10 Quick Notes About SXSWi ‘10

Note: The VaynerMedia crew is coming to Austin! We’ll be there Saturday afternoon through Wednesday morning, and we want to meet up! Let any of us know if you’re looking to connect.

I went to my first SXSW last year and it was one of the best experiences of my life. For those of you who are attending, I’ve come up with a list of ten quick notes – facts, tips, and words of wisdom – that I think will help you while you’re down in Austin. Enjoy! (Obviously, a lot more info at SXSW.com or @SXSW)

You probably won’t go to a lot of panels…

I bought a pass last year and proceeded to spend hours and hours planning each day out, deciding on which panels I wanted to attend. End result? I went to four panels. That’s not to say the panels aren’t worth it, because some of them were a blast. You just probably won’t go to too many of them.

…because you’ll be too busy networking.

The real value of SXSW is meeting all of the amazingly cool people in attendance. I went down to SXSW ‘09 a semi-n00b in the space, following Gary V. & AJV around everywhere they went. While in Austin, I met so many awesome people, made a ton of connections, and most importantly, left with three great new friends (can’t wait to see y’all!).

If you’re not up until 4AM every night, #youredoingitwrong.

Every night, there will be a bunch of cool parties going down. But the night won’t end just because the parties do. You’ll end up heading to another bar, to a hotel lobby, or to someone’s hotel room to party some more, or just hang out and talk until you can’t stay awake any longer. My favorite night of last year’s SXSW was spent talking with some of our space’s leading thinkers until 6:30AM.

You can’t miss the Gary V. secret wine party.

This about says it all: “OH: it’s a social experiment to see how many geeks @garyvee can get into a gay bar,” Matt Van Horn, 10:10 PM Mar 15th, 2009 via txt.

And keep an eye out for what else Gary V. has up his sleeve.

Don’t count on reliable wireless or cell phone signal.

Cram a couple thousand geeks into a mile (or so) radius, and what do you get? No wireless. No cell phone reception. Especially if you have AT&T. I hope I’m pleasantly surprised this year.

Bring your basketball sneakers, we’re hooping!

We’re going to try to get a game at some point during the conference (I’m thinking Sunday or Monday). If you’re interested, watch out for tweets from me (@gosam). Gary V, AJV, and The Professional Wingman are already confirmed!

Unless you’re VIP, you need to arrive way early for “The Bigg Digg Shindigg.”

Got there last year about an hour before the event. Luckily, I had a duffle bag full of several hundred Gary Vaynerchuk branded wristbands, so I got through. However, the line was around the block, and anyone who arrived as late as I did (and had to wait in line) probably had a pretty crappy view.

Pack lightly. Leave space for free schwag you’ll inevitably obtain.

Shirts, water bottles, stickers, and even cameras, iPhones, or sneakers if you’re lucky. Leave some room, just in case! If you don’t grab any schwag, you’ll have room to bring back some of this.

If you don’t have a smartphone, you’re going to feel left out.

Just a warning. I went down to SXSW last year with a sweet LG EnV. Foursquare launched. Everyone was having a blast. I felt left out. It definitely wasn’t as fun as it will be this year, having an iPhone. Then again, there won’t be any reception anyway.

Bring shorts & sneaks, it’s going to be 75ºF.

And sunscreen! Just a friendly tip.

Other SXSW “veterans,” feel free to chime in. What are some of the best facts, lessons, or pieces of advice you could pass on to other SXSW attendees? Can’t wait to see you all there! Hit me up if you want to hang.

Oh, and eat a lot of BBQ!