Things are winding down for the Interactive portion of SXSW, but that doesn’t mean the town isn’t still buzzing – particularly as the scene changes from digital to music. Here’s a sampling of what was happening during our last full day in Austin:
Nom nom: Its somewhat amazing that we’d been here for four days and hadn’t had sushi. Fortunately, Kenichi solved that problem. Much like Denver, don’t let a land-locked city fool you into thinking there won’t be good sushi – try the Blake Roll if you go (spicy tuna, tempura shrimp, avocado, cucumber, topped with tuna and eel sauce).
Libations: We always like to see our client’s products while on the road – like spotting the party-goers at the Sales Force Cloud Lounge enjoying tallboys of Oskar Blues’ Deviant Dale’s. It’s a big beer…even for Texas.
Celebrity-ish Sighting: Mashable’s Pete Cashmore strolling down 6th Street (with his entourage in tow).
Through the lens: I must own this.
Grab Bag: In one of the more impressive activations, Samsung Mobile was providing new (and more importantly, fully-charged) batteries to anyone in Austin with a Samsung Galaxy – hand delivered nearly anywhere in the downtown area. #PowerOn, indeed.
Free Stuff Rules: Cannon hosted a happy hour/concert for SXSW badge holders at one of the many makeshift music venues. Jon and I had fun testing out the eight different cameras on display, including a $6,000 cinematic lens. Luckily, no one dropped anything.
Overheard: “The problem with today’s journalists is that they’ve gone from skeptical to cynical.” ~ Livestrong CEO Doug Ulman recalling a conversation with Tom Brokaw.
Number of steps taken: 16,250
Hours of sleep: Jim: 6. Jon: 6.5.
Caffeinated beverages consumed: Jim: 4. Jon: 5.
Number of connections made: 98 and counting.
~Jim Licko and Jon Woods
