It's my first full South by Southwest Interactive (to the extent that it can be full for me) I've covered in several years. The things I do for my North Central News community weekly readers and to tame my inner geek.
I'm doing this half-assed. I'm driving from San Antonio to Austin and back almost every day and STILL handling deadline work back at the Express-News office. So far, I haven't gotten much in, other than picking up press credentials and visiting the Austin Startup Crawl on Thursday. That was my first visit to the Capitol Factory in downtown Austin, at the Omni Hotel.
It's an impressive sight -- office and conference space for startups and small high-tech enterprises -- but the winding, condensed rooms filled to the brim with visitors were not for the claustrophobic. Warm bodies packed tightly together makes for a hot time in the city, eh?
But that was before the real SXSWi officially began. And when it began...I missed lots of the fun stuff, of course. On Friday, I missed out on Grumpy Cat's appearance at Mashable while dealing with deadline editing back in S.A. (Oh, column writers...why couldn't you have sent me your oped pieces earlier?! And I didn't get to enter the BBC America Roadhouse area. But I know. I have additional chances to hit up BBCA and Grumpy Cat (not HIT Grumpy Cat -- whatever) this weekend.
On Friday, I only attended one session -- a panel discussion on Latinos attempting to bridge the digital divide. Why yes, the divide exists but is closing mainly, not surprisingly, due to the attitude shift between generations. One great line I heard, regarding Latinos' overwhelming support for President Obama in 2012, was that the GOP shouldn't sweat this supposed Latino wave in favor of Democrats. Truth is, Latinos are active in both parties, and they're just as apathetic, too.
Following the late afternoon session, I attended the Startup America happy hour. There were stacks of the Startup Owners' Manual, which in a different way I wish had existed when I began my alternative monthly newspaper in the late '90s. Following that, I enjoyed a breather at the registrants lounge before taking on the gaming expo at Palmer Center.
I admit, I'm not a gamer. Not a 21st century gamer. My allegiance (read that, experience) lies primarily with the Atari/Collico/Activision/early Nintendo days. So for me, gaming expo is a purely drive-by visual experience and nothing more. Wish I could appreciate it more inside. But outside...ah, the Frog Design interactive opening party, filled with the otherearthly glow of giant TouchTunes devices and LED panels, and the drone of attendee-selected music. Quite impressive.
Want science? I love science. Science! Then visit a full-scale, tennis court-sized, four-story-high model of the James Webb space telescope, the successor to the Hubble space telescope. NASA's display area includes an interactive, 3D globe and other activities and displays to remind us that, despite budget woes and a sense of malaise, there's still lots of space exploration to be done.
SouthBItes food truck area, curated by Paul Qui, near Red River and I-35, isn't the easiest to access part, but it's a nice stopover. Well, it was for me given that was 9 p.m. and I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast in S.A. It's also Lenten Friday and my options were rather limited. Thank goodness for the Peached Tortilla and its fish tacos. They did the trick. However, I was soured on the overkill promotion partnership between Peached Tortilla and NBC concerning the network's upcoming Hannibal Lecter/Silence of the Lambs prequel TV series. "Terror tacos"? Really? Eh.
All the while in the evening, I hadn't even thought of attending the film screenings of "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone" and the "Evil Dead" remake. According to Twitter, both flicks appear to be big hits. I've been hesitant about getting on board with the new "Evil Dead."
Initially, it seemed weird that Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, who brought us legendary horror in the '80s with the original Evil Dead flicks, would be willing to redo their material for a 2000s crowd. But it seems that, even with a novice director, they've succeeded. Wish I could've stuck around late for that screening. Sounded like fun. Last but not least for sure, it was bittersweet to see SXSWi pay a little tribute to the memory of Jessica Ghawi in its official program.
Alas, it's back to work. I've finished writing my first SXSW article involving S.A. startup Kirpeep, who's doing this swag challenge this weekend in downtown Austin. It's a scavenger hunt for geeks, and some nifty prizes are up for prizes. The article includes Rackspace and its involvement level in this year's SXSWi. I hope to visit with a few Rackers at their Champions Sports Bar as they hold court there this weekend.
My other article will be about another young S.A. company, TrueAbility, whose a select participant in the SXSWi Accelerator competition for startups Monday and Tuesday. Otherwise, it's onward to see Grumpy Cat, BBC America, trade show, parties, screenings and concerts (official and unofficial), journalisting and Latino-themed sessions and whatever else pops up.
Pray for me.
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