Thoughts on my first time at SXSW

I’ve been back from my first SXSW for a week now, and I have to say that overall I had a really great time!

I’ve heard a lot of complaining about how SXSW Interactive isn’t what it used to be, it’s too big, you can’t run into your friends, you can’t get into parties, etc. Since this was my first time, I have nothing to compare it to, but I can say that I was still able to meet a lot of the people I wanted to and make some really great connections with smart, talented people in the web design industry. My situation is a little bit different than most people who attend SXSW, however; I’m an author and speaker in addition to being a working web designer, so I think I do stand to get work in the writing and speaking areas of my career as a result of networking at SXSW. If I wasn’t an author and speaker, though, I don’t think SXSW would have been as beneficial in building my professional network. I do see how it’s both too insular and big for being as effective at that as other conferences or events could be.

The first couple days, I had a hard time getting into any sessions—or at least any I really cared about. I wasn’t terribly impressed with the quality of the presentations I did see and didn’t feel like I was learning much. But after the first couple days, I finally got into some really excellent sessions that gave me new ideas for things to try in my projects and career. I’ve felt like I’m in a bit of rut lately, since I haven’t had much client work to do, and have felt discouraged about my career. But after seeing some of these great sessions, I feel re-energized about what I do, the value it has, and where I can take it. That’s probably the most valuable takeaway from SXSW for me, so if you’re trying to decide whether to go to SXSW next year, that may be a good reason to decide yes.

My own workshop, “CSS3 Design with HTML5,” went pretty well, I think. I got many really nice compliments on it from people who were there, as well as some helpful feedback that I think will improve some of my upcoming speaking engagements. I assume that a podcast of it will be up on the SXSW site at some point, but I haven’t been able to find it yet. I’ll let you know! In the meantime, you can view the demo site for the workshop at www.sxswcss3.com.

I had a lot of fun going out to bars and parties and such, but I also managed to squeeze in a tiny bit of Austin tourism. On my last evening, I went down to Holy Cacao for some cake balls. The peanut butter ones were amazing. The chocolate ones were quite good too. The others I tried were rather unsweet for something that I expected would taste incredibly indulgent. But I’m definitely glad I went. I desperately wanted to try their s’mores, but didn’t have time. Next time… (Side note: The owner and her boyfriend were extremely nice—the boyfriend even gave me and my friend a ride back downtown when our cab never showed up!) After going to Holy Cacao, I went to the Congress Avenue bridge to watch the famous bats emerge at dusk. Very cool.

Here are a few tips I would give to SXSW newbies, just based on my own limited experience:

• Stay at a hotel really close to the convention center. Yes, you will pay more, but I think it’s worth it. I can’t imagine having to take a shuttle or other type of transit back to some distant hotel multiple times a day. It was nice being able to quickly go back to my hotel in the middle of the day to rest, grab a snack, or drop off my laptop.
• If cost is an issue for you, leave for home on Tuesday, not Wednesday. There really wasn’t much going on Tuesday, since so many people leave that day and everyone who is still there is exhausted from partying all weekend. It felt really anti-climatic being there on Tuesday. I should have saved myself that one extra night of hotel cost and left a day early.
• Wear comfy shoes.
• Pack a tiny flashlight so you can sneak into your room at 4am and get ready for bed without waking up your roommate.
• Buy some food (preferably healthy stuff) the first day you’re there so you don’t have to eat out every single meal. Bring a water bottle along with you.
• The sessions on the first two or three days can be really busy, and the popular ones have lines, with not everyone being able to get in to see them. Get to these 15 minutes early to ensure yourself a spot.
• If you want to go to the parties, plan to get there really early, and you may still have to wait in line. I went to almost no parties, but instead had a really fun time hanging out at bars and restaurants with my friends and new people I had met. We had some really great conversations, both geek and non-geek related, and I had a great time. Thanks, people who hung out with me! You know who you are.
• Talk to everyone. Try to limit your time sitting silently behind your screen. I’m an introvert, so it was a little hard for me to strike up conversations with random people standing around me, but I did it and I’m so glad I did. Again, I had some fantastic conversations, both ones that were just plain enjoyable and a couple that might actually help my career.
• You can’t go to everything, so try to prioritize the things that you won’t have an opportunity to do at any other time. For instance, a certain panel may sound really interesting, but if you have the chance to go to lunch with some new people and talk about interesting and career-benefiting stuff, do that instead. You can always watch or listen to the panel later.

Final fun fact: I thought North Carolina (where I live) was obsessed with pork. Turns out Texas is far more obsessed. There was bacon and/or sausage in everything and many signs gleefully celebrating this fact. I have finally eaten bacon chocolate chip cookies. I also ate this delicious, ridiculous monstrosity involving a bacon-laced waffle cone filled with guacamole, pico de gallo, beef taquitos, and tortilla chips. Texas, I salute you.