Internet Geek Girl

It’s FollowFriday. And if you are not following @gapingvoid by now, you should be. Hugh Macleod is one of my favorite people in the whole world. He’s brilliant, kind and genuinely in love with Texas. I proudly carry my “Jersey girl” hugh card with me wherever I go. You can read lots about Hugh online and view all his great work for Microsoft, Stormhoek, his lithographs and 4×8 foot paintings (he just finished Desert Manhattan).  His newsletter, Crazy Deranged Fool is probably the best way to keep up with this prolific artist-cum-marketer.

When I met Hugh he had just landed in Silicon Valley from Scotland and was beginning the journey that would lead him to Alpine, Texas. I haven’t been there, but when I do go, the first place I will stop is Harry’s (seriously – check out Harry’s webpage, you will crack up).

Hugh’s fantasy application is representative of his passion and empathy – an app focused on enhancing his experience as an artist that can be used by artists everywhere to help them achieve their dreams.  Like the title of his new book implies, “Ignore Everybody, and 39 other keys to Creativity,” Hugh’s message helps others tap into their own brilliance and unleash it on the world. I know it’s true, because, he did that for me!

Here’s to Hugh.  Now go rank and comment on his fantasy app (especially if you are an artist).

By now, most of my fellow SXSW Interactive attendees have made it home and unpacked. Hopefully you have caught up on your lack of sleep and have warded off the SXSWsars (unfortunately I didn’t – can you hear my sniffles and scratchy voice?). If you’re like me, you’ve been digging through your email and reviewing the huge stack of business cards you collected in Austin. Processing all the information and inspiration takes time, especially for a show which overflows with both.

Unquestionably, SXSWi was a qualitative and quantitative success. There was a reported 25% increase in attendance year over year and the blog posts, tweets, and Facebook updates show nothing but love for this ritual “geek spring break.”

For me, the highlight of the trip was obviously the honor of co-hosting the TechSet Blogger Lounge with my co-founder @BrianSolis (and our event partners at Tokita Bethune, Inc.) The lounge and party were sponsored by Windows Mobile. The Windows Mobile team provided a great service to the community of bloggers, developers, marketers and influencers that set up shop in The Austin Suite. With great bandwidth and great company, the Windows Mobile lounge was THE PLACE to be every day (especially during our tweet ups from 4 – 6 pm – thank you AMD and Zappos). Plus, check out the videos that a bunch of well known geeks made in the lounge – Can you say Fantasy App? We were even lucky enough to have live entertainment one day from Paula Nelson (Austin native and Willie’s daughter). Big thanks to 1938media and John Rosenfelder (@earbender) for putting that together.

On the social front – I enjoyed going to Stubbs for the Diggnation event, The Salt Lick, Gueros, and of course, attending the many parties. “Best in show” include, Alltop, Facebook, Mashable and of course, The TechSet. The best pictures from the entire week come from Laughing Squid, Brian Solis and Wm. Marc Salsberry. Huge shout out to Joie de Vie salon and all the ladies from there that helped make me pretty every day (thanks Amanda, thanks Erin and the other Jerseygirl Steph).

For the last few years the Geeks have taken over the town before the music festival swings into full force. If you stay for part of the transition time, it’s funny to see the difference. My cab driver summed it up best – “the geeks are way more quiet and they are always playing on their phones.” He just doesn’t realize we’re making a ton of noise online and talking to our friends (who are sitting next to us in RL) on Twitter!

If you missed the show or like me, were too busy to attend most of the panels, here’s a short list of some recommended recaps:

• BlogWorld Expo Radio Podcast with yours truly and Jim Turner!
• The very awesome Nicole Jordan on her blog, Kicking Sand. She captures the style and substance.
• Nothin’ but SocNet’s Zena Weist has a great list of other recaps in addition to her insightful musings. She doesn’t just chat about social media – she lives it.
• Omar Gallaga from the Austin Statesman has a bunch of good stuff (with a local spin) on Austin360, with individual panel/party/videos here. Omar also did an NPR segment last Monday which was very cool.
• Pamela Lund on Massively Networked reviewed some very cool panels, which included tidbits of advice from: Thor Muller (Get Satisfaction, Inc.), Patrick Moorhead (Razorfish), and Ben Rigby (Mobile Voter), Barrett Fox (COCO Studios) and Jeroen Lapre (distant-galaxy.com).
• Jeff Beckham’s SXSW Scorecard looks back at the 19 panels/talks he attended, and he ranked them.  Very good stuff.
• RJ Owen of O’Reilly’s InsideRIA had at a great take on parties and panels!
• The ever-good-spirited @technosailor shares his journey and musings. Love the shout out to the Blogger Lounge!

BTW – David Carr wrote a nice piece in the NYT today that tells the story of the founding of the entire festival and it’s impact on the town. Plus his insights about the THRIVING Austin Chronicle, which has fueled this multimedia event since its inception, are especially intriguing given a market where many newspapers are failing.

All I can say is….keep Austin Weird and Geeky!

I’ll leave you with a video from my friend Guy Kawasaki that he did from his Kirsty-Alltop Party. Ya gotta love Texas (especially once / year in Austin)!

That’s right. My second trip to Vegas this year.  I’m super excited for the second annual Blog World Expo that starts this Friday. It’s not too late to make your plans (there are actually some really good hotel deals on Hotels.com). The speaker line up and the party list look fantastic. Don’t forget to use the code: GEEKGIRL!

Follow @blogworld on Twitter for all the latest updates!

The TechSet has earned a reputation for hosting some of the most glamorous and connected events around the country. We’d like to invite you to what just may be our most incredible event yet as we celebrate you and the other entrepreneurs defining the new Web landscape. At BlogWorld, we will gather poolside at the new Bare lounge at the Mirage Hotel.

(mt) Media Temple, our title sponsor, will be hosting blog super stars and super startups alike!  Check out the *cabana* sponsors, including: Canvas On Demand, Empressr, MindTouch, ShareThis and Tagga.

In addition to Sarah Lacy, Hugh MacLeod, and Loren Feldman, we’ll be welcoming — all of you – the people that are the TECHSET!

---

(mt) Media Temple Inc., (Twitter = @mediatemple) Inc. is an industry-leading, privately held web hosting and software services provider with headquarters in California. Since 1998, the company has provided businesses worldwide with reliable, high-capacity networks to host websites, email, business applications, video and other modern, rich-media content.

We are a friendly, accessible group of technology-agnostic managers, engineers and support professionals dedicated to making our customers happy. We are a true 24/7 company. Contact us anytime 24 hours a day at 877-578-4000. English is our primary language. We also speak Spanish, Japanese, Swedish, Korean, Polish, Russian, Romanian, Armenian and a few other languages.

---

ShareThis (Twitter = @sharethis) lets people easily share the things they find online, in the most convenient way possible. ShareThis consolidates address books and friend lists, so that anything can be shared immediately, without ever leaving a webpage.

---

Tagga (Twitter = @tagga) allows anyone to create text message campaigns instantly so that you can interact, sell to, or simply communicate with mobile users.  Promote your product or service to a targeted audience on their mobile.

You can target the audience you want, deliver the content you want and pay only on success.  Monetize your web or print content like blogs, websites, signage or print publications and expand your distribution channel.  Integrating with Tagga is fast and simple. In just a few minutes you can be on your way to extending your website’s functionality and earning additional revenue. www.tagga.com.

---

MindTouch, (Twitter = @mindtouch) recognized the world over for innovation beyond open source wiki collaboration and content management, is delivering a leading edge application integration and development platform. MindTouch Deki, built with a Web Oriented Architecture (WOA), enables users to connect teams, enterprise systems, Web services and Web 2.0 applications with IT governance. Users easily access and organize data and systems efficiently to achieve their business objectives.

MindTouch Deki is deployed by Fortune 500 companies, major media, research/education institutions, government agencies, and online businesses worldwide. Customers include Microsoft, Fujitsu, Siemens, Gannett, FedEx, U.S. Army, DoD, and others. MindTouch is committed to delivering next generation solutions to people, businesses and governments.

---

Empressr (Twitter = @empressr) is the first of its kind rich Internet application that provides users with the tools to create and share Multi-media visual stories online. Armed with only a Web browser, users can combine photographs, artwork, text, music, videos, audio recordings and charts to produce anything from a simple slide show to a state-of-the-art business presentation.

Empressr embraces the best of what the Internet has to offer with features such as asset tagging, Web mashups, embedded data and a comprehensive selection of rich media features. Once created, an empressr can be distributed in many ways. It can be published to the community site or your social networking page, sent in an email and even embedded in a blog or wiki.

---

Canvas on Demand is the Raleigh, North Carolina that transforms your sentimental photos into canvas artwork. Co-owners Tom Lotrecchiano and Joe Schmidt were named Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the year finalists and  ranked number 283 in the 2008 Inc. 500.  You can visit www.CanvasOnDemand.com for more information or to see samples.

Jersey girl wanted a Hugh Card.

Jersey girl got a Hugh Card.

Big thanks to @shelisrael and of course @gapingvoid.

And what a year it has been. I am grateful for all my awesome friends and colleagues. Hope you enjoy these shots from the many industry conferences and networking events I attended this year. Thank you all for your support. Have an awesome holiday and successful 2008.

I look forward to seeing you next year!