Internet Geek Girl

During SXSW (full recap here),  I had the pleasure of interviewing nine of the webs most intriguing, creative, thought leaders.  In the TechSet Blogger Lounge (hosted by me and Brian Solis), sponsored by Windows Mobile, Jen Myronuk (my producer) and I sat down with our dedicated colleagues to talk about their latest projects, industry trends and their take on SXSW. Those video interviews will be up soon.  More importantly for this post, they each also took 2 minutes to tell us what mobile application they would love to see created on a Windows Mobile phone – their “fantasy app.” These videos are live and you can watch them here right now. The best part is – Windows Mobile is going to build one of them (as determined by popularity and feasibility)!

For the next 9 days, I’m going to feature one video per day on my blog (including weekends).  But I’m also going to add a funny story to the post – sharing something special about these individuals (who I am lucky enough to consider my FRIENDS and colleagues). Real Friends, the ones that call you in Real Life!

And, I will give away an AT&T Fuze by HTC to the individual who writes the most thoughtful comments (1comment for each video) on the Magnify site. It’s a brand new phone, (but it’s unwrapped, sorry). So check back daily (or just go put a comment up on Magnify now).  Either way, I recommend that you watch these nine funny, fascinating videos from my friends….

Charlene Li (@charleneli)

Hugh Macleod (@gapingvoid)

David Armano (@armano)

Tara Hunt (@missrogue)

Steve Rosenbaum (@magnify)

Dave McClure (@davemcclure)

Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan) – Please note – Chris stepped in for Scoble who was unable to fit it in during the show b/c of BIG exicing news and mobs of people coming after him.

Erin Kotecki Vest (@queenofspain)

Deb Schultz (@debs)

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)!

Over the next few days I will will be posting the video interviews I conducted in the SXSW BlogHaus, sponsored by AMD and b5 media and produced in conjunction with PodTech and The Conversation Group.

Part Red Carpet, part Charlie Rose, these interviews show the energy and vibe that is SXSW. It was a honor to participate and I look forward to seeing you all there next year! Enjoy!

Show Highlights: In this episode, Robert Scoble of FastCompany.tv and Loren Feldman of 1938 Media talk about the A-list – and what exactly the “A” stands for (it’s not what you think). Robert describes SXSW as the “walking twitter conference.” Loren talks about his appreciation for the melding of art and new media. For those who think there is no love lost between these two – think again! In addition to all the good vibes, both Loren and Robert agree that Qik is the break out hit of the show. Of course, it goes without saying that Hugh bags and WineLibrary.tv gear were the hottest schwag! (Check out the t-shirt I’m sporting).