Once again, SXSW was a whirlwind – in a good way. This year was different for me because I was there for a very special reason: promoting the launch of our new book, The Power of Visual Storytelling! Yes, that’s correct – I co-wrote a book! When publishing a book, it seems par for the course to do a fabulous book launch event. We ended up receiving three amazing “launch event” opportunities to sign and give away our book at SXSW among our community of industry friends and influencers. As the photos below will show, we had an incredible time. How can it not be an incredible time when Ekaterina and I are together? 🙂
Event
It’s safe to say that I’m no stranger to speaking on the social media conference circuit. However, it’s rare that I’m offered an opportunity to present on something I’m passionate about outside of my day job. So, when my friends at Hubspot offered me the chance to give a Bold Talk at INBOUND, I was excited – and a little scared. The assignment? Pick a topic – any topic – outside of your professional job that you’re passionate about and speak for 10ish minutes.
The reality for yours truly? Join a group of incredibly accomplished, dynamic, inspiring marketers and attempt to dazzle the crowd with your own words of wisdom. Pushing all worries and doubts of being able to live up to such a task aside, I chose to listen to my gut and speak about something I knew very well – this lil old blog.
Despite having a blog called “The SavvyBostonian,” it’s rare that I’m actually in Boston for July 4th. For six years, I went to a friend’s place up in Conway, New Hampshire and then last year I was galavanting around London. And yes, I do see the irony of being in London on July 4th. This year, all of that changed. With vacation time allocated to other trips, I found myself celebrating July 4th in Boston and then back to work the next day.
Holed up in my apartment all day working on a big project (more on that later!), I almost didn’t go out to celebrate. Luckily, at the last minute a friend called with an opportunity to come up on an incredible roof deck just steps from where I live. Let’s just say that it doesn’t get any better than a glass of sparking rose, good friends, a great view and live streaming the Boston Pops on someone’s iPhone w/ speakers while the fireworks went on. Check out my two videos from the event – originally shared via my savvybostonian Vine account – to see them for yourself!
On the Town: The Rosoff Awards, Harvard Gardens & Restoration Hardware
Ah, what a week. Busier than most, it was filled with fun events, brunches, exploring Boston, and more. From speaking at the PRSA Boston social media conference, to seeing Mayor Menino speak at the Rosoff Awards, a fantastic brunch with a good friend and exploring the new Restoration Hardware store, here are a few highlights.