A survivor’s guide for an SXSW virgin
Austin can be an unforgiving place to the uninitiated…actually that’s completely not true. The town is really a pretty friendly one, and while it becomes a bit overwhelming with the numbers that fall upon it during the few weeks that South By South West takes place in March, there are many friends to be made along the way.
Last year was my first year at the event, and I really didn’t know what to expect. Some nights I’m not even sure how I made it back to the hotel (lesson learned. Free booze doesn’t necessarily all need to be drunk.)
The first thing to do is figure out where you’re staying in relation to three things - the airport, the conference centre, and most importantly for the night life, Sixth Street.
Many hotels will be putting on shuttles to the conference centre which may save you a walk or a taxi ride, while there are some shuttle buses put on by the city for free that go miles outside of town - so plan how you mean to travel as it’ll make a difference to how you approach each day.
Also, before you leave, make sure you know or find people you can connect with while out there. There’s no way you won’t know a few people, or have things in connection with others going along. They will be welcome of the approach - so make it.
There are plenty of bars and restaurants, although many will be hosting private events, so expect to vary your social haunts throughout your stay. If you plan to attend parties, you’ll have to plan those in advance as well - while many welcome SXSW badge holders, plenty are invite only or will need ticket applications through EventBrite. One app that feeds into your Facebook account and updates and emails out tickets that is worth downloading is WillCall (www.getwillcall.com) which will save you trailing through the mammoth official website for the festival.
Although registering with the official website and trawling through the 800+ talks and events that are within the festival are a must - if you have conference hall passes then take a walk around it on your first day to understand the sheer scale of the size of the building and locate the main halls you want to attempt to enter.
Actually - I would still recommend downloading the SXSW app - it does a decent job of helping you steer through the most important aspects of the information contain on the website.
In advance, choose the talks you most want to see - many will double up it’s likely, however most talks and events end up with standing-room only, and queues to the most popular seminar tend to begin at least an hour in advance. Expect to be disappointed if not early. Although there are screening rooms and televisions in different areas for those who don’t get into the talk, to still catch what happens.
I read a blog by Albion London’s creative technology director at Albion London who advised choosing at least one talk aimed at your own professional discipline and to not worry about the level of the talk, and to also attend talks around other disciplines. I concur with that as the sheer range and insight from the various talks varies greatly - but every one of them will either give you insight or confidence in yourself.
My final thought (there’s so much else I could recommend but you may as well learn them for yourself) is to enjoy the experience. There will be so much happening as part of the festival as well as on the fringes of it - much of it away from the conference centre. Walk around, soak it in, and don’t allow yourself to feel like you’re missing anything - although chances are you will be as SXSW waits for no man.
Remember the golden rule though - Keep Austin Weird!
The Drum will place further advice from former attendees to the event on the website this week, so stay tuned for more advice from the initiated.