Sex! Drugs! Apps!
February 26, 2014 1:44 PM Subscribe
Uber is going to host a free happy hour until a lot of people show up and then charge $60 a drink! RSVP by having a True Detective theory!
posted by drjimmy11 at 2:49 PM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by drjimmy11 at 2:49 PM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]
Mark Zuckerberg will be shooting a money cannon at whoever 3D prints a Facebook user! RSVP by googling whether it's OK to like Macklemore!
posted by drjimmy11 at 2:50 PM on February 26, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by drjimmy11 at 2:50 PM on February 26, 2014 [3 favorites]
I have a lot of Feelings about this article because next week will be the first time I'm attending SXSW and I'm not really looking forward to the crowds. I'm definitely hoping there will be Mefites there who I can connect with a little more than some of the 'let me pitch my company at you. And you. And you' folks. But the crowds...ugh.
It's really interesting to read about the 'good old days' because basically everyone going now would probably have enjoyed SXSW more back then (in a lot of ways it reminds me of attending Coachella in 2005, before it turned into this overblown spot-the-celeb fest, but really Coachella was over 100,000 people even then so who knows?).
I'm also an ISA this year so now I have lots of Thoughts on how organizers should prep for SXSW. It's more work than most people seem to expect.
There's more sessions at the 2014 SXSW then there were attendees in 1994 (and quite possibly more parties too for that matter). I'm not totally sure that's sustainable over the long run.
posted by librarylis at 3:10 PM on February 26, 2014
It's really interesting to read about the 'good old days' because basically everyone going now would probably have enjoyed SXSW more back then (in a lot of ways it reminds me of attending Coachella in 2005, before it turned into this overblown spot-the-celeb fest, but really Coachella was over 100,000 people even then so who knows?).
I'm also an ISA this year so now I have lots of Thoughts on how organizers should prep for SXSW. It's more work than most people seem to expect.
There's more sessions at the 2014 SXSW then there were attendees in 1994 (and quite possibly more parties too for that matter). I'm not totally sure that's sustainable over the long run.
posted by librarylis at 3:10 PM on February 26, 2014
I'm so old I remember when SXSW was about music.
posted by entropicamericana at 3:30 PM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by entropicamericana at 3:30 PM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]
Every time i think about SXSW, i remember that a pass just for the music is over $1000.
This is strictly a rich silicon valley dudes playground at this point.
posted by emptythought at 4:29 PM on February 26, 2014 [2 favorites]
This is strictly a rich silicon valley dudes playground at this point.
posted by emptythought at 4:29 PM on February 26, 2014 [2 favorites]
We printed & vended all the t-shirts (300 or so- at 3 locations!) for SXSW II. There were 150 bands? It seemed outrageous at the time.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:15 PM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:15 PM on February 26, 2014 [1 favorite]
Anil Dash: One of the most critical people to bring the community together from 2000 on was Brad Graham. Brad passed away [in 2010]. He was probably one of the first dozen bloggers on the Internet and the first prominent gay voice. He's also the guy that coined the term blogosphere.
Meg Hourihan: He did this site called Bradlands. He also organized these meetups, Breaking Bread With Brad.
Anil Dash: It was just drinks. He rented out a bar on his own credit card. It was the icebreaker for the whole weekend on Friday night. We were all introverts who spent so much time behind our keyboards, and Brad would get everyone together in a bar and connect everyone. It was probably the most fundamental cementing of the early community at SXSW. Otherwise it would have been a bunch of people going to a conference rather than what it became. Brad's an incredible, seminal figure who has been overlooked.
MeFi's Own Brad was one of the first in the blogging community to acknowledge my nonsense, and we cooperated (and sometimes competed) in some online pranks and parodies. I never made it to SXSW and never Broke Bread With Brad, so he is on the short-list of people I regret never meeting IRL.
*pours out a 20*
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:14 PM on February 26, 2014 [2 favorites]
Meg Hourihan: He did this site called Bradlands. He also organized these meetups, Breaking Bread With Brad.
Anil Dash: It was just drinks. He rented out a bar on his own credit card. It was the icebreaker for the whole weekend on Friday night. We were all introverts who spent so much time behind our keyboards, and Brad would get everyone together in a bar and connect everyone. It was probably the most fundamental cementing of the early community at SXSW. Otherwise it would have been a bunch of people going to a conference rather than what it became. Brad's an incredible, seminal figure who has been overlooked.
MeFi's Own Brad was one of the first in the blogging community to acknowledge my nonsense, and we cooperated (and sometimes competed) in some online pranks and parodies. I never made it to SXSW and never Broke Bread With Brad, so he is on the short-list of people I regret never meeting IRL.
*pours out a 20*
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:14 PM on February 26, 2014 [2 favorites]
Ah hell. I'm from Austin. SXSW used to be a fun thing, a REALLY fun thing. An affordable fun thing and it wasn't all that difficult to do something that would score you a platinum badge. Now, though, it's like an incurable cancer - it just keeps growing. Wake me up when it's over. I have no love left for south-by.
posted by PuppyCat at 6:24 AM on February 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by PuppyCat at 6:24 AM on February 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Foreign Influx Gives Annual Tech Event an International Flavor
The international slant is a drift away from the historical roots of the conference and perhaps to a new generation of international start-ups. In past years, SXSW has been a marketing bonanza for social media companies, including Twitter, Foursquare, GroupMe, Path and Highlight.posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:13 AM on March 7, 2014
This year? They’re passing.
Kill the Snowden interview, congressman tells SXSW: Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo wants organizers of South by Southwest Interactive to back out of their scheduled video conference interview of Edward Snowden.
posted by homunculus at 1:34 PM on March 8, 2014
posted by homunculus at 1:34 PM on March 8, 2014
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posted by gwint at 2:38 PM on February 26, 2014 [4 favorites]