Gotta get my party vibe going
I’m thrilled Daily Grommet was asked to present at the upcoming South By Southwest Interactive conference. It’s a huge honor and opportunity. SXSW is an enormous 24 hour party wrapped around a conference. And the place where Twitter really got lift-off when they presented.
If I could pick one place to take our show on the road it is there. Why? Because it is a giant, young crowd that believes in the power of people (and technology) to change the world. It’s the right place to expose Citizen Commerce to the world. My presentation is going to be more MLK Jr (I wish!) than Bill Gates. But I do have a huge sense of excitement about evangelizing this message with Millenials, rather than the usual crowd where I present (Baby Boomer investors). Millenials have such an attractive combination of idealism and pragmatism when it comes to business. I won’t have to say much. I will just have to show that we are the real deal, and they will “get” it.
Prepping for this is unlike any other conference. I am told to:
- Scour the list of parties and RSVP to as many as possible. In other words, be sure to see and be seen. I have to admit that I am overwhelmed by this seemingly attractive task. I delegated it to Jeanne. “Please just tell me and Joanne where to go.”
- Be prepared for the crush of almost 20,000 people who are energetic, dreamy, and slightly confused by the huge scene.
- The official PR team required a coaching session and one of their main pieces of advice was: “Instead of trying to rise above the noise, you instead work to work the system from inside by being helpful, altruistic, conversant, and open to serendipity.” I think some hallucenogenic drugs must be dispensed at the door to make that advice more actionable.
Anyway, I am SOOO looking forward to hitting Austin next month. I’ve never even been there.
And…if you plan to be at SXSW, please let me know. And, as always, please tell me about any potential Grommets I should scout on this second trip–ever, in my whole life– to Texas.
Jules Pieri 
5 Responses to “Gotta get my party vibe going”
Hey Jules,
You and Joanne are intrinsically “helpful, altruistic, conversant, and open to serendipity”. That is who you are….so, PARTY ON!!
Go on and shake the rug! (inside joke for those who are less helpful, altruistic, conversant, and open to serendipity than Jules and Joanne)
I’ve always loved this Serendipity sign (mid-way down the page): http://aletal.com.au/
I’m sure the Austin crowd will get what Daily Grommet is about. Have fun!
[…] 7, 2010 by julespieri I’m not getting a lot of sympathy when I complain about all the work getting ready for SXSW. C’mon people…it’s no easy task […]
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