SXSW Tips and Experience

What

#SXSW

is like,

and a few tips…

by Dr. Chris Stout

Leave your cares

behind.

Make sure you get on the right shuttle because your hotel is in the boonies

because you waited too long to book a hotel near ACC.

It’s always fun to see your name in random graffiti.

Keep your batteries topped-off as you’ll always stand in a long line for coffee…

…and most everything else.

You may feel odd to perhaps not have enough tattoos.

You may never have to pay for a meal…

or snack..

or drink.

You will be happy to find an abundance of (branded) output devices.

It’s cool to hang with IEEE gang at the

Driskill, and then

keep up the conversation(s).

Even cooler to score a meeting with a funded startup with a rooftop

deck to meet at.

You can learn new things.

But don’t be mean.

Not cool.

You can make new friends.

All sorts of new friends.

All species of new friends.

No Google Glass. Weird.

You may see someone who looks like that they are from that TV show, band, or

movie, and they are.

There is a risk of feeling bummed to have a PhD, but no App.

Upside, you may now have enough new (free) tee-shirts to last a decade.

You will rush from one cool talk…

to another, even cooler one.

Get used to waking up the next day and wondering if you dreamed

or actually saw that…

I learned that once you are back home, you say you have been to “Southby”(so don’t embarrass yourself).

I plan to wear my badge just for a couple more days...

Thank you Austin. Thank you Texas.Much obliged.