SXSW 2011 1st Day

First day of SXSW we started grabbing our wrists bands for the Shuttle we will be using in the next days. Arriving at the convention center we grabbed our for the transportation shuttle. After that I was directed to take a breathalyzer test.

Thankfully I passed the test especially at that time of the morning. So once I signed the corresponding forms signing my life away to Chevrolet I decided I wanted to try out the new Chevrolet Volt.

I had the opportunity to test drive it and was very impressed with most of its functions but was not to crazy on how non-sensitive the brakes where. I prefer having a car that when you lightly touch the breaks it reacts.

After trying it out the Chevy Volt we grabbed brunch at an Irish Pub where a few individuals where dressed in quilts something different on the Fashion side for men working in a bar in the U.S.  We did have the opportunity to walk around and meet awesome people. Walking around we saw a good line forming for those who wanted to make sure to grab there Ipad 2.

One of the things that I was overwhelmed with was the amount of free stuff that kept on being handed to me all day. From t-shirts to refreshments I might have to find a post office to mail most of that stuff back home since I don’t plan to travel that heavy back home. One of the most interesting signs I found was the sign giving Bank of America negative publicity.  I only wish that some of us on the Island would try to get the word around on how our local biggest bank Banco Popular  (@mibanco) acts similar or worst to Bank of America.

I went to two sessions one which was very interesting since it was related to the Online Marketing Strategy they used to get Fans for True Blood on HBO. The most interesting point was how they where able to market a fiction world as if it was a real world.

After that I went to the Bloggers Lounge where I met @prosperitygal in person and was very happy that she emits even more positive energy in person that she already does online.

I also had the opportunity to thank @zappos CEO Tony Hsieh for the great book he wrote “Delivering Happiness” and how he changed my perspective of life in many ways last summer.

I also had the opportunity to meet Jonathan better known as the @houseofbrew on twitter which I have gotten great insight from him  through our collaborations at Join Kitchen Table Companies (Affiliate Link) . I had the opportunity to get to see first hand the awesome business cards he creates at @meet_meme which are very similar to Sports Cards. If you are trying to start up conversation it might be a great idea to try to get these cards going.

During our first session we where told that next to you might be the person with an awesome new product and they where right. I wrote about the lanyrd.com application SXSW Rookie – Tips That Helped Me Prepare and waiting for my table at the Iron Cactus I was able to meet the creators and founders of lanyrd.com and talk with them for a while. If you are going to your next conference take a look at the tool and  give @natbat @simonw your feedback.

Overall I had a great time although my friend @jpadilla_ was able to spot Hollywood Start I was fine with meeting the great and awesome people I met yesterday.