I did it, I survived SXSW. Although Gabe Shepherd doesnât agree (heâs often muttered SXSW: 1, Brunty: 0 because I spent the last night asleep on the couch) I feel like I conquered a little bit of Austin this week. For those not familiar with the two-week long conference, let me just say this. For 14 days, the idea of âAustin Texasâ goes out the window and 200,000 people descend upon a town to unleash the beast known as South by Southwest. For the first week, the streets are cluttered with older white guys wearing badges looking for a good time; this is known as the Interactive portion. During this time, you can find yourself at a tradeshow engaging in conversation with vendors slinging the hottest new social media service, image suites or website hosts. If youâre lucky, youâll experience panels with industry-leading professionals in the entertainment industry and in the back of everyoneâs head during this time, through buzzwords like âsynergyâ or âengagementâ the same thought is repeating, âwhereâs the party tonight?â
Itâs no secret that SXSW has become one of the hottest party spots in the country masked by keynotes and swag bags, but I had NO idea people could party for a week straight. I mean, Iâm a born and raised Vegas dude and this BLEW me away. All you hear about during the day is where the secret party is that night while your phone is blowing up with notifications for scavenger hunts to get into Kendrick Lamarâs secret show. Itâs overwhelming in the best way possible. When we first landed in Austin, Gabe warned me that you canât see it all, boy was he right. You try to experience as much as you can in the hopes that you leave with hitting up a few of the meetings/panels you had hoped to sit in on. This conference is the pinnacle.
The notion of âcome expecting nothing, leave experiencing everythingâ is so utterly true that I simply cannot begin to explain the transformative nature that occurs while at this conference. I found myself having âJimmy Neutron brain blastsâ all day with new ideas on better social media techniques, how activations can push your brand in a way not possible in other marketing mediums, graphic novel ideas, tv show ideas, blogs and just about every other category under the sun. To put it lightly, SXSW is absolutely the most inspiring place Iâve ever been.
So what happens after the interactive folk leave? Well thatâs when Austin really lives up to their tagline of âKeep Austin Weird.â During the final days of the interactive portion, you start to notice a climate change. The attendance begins to get lower in age, it starts to smell of patrol oil and flannel pattern is noticed as far as the eye can see. Itâs during that time that you realize that the Music portion of SXSW has arrived and the hipsters have overtaken the town.
Luckily, I was only in Austin for a day of the music festival, but that was plenty for me. Iâm a pretty weird dude, but even this was a little too weird for me. Walking down 6th trying to get a cab for the airport, I saw a trio of vikings, a John Lennon lookalike, raver girls, a biker gang, a dude that looked like Ab Soul, goths, preps, jocks and every other high school clique you can think of. The music portion of SXSW is when things get rowdy and after a week of walking, interacting, not sleeping and destroying my liver, I was pretty ready to get out of Texas and into my own bed with some True Detective streaming.Â
So what did I learn this week in Austin? 1. Weâre living in an age where we are all broadcasters. Our social networks have become publishing platforms and weâre all lending our own voice to the universe in a way that has never been possible before. 2. I canât party like I thought I could. I think itâll be a long time before you see me at The Gold Spike. 3. Vegas hipsters arenât that bad, really. Go to another city and experience their hipsters or better yet, go to Austin during the music portion and experience all of Americaâs hipsters and youâll learn to hate hipsters all over again! 4. Iâm never missing another SXSW again. This is the most important conference you can attend as a marketing professional and content creator. The things you learn in a week at SXSW will rival that what most people learn in their career lifetimes. If you have the chance to go to Austin during this conference, do not pass up the opportunity to better understand your career, your passions, your limited and most importantly your self.Â
Oh and I finally met our one true god, Nicolas Cage.:)
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