First-timers guide to SXSW

The first full day of SXSW is today – and if it’s your first time to go, you may get a little overwhelmed. Here are some tips provided by Fazia Rizvi and Ernie Hsiung. Fazia has been to SXSW many times and is very familiar with how things work. Ernie is the genious behind the blog little.yellow.different and was a panelist on How to Rawk SXSW.

Before you even get to the Convention Center, there are some things you may want to keep in mind. Ernie says to get the pocket guide provided for you by SXSW and put it in your badge for safe-keeping. He says to do this because the pocket guide contains the full schedules. He also says to keep yourself hydrated. Keep one-liter bottles of water on hand. Ernie and Fazia both have technology reminders. Fazia reminds everyone to bring their cell phones and laptops while Ernie says to bring an extra power strip. “Bringing a power strip makes you popular…since a lot of geeks there like to go on their laptops in the hallways and lounges (this geek included).”

If you’re not sure about how to manage your time, check out the schedule provided by SXSW. It’s a good idea to know what you want to see before you go in. “Another strategy is to find a panel by a speaker rather than finding a panel by the topic,” says Ernie.  “Sometimes a really fantastic speaker can make the difference between a good and a great conference”. Fazia recommends having a backup or two just in case the session isn’t what you expected.

If you can only spend one day at SXSW, you can still have a lot of fun. “Keynotes are always good, and an important part of the SXSW experience,” said Fazia. She also says that many people overlook the gaming trade show. “I think that’s where al the new user interface and real innovations in social media technology are going to come from,” she said. She also recommends the core conversations because they are excellent networking opportunities. Ernie also recommends core conversations and the panels. “I’m a video game fanatic, so I always wander around the ScreenBurn for a little bit,” he said. Ernie also mentions the evening events. “I personally love the events during SXSW that have been created by the blogger/new media community – it’s a nice reminder that SXSWi parties aren’t just about standing around in bar trying to get into some generic web 2.0 party,” he says. He recommends 20×2 and Fray Café.

Keeping these tips in mind will help any first timer enjoy their experience at SXSW. See you there!

SXSWi gives geeks a chance to revel

The “inner geek” is beside himself.

I will be covering SXSWi activities on Sunday, March 15 and Monday, March 16. With the plethora of offerings, my head is swirling with indecision at the thought of missing one topic while at another.

On Sunday I did find a 10-11 a.m. presentation that is like candy for my inner geek: Tips and Tricks for Making the Most of Creative Suite 4 promises to be a fun and informative session.

The rest of the day might look like this for my choices:

11:30 am–12:30p.m. Design for the Wisdom of Crowds

The 2–3 p.m. Toss-up: Keynote interview or CSS3; I need CSS3 information for practical purposes, but I am intrigued by the genius of Nate Silver from fivethirtyeight.com. He should offer some great insight to the use of database farming for the insightful predictions he made during the past presidential election.

3:30-4:30 p.m. This one was another difficult choice for me. The practicality of Designing Our Way Through Web Forms is pitted against my journalistic interests for Get Me Rewrite! Developing APIs and the Changing Face of News.

5–6 p.m.  My interests are generally video oriented, so naturally I am drawn to the Video Blogging: Turning Wine into Gold discussion.

Monday’s 10–11 a.m. discussion, Grokking Bloggers: It’s about Love and Underpants, is interesting for only two real reasons: What is Grokking and what underpants have to do with it? Granted there may be other more informative offering at this time, but that title is a winner.

I need to take in the Trade Show, so I want to catch a bite to eat miss out on some info and walk the floor from 11 a.m.–2 p.m.

2–3 p.m.  It looks like a keynote that I can’t miss. The reality is I don’t have a job to quit or business relations in China, so I learn the Gospel of Open Source.

3:30–4:30p.m. This hour has a long list of choices, but I settled on Core Conversation: Advertising is Entertaining – Who’s Selling Out?

5–6 p.m.  Shift Happens: Moving From Word to Pictures will end my SXSWi coverage.

Whatever your choices are, I’m sure we’ll all be fully entertained, informed, educated and fully exhausted by the end of this year’s SXSWi.