SXSW – Days 1 & 2
Now that the truly amazing experience of SXSW in Austin Texas has completely sunk in, it’s time to thank and share.
So, a huge thanks goes out to the whole of the WOMWolrd/Nokia team and all the great guys I met from Nokia while in the States.
If you not sure what SXSW (South by South West) is check this site out sxsw.com, It’s also definitely worth re-linking the WOMWorld posts of the entrants and winners of the #nokiaSXSW competition.
DAY 1 (Thur 18th March 2010)
I reached Heathrow pretty early in the morning, and upton checking my emails, I saw an email from @AllaboutGeorge, saying he would be happy to meet at the airport in Austin and we could hit the town together. I then realised he would have no idea what I looked like so this was the first picture taken and sent on this amazing trip.
I arrived in Austin on Thursday night and there was @allaboutgeorge
with his Ukally, which I was luckily enough to have the privailge of hearing him play on our first night out.
Thanks to foursquare (“geeky I know”) we noticed that the ginger man was trending and headed over to see what was happening. The result was great, because it was here that we bumped into @thenokiablog and @thesymbianblog two of the other winners in the competition.
After a few hours of playing very bad darts, comparing which camera phone had the best flash (N82 was a clear winner) and listening to some very good music thanks @ allaboutgeorge, it was time to hit the hotel and get some rest…
DAY 2 (Fri 19th March 2010)
This is where things got really exciting. Starting with the amazing American bacon(I miss it already), and then onto the formal introductions of the whole party as follows
The Winners
@Stobbsc – Me
@TheNokiaBlog – Mark Gium
@Allaboutgeorge – George Kelly
@thesymbianblog – Vaibhav Sharma
@the_accidental – Iain Wallace
The WOMWorld Crew
@Whatleydude – James
@RiccWebb – Riccardo
@dandandan – Daniel
@adwood1984 – Adam
This was the first opportunity we had to show off what tech we brought with us, I started worrying about some of the crew (@whatleydude) no, names mentioned.
So basically our tech party comprised of mainly N97/N97 mini’s and N900’s a few E-series devices thrown in and of coarse the Camera flash king the N82, last but not least the Octopus was also with us.
It was now off to the grand Austin Convention Centre, here we met the lovely @Msjen, thanks again for all the tips from your past experiences at sxsw, your company and energy is missed.
(Almost got my name right)
After checking in quickly( he he he inside joke) and bite to eat we headed back to the Convention centre to get some mental stimulation at one of the many panels that sxsw had to offer.
The first panel I went to was “Is Technology Weakening Interpersonal Relationships?”, I found it very interesting and thought provoking, it was the first true panel I’d ever been too. I loved the idea of open questions and having different views on the panel, rather than just being flooded with propaganda and a panel that stood with a single train of though.
OFF TOPIC but awesome
I LOVE LEGO AT THE AUSTIN CONVERSTION CENTER
The Second talk I went to was interrupted by a fire drill (I’m sure this caused a HUGE influx of traffic on the twitter servers), was about something close to my heart “Cooking for Geeks: Science, Hacks, & Good Food”, it wasn’t exactly what I had expected, but was very interesting when we all got asked to taste a piece of paper phenylthiocarbamide to find out more about what I am ranting about check this link out (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylthiocarbamide) P.S I had no taste at all, the guy next to me obviously tasted the paper as bitter, because he didn’t look happy at all
With Jet lag kicking in the day was not even near it’s end. The lovely people from WOMWorld took us to the Fogo de Chao for a “private” party which was great for a few snacks and drinks, and it was here we got to meet some of the boys from Nokia and some other great bloggers.
Later on in the evening I found myself at a very entertaining bar called the duelling piano, which I am told is a very America concept, designed for tourist. True or not I can’t be sure, but I loved it. Great music, funny performers and awesome company, the perfect way to end our first full day at SXSW.
Coming soon, Days 3/4 and 5
Here are some links to other peoples views of SXSW and days 1/2.
“P.S I had no taste at all, the guy next to me obviously tasted the paper as bitter, because he didn’t look happy at all”
A cliffhanger though.
Really enjoy reading your day 1&2 experiences.