1. Amazing magic tricks at the Tweethouse with fellow GSD&M Surrogate, Jocelyn, the founder of the Parnassus Group and a VP at OnStar. The situations you find yourself in at this spectacle that is SXSW are often hilarious and random.
2. Bat attack.
3. Getting chauffeured around Austin for free on an empty tour bus with Jocelyn.
4. Panel – Virtual Gets Physical, The Future of Installations. Got some great ideas for GSD&M clients for experiential projects. The panelists also collected a great assortment of installation videos on a Tumblr they made; a great resource to have for future brainstorming!
5. VIP access with fellow Surrogate, Jenn, to see Polica and Ghostland Observatory at the newly reopened club, The Belmont. If you haven’t checkout out Polica yet, you need to. They are one of the most talked about bands at SXSW so far.
6. Networking with attendees – Ok, I know this isn’t necessarily a “Moment,” but this was definitely one of my favorite parts of SXSWi (that counts for something, right?). Whether it was connecting with people virtually through Twitter hashtags or physically standing in line at the Squarespace free food truck, the ideas that were shared are invaluable for people in our constantly evolving industry.
7. Free birthday Moonshine brunch with my friend, Whitney, on Sunday at the Turner Revive Lounge. This is one of the best brunches in Austin, and Turner gave it to us (and all other Interactive attendees) for free on my birthday! Thanks for the present, Ted!
8. In the Jane McGonigal session, she mentioned baby animals’ ability to actually improve your life with their cuteness. Most people who know me, know why this is on the list. Baby animals SLAY me (judge me all you want, sorry I’m not sorry). Oh, and Jane’s talk was pretty great too. If you missed it at SXSW, check out her TED talk, the girl has got some great ideas that will probably change the world.
9. Cooking Channel party at Easy Tiger. Good (free!) food + Good (free!) drinks + Good people = Amazing time
10. Panel – The Time Bandits, The Next Revolution in Social – This panel had representatives from apps like Red Rover and Forecast, and revolved around the idea of apps as providers of whim and delight. The conversation was great with a lot of crowd participation.
I guess to land on this list, something really only needed to be in one of three categories: fun, informative or free, and SXSWi sure did deliver.
