Bytemarks

The first day of SXSW included finding my way to the Austin Convention Center in the rain at 9am in the morning. I was about to walk over the bridge but realized the rain was a bit much in the 40 degree weather. Got wise and took a taxi. While at the Convention Center I hooked up with @chunlum and @kyeung808. It’s always great to see familiar faces. We got our registration/swag bags and headed out to find a place to eat breakfast. The session didn’t start until the afternoon and this is what I lined up:
2:00 PM My Boss Doesn’t Get It: Championing Social Media to the Man

• Miles Sims – Small World Labs
• Peter Kim – Dachis Corporation
• Michael Wilson – Small World Labs
• Rebecca Caroe – CreativeAgencySecrets.com
• Christian Caldwell – Small World Labs/American Heart Association

This session focused on getting a social media initiative established with in the corporation and what it takes to gain traction. It all boils down to ROI and how does it contribute to growing revenue and reducing expenses according to @peterkim. I liked what Christian Caldwell had to say about being open to not only the successes but also the failures of social media projects. He seems to have made quite a bit of headway in the Heart Association.

3:30 PM The Ecosystem of News with Steven Johnson
There have been an untold number of articles and conversations about the demise of the newspaper business. This session thankfully was not one of those. Steven Johnson did a very thoughtful presentation about how the news delivery environment was changing. He contrasted it with the old grove forest and how species in the forest grew to coexist. The same is happening to the news ecosystem. There are natural forces that cause one specie to contract and others to grow. He pointed out that the old school journalist will not disappear but they will go through a difficult period as the newspaper industry contracts. His prepared presentation will be online shortly as his website. I would highly suggest reading it as it was very insightful.

5:00 PM Buzz Out Loud Podcast Taping at Mezzanine 5
Sitting in on the BOL taping of today’s episode was a great way to close out an afternoon of SXSW Day 1. Tom Merritt, Natali Del Conte and Producer Jason Howell make it look so easy. They scan at their notes and interact live with smooth stream of consciousness delivery. It all looked so natural. Perhaps I found it a fitting afternoon session since I could appreciate the BOL team working it and at the same time relax and get some good tech tips. Just a closing remark about Mezzanine 5. You will hear them talk about how hard it was to find the BOL room. The Austin Convention Center seems to be based on some Escher architecture. It is the most bizzarre layout for a convention center I have ever been to.