From March 11 – 17 I lived a life in Austin that stretched my limits, brought me much joy, brought me closer to friends and made Monster an integral part of my diet. Here’s what I learned about navigating Austin at my first SXSWi.
- The person next to you at a panel or party may be an app developer or a creative director at a major agency. You can learn something from both so you have to reach out. If you don’t it’s just a missed opportunity.
- The “I” in VIP can stand for important, ingenious or innovative. The latter two mean you weren’t on the list, but you made it inside the party. These situations are much more satisfying than just knowing someone.
- The swagalanche is disgusting. You can do your part by not taking all the shit people are handing out. All the talk at the airport was about how much shit everyone had to recycle and throw out. It’s preposterous for an interactive conference to produce so much garbage.
- Beards
- A good seat at a panel can be harder than getting into a packed party. If there’s something you really want to see it’s worth getting there early.
- If DEVO is having a panel then go. DEVO, The Internet & You might have been the best pane of the entire thing.
- When someone offers to teach you The Hustle, it’s best to oblige. Many thanks to Charlotte from Made By Many.
- Go where the hackers and robots go. They have some exciting shit to show. Check out this video of the people from ArcAttack killing it with their tesla coils at SXSW.
- If you see @jason eating BBQ it’s best to play paparazzi they way @jefferyjake did. Easily one of the funniest run-ins of the week.
- People you spend all of your time with in the real world can be some of the most impressive at sxswi. To see them in the glow of the festival can be illuminating.
I’ll add stuff as it comes to me. Please share what you learned in the comments.
Defending Foursquare
Thursday, June 17th, 2010Time Magazine’s inclusion of Foursquare on its list of the 50 Worst Inventions is incredibly short sighted and a perfect example of someone (in this case a stumbling media entity) not understanding new technology or giving it a proper opportunity to mature. The 50 Worst list is questionable for many reasons, not the least of which is that somehow none of Time Life’s country music box sets or complementary infomercials made the list.
Foursquare, the geo-location social gaming app, is on the list alongside other inventions such as Agent Orange, subprime mortgages and DDT. The writer, Kristi Olloffson, calls it, “Just another tool tapping into a generation of narcissism, with which you can earn badges for checking into your local Starbucks more than anyone else.”
Narcissism is the easy out on Foursquare the same way calling Boulder a hippie town is a tired reference that has remnants of truth, but misses a much bigger more exciting story. The same way a deeper look at Boulder reveals it to be a hotbed for startups, a deeper look at Foursquare shows its value goes well beyond narcissism and gets into gaming between friends, group communication where shouts from the app turn into mass text messages and multiple opportunities for jokes that come in the form of tips, to dos and venue names.
One of Time Life's classic offerings.
My guess is that Olloffson spent very little time with Foursquare or could just use some friends who are a bit more creative.
My check in at a posh hotel or the DMV can be viewed as narcissistic the way Oloffson sees it or can be seen as an opportunity for each of my Foursquare friends to interact with me. The app’s potential and power go far beyond boastful chest pounding and lie in its ability to bring fun and meaningful interactions to our everyday common experiences.
When I check in to a new restaurant, I can look at the tips for help on what to order. A check in at a coffee shop, can entice a nearby friend to join me (Squarendipity). A celebratory check in on my first day on the job can draw encouraging shouts of, “Good Luck.” When I check in to a far away airport I can laugh at the hilarious tip or to do left by friends to greet me.
Many people think Foursquare’s potential can only be reached when real world benefits derived from a users’ check ins become the norm. The real world benefits usually proposed are a free beer or bagel for the mayor of an establishment. (more…)
Tags: check in, dan viens, foursquare, geolocation, mayor, Time, Time magazine, viens
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