropriately, my first session was The History of the Button. It was an interesting talk about the abstract notion of the button, how it came to be, and how its changing; most notably in that many of the buttons we use on the internet don't appear as buttons at all. Instead, they are text, or a graphic, or anything else that you can click on to cause something to happen.
Then it was on to Successful Networking for Introverts, Rebels and Misfits. My friends don't believe it, but I am an introvert. There were some decent tips on how to more easily chat up strangers in social situations. I offered a tip: act like you are a reporter interviewing someone.
Then I attended PayTV vs Internet: The Battle for Your TV. Speaking for PayTV was Mark Cuban, maverick Mavericks owner and HDNet mogul. On the Internet side was Avner Ronen, founder of Boxee. About 5 minutes into their debate, a false alarm caused the evacuation of the entire convention center. But it was over quickly, and the debate resumed. Here's a nice little writeup of the exchange. I videoed the whole thing, but the audio is too crappy for me to post.
Then it was on to my first party, the Tocquigny Martini & Beer Marketing Mixer. I had a lovely chat there with Jenny Goddard, a young local filmmaker.
One of the events I skipped last year is called "Pastries and Pasties." I had a cupcake called "Sloppy Seconds" made from peanut butter & chocolate. Yum. And I watched burlesque-style stripping going on. It was amusing. The crowd even more so. And I was surprised that the performers included all shapes and sizes. I'm proud of the heavy performers and their self confidence!
I then spent a couple of hours at the official SXSW Film Opening Party at Buffalo Billiards. Here, the crowd was a lot bigger, and noiser. I had trouble acting sociable, but as I was about to leave, the aforementioned Ms. Goddard grabbed me from behind, and introduced me to some friends of hers. Still, I couldn't hear conversation, so I headed out and back to the hotel. A good start, but things will be getting better. I still haven't seen any films, and the music doesn't even get started until next week.
Leave a comment