Whether you find yourself in the midst of SXSW Interactive as a student, faculty member, panelist or attendee, we here at SXTXState.com have compiled a list of tips of how to keep up and ahead while enjoying all that the festival has to offer.
Tips from Student Participants:
Bring plenty of hand sanitizer.
Bring a power-strip. Your tech will become nothing but dead weight without power.
Bring a positive attitude and be courteous to everyone you meet.
– Megan Lovelady
You can be in two places at once with the right digital recorder. But don’t spend much on it just in case it disappears.
Talk to people. It’s easy to launch a relationship that will last a decade here.
Focus. There’s too much that happens here. Know what signal you want to follow and stick it out.
– Michael Trice
If something isn’t what you expected, leave and DON’T feel bad about it. I like to keep a spreadsheet with panels, time slots, locations and then I prioritize them. I also list panel hashtags and track those while I’m in a panel. Then, if that panel isn’t what I thought it was going to be, I ditch it and go to one of the ones I’m tracking that seems like it’d be more valuable.
– Deepina Kapila
Pace yourself. A lot of people party hard the first few days and are worthless for the rest of the conference, but there are good presenters throughout, so don’t miss a good presentation because you’re too hung over.
– cary-anne olsen
Bring something to munch on, you’ll be there all day and food is insanely expensive. Also, try to have an hour or so for rest sometime throughout the day. You can get overloaded and exhausted if you go panel-to-panel all day.
– Shawn Dullye
Tips from Faculty Participants:
Wear sneakers. Don’t carry a big heavy computer. Bring a power strip.
– Jacie Yang
Be familiar with the schedule and have Plan A, B, C… Be flexible and don’t worry that you might be missing something. You are. But there are a million other things going on.
Talk to people. Talk to the people sitting next to you, waiting for coffee, standing at parties. People come to SXSW to network and have fun. You never know who you might meet and how they might become a contact in the future.
Go to at least one panel in which you are unfamiliar with the topic. You will understand more than you think, and even if you are completely lost, you may pick up just enough to know why it may or may not be important. You learn more when you attend something in which you are the least knowledgeable than something in which you already have expertise.
– Cindy Royal
Tips from Panelists:
Do as much as you can – SXSW is what you make it.
Some of the best sessions are the ones you accidentally stumble into.
SXSW is a great place to network.
After-hours parties are part of the whole experience.
Short panels are often the most interesting – they keep your attention and if you want more information you can reach out to the person directly.
– Tyler Travitz
Arrive early for the presentations you really want to see. Especially the ones with the big names. Those fill up quite quickly.
And don’t forget to take a break. SXSW can be so crazy and so all-consuming that you can burn out really quickly. Give yourself some time.
– Jaime Woo
Don’t hesitate to meet and interact with people in that space. Ask questions and learn. Regardless of your experience, there’s not a better event to just learn from the people around you and share.
– Jason Kint
Be strategic. Don’t be afraid to walk out of panels. Go to your own sessions, go to what you want to see. Make that your priority instead of socializing. I also wouldn’t recommend official SXSW parties. The official parties I’ve been to have been boring. The unofficial parties are much more fun.
– Bekah Lockner
There’s a serendipity of finding something you didn’t know you’d be interested in. Take it all in. Don’t over-think it. Go and play.
– Morgan Catalina
SXSW is officially upon us. Now, go have fun!