Overheard at SXSW
[This is a guest post by Dawn Smith, VP at Digitaria]
The Digitaria crew is descending in waves upon the charming, quirky and possibly ouright weird city of Austin. I’m a SXSWi sophomore, and look forward to graduating from my frosh status.
Arriving Thursday afternoon, we were engulfed by the sight and sounds. A whine of a blues guitar, the raspy throat of an aged rock band, and the smell of good BBQ. Add in UT spring break with sorority girls walking around, and you have a pretty eclectic mix.
As the day wore on and the Digital horde started to stream in, the language of the locals quickly fell away to Geek Talk. Here are a few snippets that stuck :
“Put the iphone down, stop tweeting and sing along dammit!”
“Chuck Norris invented the internet. No, really; he did.”
“Austin is putting in parking meters till 12am. Another strike against the starving Musician.”
“XX is the new Facebook.”
“Launched yet?
“Nah. Just in prototype.”
“…Poser.”“Come on in Geeks. We love you. Drinks all night.”
“I go where the music calls me. Or where the shots are on special. I’m not picky.”
“Must clone myself, how can i be in 4 panels at once?”
And my all time fav so far…
“wow there are a lot of chicks here this year.”
“Still won’t get a date till you move out of the basement.”
Related Articles
- Follow Digitaria @ SXSW! (digitaria.com)
- Is geek spring break getting too big? (cnn.com)
Wandering is Encouraged
[Guest post by JWT’s Elias Kakomanolis and Owen Katz]
Owen and I were taken aback this morning at a line of text on our hotel room keys creepily stated “Wandering is encouraged.” We had a laugh and then tried setting up our schedule for the day.
A couple of sessions jumped out at us, Like “How not to be a douche bag at SxSW,” and “My kindergartener markets better than you.” With so many choices, we weren’t sure how to organize our day in the most efficient manner, but maybe we’ll follow our room key’s advice and just encourage our own wandering.
Brand Journalism: “It’s a Trap!”
I frequently get asked by coworkers why a journalist would ever consider jumping to advertising. When I answer “industry stability,” they laugh and shake their heads.*
Obviously, there’s more to it than that. In terms of day-to-day tasks, there are a lot of similarities between the brand journalism work I do for JWT and the “actual journalism” work I used to do at PC Magazine and elsewhere. And beyond the daily work, our brand journalism efforts aim to be considered actual journalism—non-fiction storytelling that deals with relevant issues.
Tasteful Animation (and free meat)
Seriously. Vegans beware.
Meat and Money. What else is there?
I don’t think it’s a stroke of genius to figure out that there are going to be a ton of ad agencies at SXSW this year. This is either a good thing or a bad thing. Bad if you feel that SXSW should be pollution free and that we should stick to doing what we do best (if anyone knows what that is, please do let me know). But good if you like going to parties with free beer and are looking for a job. Jobs. Remember them?
I’m sure there will be lots of parties thrown by agencies, so rather than throw another one we thought we’d stick to our philosophy of trying to be useful as well as entertaining and feed ya’ll. And then offer you jobs.
We have teamed up with Austin’s best BBQ joint, Salt Lick, to run a BBQ truck that will hand out free BBQ on Saturday and Sunday night. No 3-hour round trip to get your Salt Lick, for you sir. No, just send us a tweet @jwtbbq and we will come to you. So when you are stuck in a line fiddling with stupid RSVPs and wristbands or stumbling along Red River searching for a cab, simply raise your nostrils in the air and inhale deeply. Sweet smelling meat won’t be far away. Or check the site for locations.
You mentioned jobs, twice, in fact. Yes, I’m sure it’s not a shock to anyone that we looking for bright young digital talent. Who isn’t? Whether you are a coder, a creative, a producer or just a plain old hustler, so long as you are looking for an entry-level role we would love to hear from you. Send us a mail to sxsw.jobs@jwt.com. Last time we did this we got a sackful of emails we couldn’t answer so please, this is only for junior – or ‘cheap’ as most CFO’s like to say – positions.
Eating salad until Austin. See you there.
Panels, Panels Everywhere
There are a lot of panels to consider at SXSW–a lot of panels. In an effort to spare you the time it takes to cull through all of the event descriptions, here is a list of some content you might find interesting:
Friday, March 11, 2011
2:00pm
How To Not Be A Douchebag at SXSW
Description: Back by popular demand! Whether you’re a first-time SXSW Interactive attendee or a veteran, this humorous and informative conversation will help you make the most of SXSW. You’ll learn what actions and behaviors to avoid so you don’t get tagged as “doing it wrong”. We’ll also share advice on how to meet new people, navigate the parties, and have fun the without being “that guy/girl”.
Where: Austin Convention Center, Room 10AB
4 Tips to Get the Most Out of SXSW
If this is your first time going to SXSW, you’re in for a great weekend! There are several guides up on the nets with sensible advice on how to enjoy the show (wear comfortable shoes, don’t forget your cell phone charger, stay hydrated, etc). I’m guessing you guys know most of that stuff, but here are some tips you might not have thought of…
1. Plan Ahead
Head over to SXSW.com, and browse through the panel schedule and the list of parties. Take a few minutes and RSVP for every party you’re even vaguely interested in hitting. Then follow @SXSWParty on Twitter, and RSVP for any of their additional parties that grab your interest. Badges are sufficient to get you in the door at most parties, but an RSVP can sometimes let you skip the line.
2. Ditch Your Plans
Now that you’ve got your SXSW evening plans sketched out, toss ‘em. Those publicly advertised parties are going to have huge lines and crowded bars, so treat them as a last resort. It’s good to be on as many RSVP lists as possible, but the real action at SXSW happens at the impromptu meetups and secret shindigs that will be announced in real-time, largely via Twitter and Foursquare.
Macy’s Brings QR Codes Into Style
Macy’s “Backstage Pass” is an interesting campaign not only because it is bringing strong content to mobile devices, but also because it will educate legions of shoppers about QR codes.
Consumers who are browsing in-store can scan a QR code to get fashion and advice from Tommy Hilfiger, P. Diddy, Martha Stewart and other Macy’s star designers. Once they scan the code, a short video then plays. For those who are unfamiliar with the technology, Macy’s sales associates will be on hand to help. Instructional videos are also available online.
If you don’t have a QR reader, you can text “reader” to MACYS (62297) to get one. If you want to learn more, you can text “learn” to MACYS (62297) and a demonstration video will be delivered via MMS. Here is the code:
To read more about Backstage Pass, check out today’s Mediapost article.
Twitter Notes from MWC
For anyone not at the Mobile World Congress last week to catch the presentation from Twitter’s Dick Costolo here’s the scratch pad notes I took…
Twitter’s Mission
Their company mission is clearly and sharply articulated in one statement: To Instantly connect people everywhere to what’s most meaningful to them.
To accomplish this mission, their goals are to be instant, simple and always present – they are not as present as they would like to be yet.
Ad+Geek 