How to Get the Most Out of the SXSW Interactive Conference

SXSW (South by Southwest) is three conferences and festivals during ten days in March in Austin, TX. The events include a music festival, a film festival, and an interactive conference.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Register for the conference
• A place to stay in Austin
• Transportation to Austin

Get Your Tech Mojo Going

1. The Interactive Conference deals with technical issues such as programming, video game development, web standards, web accessibility, social media, blogging, podcasting, innovative online trends, business, design, marketing and all sorts of geeky topics.
2. The first conference rule is to party. This is your networking opportunity. Registration usually opens on a Friday. That night be sure to take advantage of the opening mixer. You can find a party every night that is part of the conference. There's an opening party on Saturday. On Sunday the party is part of the Web Awards ceremony. There's a closing party on the last day (usually a Tuesday.)
   
   Austin is famous for its music scene, so you may want to find your way to some of the local hangouts for drinks and music on your own.
3. The keynotes are not to be missed. Always a famous name with challenging and interesting ideas at these sessions.
4. Take a careful look at the schedule of panels and sessions. The sessions are led by a range of industry experts. There are often more great sessions that you can find time to attend. Sessions are podcast later in the year, but it may be a long wait. Hit the ones you most want to hear while you're there and tune in to the podcasts of your other choices later.
5. Use the time between sessions to network in the hallways. There's plenty of time between sessions for meaningful conversations, passing around your business card, a trip to the coffee kiosk and a stop in the bathroom.
6. Don't miss the trade show. The trade show features booths for both the film and interactive conferences. These two run on the same days. (The music festival is scheduled on different days.) You can talk to people who share your interests and find all sorts of useful information at the trade show. Plus you may pick up some swag and a bit of candy to keep you going. In my opinion, the most interesting booth at the trade show is always the Knowbility booth. You can try out oral screen readers and talk to accessibility experts there.
7. If you can afford to stay downtown at one of the conference hotels near the convention center, you'll be surrounded by other attendees at all times, increasing your networking opportunities.
8. Since the film festival runs at the same time as the interactive conference, consider registering for both. Then you can catch some of the films in between the sessions and the parties.
9. Use meetup.com to find meetups of people who share your particular interests. I've attended meetups during SXSW for BlogHer, higher education, and other specific topics. The meetups are usually held in bars or restaurants near the convention center. With meetups, you get to meet people who are involved in the same activities you are—perhaps people you know online but haven't met in person.
10. Enter the Web Awards contest. Any site you created during the past calendar year can be entered. Winning one of these awards is super publicity for you and your web site.
11. Austin is full of great restaurants, music venues, and places to see. Be sure to take a walk along the river. The tree lined trail is a joy for walkers and joggers. If you are on the Auditorium Shores side of the river, stop at the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue and pay your respects. If you don't have a car, there are plenty of good bars and restaurants clustered around the converntion center, or just a few blocks away on Austin's famous Sixth Street. If you have a car, you can make a short drive to my favorite Austin eatery: Chuy's, home of the best Tex-Mex food on the planet.

Tips & Warnings

• Austin may be warm in March, but the convention center is air conditioned, so layers are a good plan.
• The wireless coverage during the convention is great in the convention center. Take your computer and plan to blog and post photos during the event.