The SXSW conference overall was one of the best experiences I’ve had in a long time. Very positive atmosphere, tons of cool people, and very good inspiration. I can’t say how much of a boost it is to meet some of my favorite designers and realize that they are just as human as me. That was very inspiring.

The night life is Austin is pretty crazy, especially the time of this conference. You wouldn’t think a bunch of web guys know how to party, but, you would be very wrong in thinking that. One of the main streets in downtown Austin is 6th street which is insane. We’re talking about 3/4 mile, of bar after bar, right next door to each other. I’ve never seen anything like that. They actually close down the street on the weekend nights because there are just too many people.

On top of the many bars, all of the night events sponsored by big companies that attended the conference were open bar. So imagine a busy downtown 6th street, with open bars for 5 nights…..you do the math. Our craziest night had to be the last night in town, and we definitely went out with a bang. We decided that we wanted to get an early start on things so we started hitting the juices at about 7pm, and went pretty strong until around 2am.

Of course the next day was every bit of hell with having to check out, shitty weather, a flight delayed about 3 hours, and us not getting home til 2:30am the next morning. Oh and I had to get up and work too, but I’m not complaining or anything…

So that was the life for 6 days/5 nights. It was panels all day. Cocktails and networking in the evening. And though it was a great time, it was definitely exhausting, but I’m already looking forward to it next year. My goal holds strong to speak on a panel one year. It will happen.

Austin as a city………eh, I’ve seen better. It was pretty rugged looking though. It had a really old and liberal feel to the city, which isn’t a bad thing, and it was cool seeing a new place, but definitely not a place I’d want to live. The once a year conference is more than enough. It’s not exactly a paradise.

So that was the trip. I wish I would have taken more pictures, but I got some good ones. Seeing as though Andrew is a friend and business partner, it was a good bonding experience while being there. We’ll be dragging the last 1/3 of our company out there next year because I think we have a lot to gain from it……..good times.

Peace

Not everyone is good at this. I’m still learning a whole lot about it. I do know that it is very beneficial to know how to story tell while talking with other people. This one guy I talked to from Phoenix was telling me about his company and such, and it dawned on me that he was an amazing story teller. That was basically his job for his company. They call him a “sales” person, he calls himself the story teller.

So those kinds of people are really cool to talk to, and make networking really fun, because there was a connection that was made, and I am really considering giving him a ring next time I’m in Phoenix.

Then there are the people who are full of themselves that only want to talk about themselves. There was this guy I met today who was way too into himself. First off, I think he handed me a business card before he finished saying what his name was. Then while we’re talking he trying to talk to other people and hand business cards out at the same time. I felt like he wasn’t even paying attention to what I was saying. It was so retarded. Felt like a waste of time. And his business didn’t have anything but his name on it. Am I supposed to search for you?!………………..OK BUDDY!

So anyways, it’s been interesting networking with people, and there is really no other way to do it, than to just walk up to people and start yapping. I’ve had to ease into that since I’m not used to it, but I will say this……open bars make it a whole lot easier.

What ever works, right?

Peace

And I’m not talking about scenic interesting, I’m talking about “I can’t believe how many bars there are” interesting. Seriously, the main street is 6th street, and it is literally bar next to bar. So in the day time, it looks pretty fun, but at night, it’s even better. Tonight we definitely went out for cocktails, and there were tons of people in the street. They actually shut down 6th street so no traffic drives through, so they could let people walk in the street. That’s how crowded it was.

The first place we were at, we met a bunch of “celebrity designers”, if you will. Everyone has people they look up to, whether it be people that lead the way to where they are trying to go, family members, or big name celebrities. Well for me, the people I look up to, are other designers are the people I look up to. And to be able to talk to them, exchange business cards, and shoot the shit, is just priceless.

We also got to go to dinner with some people who have made their mark in the industry. One guy was a lead designer for a big web company, and the other was an author of a book that was on a flyer of every single bag that conference registrants received. How did we manage this? No idea, but we ended up at dinner with them, and they were hella cool when they could have been cocky and stuck up. Good times.

So tomorrow…………..or, later today, the real panels start so we have a full day planned out, and a even more parties to hit up in th evening that are open bar. Now, I’m not a huge drinker, but being on a mini vacation parallel with open bar, that will get abused. So as I’ve promised, I will still be writing every day that I’m here, so I will check back tomorrow.

Peace