I’ve been back for about a week now and I’m finally caught up on sleep and have successfully ironed out the event-induced cobwebs in my head. That previous statement isn’t entirely true. I had forgotten about a NomX3 taping we’re doing soon at Turner Fisheries and had to be reminded about it by cohost Mike Langford.

But other than that, I’m back on point. So let’s get this party recap started…

South by Southwest is a three part festival. It’s Interactive (the part I usually attend) video and music. For the purposes of these upcoming posts, I’ll be detailing Interactive events and occurrences. Next year I hope to attend all three parts and then immediately go into rehab when I get home.

SXSWi – The Good…

People – I ran into so many great folks, both from home and from around the world. Here’s the short list…

Aaron Strout of Powered
Brett Petersel of Mashable and other smart enterprises
Owen JJ Stone of Inquiring Mindz Media
Summer Boone of 3ScreenTV and @SummerJoy on Twitter
Walter Elly of MicroArts Creative
Connie Burke of General Motors (yes, Chevy gave us a ride to one of our NomX3 tapings!)
Heather McCabe of Playboy (she’s a Web designer…settle down!)
Heather Jeff Strout of the Austin, TX Strouts – Beer, BBQ and Entertainment Magnates
Liz Philips of HP (a potential NomX3 sponsor and a charming person)
Shannon M. Vargo of Wiley Publishers
Brian Brushwood – the amazing and captivating magician and philanthropist
Julie Huls of the Austin Technology Council
Gary Lombardo of Brightcove
Danielle McGarrh of Kenichi Restaurants
and Jake Dilley and the Color Pharmacy, the kind band that gave us a ride in their camper.

The random photos…

And of course, the random memories…still all good…

A Winnebago ride at 4:30AM. Best pizza on the planet at Jack’s. Burrito trucks. Pedicabs. Late night networking at the Driskill. All night networking at various venues. Running around playing with Gowalla and trying to find Adobe prizes. Connecting with friends I haven’t seen in a year. Meeting Molly Wood and Tom Merritt from Buzz Out Loud. Watching Leo Laporte geek out at the Mashable party. Playing shuffleboard. Testing applications. Tweeting, eating and more.

That’s just a sampler of the good that happened at SXSWi this year. For a rantalicious post about the fails at the show, stay tuned. That post will be coming soon.

What did you like MOST about South by Southwest 2010?

Keep reading!

Buzz This Post

© Jeff Cutler for Jeff Cutler - columns, essays and opinions, 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: #sxsw, Austin, Boston, connections, friends, interactive, Jeff Cutler, nerdbird, pete cashmore

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Bowl of Cheese 50 – New Year\’s Resolution

I just spent about 22 minutes taking headshots of myself for a speaking engagement I have in the middle of the month. None of the photos came out correctly because I’m hideous and my glasses kept reflecting the camera flash.

Therefore, I resolve to become better looking and to spend the extra money and get anti-glare coating the next time I buy glasses.

The candy from my Christmas stocking is almost gone because for the past few days I’ve been gulping down Dr. Pepper and shoving molded sugar treats into my face. This frequently affects my mood and my energy level and I don’t think it’s doing much for my svelteness.

Therefore, I resolve to put different items on my wish list and to at least look in the windows of a gym from time to time.

A recent trip to the laundry room revealed that I own 28 T-shirts, half of which are black. I dislike black T-shirts because I worry about my dry scalp and even dandruff. This worry is balanced by my willingness to be cool, and so many new technology concerns put their logos and taglines only on dark T-shirts.

Therefore, I shall rid myself of these dark shirts (except for the Apple ones) and breathe easier each time I dress myself.

When sitting around the house playing online poker, enjoying video games, watching TV shows that have built up on my DVR or clicking around the Internet on my laptop, I often feel tiny pangs of guilt for wasting time. This time consists of moments of my life that will never occur again, so I’m understandably distraught when these moments get ‘wasted’.

Therefore, I resolve to stop wasting time feeling guilt and spend more time enjoying whatever it is I’m doing – with whomever I’m doing it with. No more worrying that I’m missing out on something better or that I’ll be judged as a time waster.

Lastly, the holiday cards are still piling up in the mailbox. Little visual treats from friends all over the nation. Unfortunately, about 1/3 of the cards are coming from people to whom I forgot to send my holiday card. Overlooking them/taking them for granted was never in my plans and now I know why I have so many extra copies of my card sitting on my desk.

Therefore, I’ll be taking the addresses off the incoming cards and sending out my cards a little late. I’ll also endeavor to make 2009 a year where I take people as seriously as I’d like to be taken. It will make me practice being more attentive to those around me and it will probably make people like me even more – which is a win-win in my book.

What are your resolutions for 2009? Share them here in the comments.

Keep reading!

Buzz This Post

© Jeff Cutler for Jeff Cutler - columns, essays and opinions, 2008. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 2009, family, friends, guilt, Jeff Cutler, life, new year's day, resolution

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh