SXSW is one of my favorite Interactive conferences of the year. From catching up with friends, to fun events, amazing food and interesting talks, I always have a good time. Here are some photos from SXSW 2013:
I always try to take JetBlue’s direct Boston to Austin flight. There’s usually at least two direct flights daily, one in the morning and one in the evening. Fun fact: the early morning direct flight for SXSW is affectionately called “the Nerd Bird.” Unfortunately, due to inclement weather in Boston, it took longer than expected to get up in the air. It ended up being pretty funny because many of us on the plane knew one another, so just imagine a flight full of social media marketers tweeting each other to kill time before the flight took off!
Once we did make it up in the air, the views were great! Plus, the prospect of landing in warmer weather was exciting!
Once in Austin, I was thrust into an exciting cycle of meetings, events and conference talks. One of my favorites, as seen by the photos above, was a women’s brunch event hosted by TOMS and Evite Postmark. Filled with inspiring women, the conversations flowed easily and we were given a little goody bag with cards to keep the momentum going.
As for nighttime events, I had a blast a the Twitter party hanging out with the Crashlytics team (yay for Boston startups!). Check out the super cool interactive Wall at the Twitter party, which was displaying photos, videos and (of course) tweets:
Perhaps my favorite photo of SXSW came from the W20 Group’s Geek-A-Cue. Held at Franklin Barbecue, one of the best BBQ spots in Austin, we noshed on pulled pork (sadly no brisket left) and couldn’t resist geeking out in the photo both. Fun fact: I LOVE photo booths and have no problem goofing off in them!
In addition to Franklin BBQ, I was treated to so many amazing meals. My favorites included La Condesa (Modern Mexican), Second Bar + Kitchen (American) and an unexpectedly delicious veggie burger at Austin Java (Cafe). All very different meals, but wonderful!
From Second Kitchen + Bar
Amazing veggie burger from Austin Java
Of course, it wouldn’t be SXSW without the conference itself. I went to quite a few talks, most notably with Brian Chesky of Airbnb, the Visual Voice talk with Whole Foods, Kate Spade and Bergdorf Goodman, Shaq’s private talk in the Samsung Blogger Lounge and Jonah Peretti of Buzzfeed. It was during the Buzzfeed talk that I heard one of my now favorite quotes:
“Publishing is like a Paris cafe – sometimes you read the newspaper and sometimes you pet the cute dog.” – Jonah Peretti, Buzzfeed
And then there was my other favorite quote – also from the Buzzfeed presentation!
Thanks for a fantastic SXSW 2013. I’m already looking forward to next year!