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Since social media is now all the rage and fewer than a slim minority of us remain unfamiliar with Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, we thought it might be fun to get some of our most media-savvy mavens, Tweeters and Facebook friends and texperts together for a little summary of how to get the most out of this year’s SXSW Interactive Festival and Conference March 12 - 16. Even the web-wary or technologically-timid may be turned on by the interactive ideas sparked here.
DANA MARUFFO
Principal, BuzzPR
@prwoman1
Reputable, award-winning public relations professional; social media nut; music lover; news fanatic.
Dana’s Tips:
1. A must-see for this year’s SXSWi are the keynote presentations from Twitter CEO Evan Williams and Spotify Founder Daniel Ek.
2. Social networking and online tools, such as My.SXSW, will be incredibly beneficial to connect, engage, and be on top of both official and unofficial parties/events and conference sessions.
3. Sponsored after-hour parties, such as by Mashable and UStream, will not only be a place to ‘hang out’ with the people you know, but will definitely be key in connecting and networking to establish new relationships with industry people, media, bloggers, prospects and everything else in-between.
JETTÉ MOMANT
CEO, Jetté Momant PR & Event Productions
@jettemomant
Jetté connects with clients discovers what makes them tick and goes above and beyond to deliver winning solutions and results.
Jetté’s Tips
1. Introduce Yourself and Interact
Use this as an awesome opportunity to network with diverse and like-minded social media mavens who are “getting their geek on.”
2. Don’t Leave Home Without Personal Cards
Make certain to pack cards that have your Twitter handle and blog and website urls. If you are open to sharing your Linked in and Facebook profiles, share those URL’s as well on your card.
3. Be Tweet Ready for Tweetworthy Information
Be ready to tweet and have a hash tag plan for your followers. Hash tags help your tweets be more easily searchable and last longer on Twitter than average Tweets.
CJ ROMBERGER
CEO, Wildwood Interactive + AW columnist for Gadget Girl.
@cjromb
@wwwebdev
Web Programmer, Application Developer, Idea Generator, Writer + more
CJ’s Tips:
1. Pick panels in advance, and have backups.
2. Keynotes tend to be after lunch. If you want a good seat, take lunch with you. As soon as the panel before lunch is over, go to the room, and grab that coveted seat.
3. Speakers get overwhelmed with questions. If you don’t get a chance to ask yours, consider writing a note on the back of your business card with the topic of your question and then exchange cards with them. Contact them after SXSW is over.
4. Take your laptop for copious note taking.
5. Get a conference buddy. You can share notes, attend keynotes with them and attend some of the fabulous after-party fun.
6. Get away from everyone a little bit. When I pace myself and set aside some quiet think time, I’ve still got some energy to follow-up and act on all that inspiration when it’s over.
CINDY ROYAL
Assistant Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Texas State University,
@cindyroyal
Cindy teaches web design and multimedia topics. She lives in Austin and loves live music.
Cindy’s Tips:
SXSW Interactive is by far the most valuable learning experience of all the conferences and events I attend. Top three things I am looking forward to seeing this year:
1. Attending new Workshop track sessions. The hot topics seem to be CSS3, HTML5 and iPhone app development.
2. Some good panels in education and curriculum area include “Student Startups: Entrepreneurship in the University” and “Universities in the ‘Free’ Era.” Plus, I will be hosting a Core Conversation entitled “Influence and Innovate: Transforming Media Education” featuring Aron Pilhofer, editor of Interactive news at The New York Times and Matt Waite, developer at Politifact.com.
3. Music is my passion, and interactive offers some interesting programming dealing with digital music trends, including “Music Licensing for Emerging Media: Apps, Widgets, Viral Videos” and “The State Of Music Blogs In 2010”
SHEILA SCARBOROUGH
Freelance writer + co-founder, Tourism Currents
@SheilaS
Writer, teacher, speaker, guide. Always on overdrive. Connector. Powerhouse package who doesn’t get holiday deco away till Valentine’s.
Sheila’s Tips:
1. Go over the schedule ahead of time. You’ve spent money to come here, and there will be plenty of chances for serendipity, but pick out a few sessions/speakers each day that you simply do NOT want to miss (like Clay Shirky or danah boyd.) I print out the schedule and then highlight the don’t-miss sessions on each page.
2. Bring water, energy bars, wear comfortable shoes and a power strip. Be your own self-sustaining Sherpa.
3. Everyone will ask you, as the local, where to go to eat or to have a semi-quiet getaway to have a beer and chat with new friends. If you’ve outgrown 6th Street or don’t hang around downtown much, brush up on what’s available. My favorite is the bar at the Driskill.