I’ll get this out of the way right now: I had a great time at SXSW. I found it interesting, inspiring and as it was aptly put by CNN.com – “Spring Break for Geeks.” Austin has more bars and live music venues packed into a 4 block area than anywhere else I have ever been.

This could easily be mistaken as a crowded concert at any Spring Break locale. Daytona Beach, Cancun, Key West? Nope. The Austin 'Geek' crowd at SxSW 2010.

More to the point though, what did I learn?

For every good panel you attend, there will be an average panel you will attend. Thankfully, attending a great panel (and there is at least one of those per day) more than makes up for that. Interaction with an audience and showing a
genuine interest in being in front of a group commands their attention. This was something that I thought made these panels “great.” Gary Vaynerchuk and Dan Roam were two speakers I saw who did this.

Gary Vaynerchuk

My biggest personal takeaway happened on Monday while I was there. I went to Gary Vaynerchuk’s session, and was thoroughly entertained. He had one point that really stuck out to me: Being at SXSW means you are way out in front of everyone else as far as knowing what is new and what is going on in the industry and on the internet.

That was interesting, but it didn’t really resonate until later that evening…
Read More