moriartys.net

Improvisational Ponderings of Moderate Nefariousness

Social Media

Back to Basics

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After a most bizarre and educational few months, I’m clearing some time to get back to writing.  I’m working my way through my many blogs, starting with this one and Writing is Cake.  I just migrated this to a new host and cleaned up a lot of out of date plug ins. This post is primarily to test the RSS feed and other asundries.

Writing is Cake should be back on a thrice weekly schedule with myself and my other writing group members.  I have a post up tomorrow.

Feels good to clean out the cobwebs. Like hitting the physique sports after a long absence.  Not entirely sure what will need to get dropped from my dance card to make ongoing time for writing, but it will have to be something. One of my educations has been the folly of trying to do to much.

So for those of you still with this dusty feed in your list… hello there. How’z it hanging?

SXSWi ’09: Recap, Recollection, Recommendations

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Just back from attending my first South by Southwest, and it was pretty much exactly what I thought it would be, only better. In no particular order, here are the things I learned or had affirmed:

You can’t do it all – Heard that warning 100 times leading up to SXSW and it was absolutely true. Just pick what you’re going to do and commit. This is double true for the Event Planning Chicago (a.k.a. parties).

(Some) Panels are Great – Choose wisely, and choose items you don’t know much about. If you’re an SEO expert in an SEO panel you’re likely to be bored. Go to learn something new, but don’t hesitate to bail if it isn’t good.

Best Part of Panels is Afterwards – Panels are more than good info, they’re a place to connect with people who share an interest. If you watch a panel later online, you miss the hallway discussion about it afterwards.

People trump Panels – However, if you have a chance to do something with a group of cool people at the same time as a panel you wanted to see, choose the people. The panel videos may not be as good as the real thing, but the connections you make with people in small groups are the best you’ll have.

Support your Hometown – Maybe this is just a personal thing, but I try to attend every panel where someone from Phoenix was speaking.

Meet your Friends, Hang with Strangers – Phoenix was awesomely represented at SXSW, and it was great running into the local crew everywhere, but I wanted to meet as many new people as I could. If you connect with someone new, hang out with them for a while, meet their friends, and work out from there.

No Fear – On a related note, don’t be shy to talk to people. Step outside your comfort zone if necessary, and just do it. I’m not a shy person so this isn’t a problem with me, but I met several people who were nervous or downright afraid to talk to someone they liked or admired online.¬† Of those who went up and said Hi, I don’t know anyone who was disappointed.

Parties are Overrated – Some were fun, some were not. Wasted a lot of time trying to chase the “best” ones. Better strategy would be to pick one or two, go with a group, and just hang out and enjoy it.

Work + Play = Ugh – I was doing some work related stuff while I was there, in addition to trying to enjoy the conference. Big mistake. One or the other would work, but doing both just got really frustrating. Decide why you’re going and don’t clutter it up.

Need More Electrons – Spent far too much time camping near outlets trying to get my device(s) powered back up. Next time will bring an external power pack that I can charge overnight and use to leech power from to keep my iPhone and other things alive.

Eat on the Run – There is great food in Austin, but I didn’t get to sample nearly enough of it. If I had a good group headed out for a meal I tried to join them, otherwise I ate something on the go. The restaurants were so packed that a meal could be a good 90 minutes (or more) out of a day that I already thought was too short.

BLACHOOOO! – I have a strong immune system and rarely get sick. I popped vitamins and tried to eat healthy. I still got just nasty sick on the way back. They call is “SXSW SARS” and it comes from so many people getting in one place and swapping their local bugs like trading cards. I collected the whole set. Prepare for this, and maybe take a day or two off work when you get back.

Wish I could have attended some of Film, and stayed for Music, but that likely would have killed me. Definitely worth the effort, and hope to be back agains next year.

Restaurants to try at SXSWi 2009

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I’m headed to South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, for the first time this week, and am quite excited. I’ve been wanting to visit Austin for quite a while, and see SXSW on top of it. Of course, I cannot be expected to endure such complete geekery without proper food so did some asking around for good restaurant/food suggestions. I received three so far from Joe Johnston, a local foodie and restauranteer who is very familiar with the Austin area.

Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, TX.

Southside Market and Bar-B-Q in Elgin, TX. Told to try the hot sausage.

Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que in Llano, TX. I thought this might be too long of a drive, but looking at the Yelp reviews, I gotta check this out.

If you have any first hand accounts, add them in. I’ll post updates when I get to try them out!

Updated:

Via @Jose602: Casino El Camino on Sixth Street for burgers. Tamale House for bfast tacos, Maria’s Taco Xpress for good stuff all around.

Know me by my Moo

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Rainbow of Moo cardsIn my meandering exploration of this whole idea of personal branding, I decided it was past time to get some personal cards. “Business cards” doesn’t quite cover it, since I’m not exactly an “all business” kind of fellow. I was inspired (again) by Tomas Carrillo and his new Moo cards, but my creative talents are in a very different arena than what was needed here.

So I turned to the very talented Luz Galusha-Luna for some help. She is yet one more in the army of amazingly talented people I’ve met through Twitter and the related stomping grounds. We shot back and forth a few ideas, and the results are what your peepers are now feasting upon.

The different fonts for my first and last name were Luz’s idea, and intended to capture both the playful and professional parts of my personality. I asked for a nice, simple pattern on the front, and she came up with this wonderful, mildly-retro looking pattern… and in a gorgeous selection of colors.¬† I told you she was talented.

I struggled with what to put on the back, not wanting to turn it into a full resume. I went with my phone, email, and twitter account to cover the basics. My LinkedIn, Facebook, and websites are easy enough to find with a little help from Mr. Google.  Beyond that I just went with a few keywords: creative, technical, passionate, writer, developer, igniter, explorer, inventive, high in fiber.

Most of those are self-explanatory. “high in fiber” you can take in a number of ways, and I think they all apply.

I had the cards printed by Moo, and absolutely love them. Good quality and fairly inexpensive, so now I always have plenty to give away at Ignite, lunch, or whenever I make a new connection. If you’re thinking about making any cards up for yourself I highly recommend both Luz and Moo to make something that is distinctly you.

Social Media Stupid Metaphor Exercise (bel Grande)

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I’m prone to random ideas, and last week it struck me that just about any danged crazy thing could (or has) been used as metaphor for Social Media, Web 2.0, or whatever you want to call this stuff. I had some time waiting for a program to install, so I threw out onto Twitter for people to “send me a noun” that I would then attempt to form into some faux profundity about Social Media.

Well, leave it to Twitter. The nouns flew fast and furious, and I had to cut them off quickly or I would have been at it all day. Below is the list of people, the words they gave me, and my replies. I won’t vouch for the quality of the replies, but it was definitely fun. Sometimes the best creativity flows when you’re really under the gun.

  • The rutabaga is a vegetable similiar to the turnip. The Root O’ Social Media is building communities. (@JeffReidAZ)
  • Getting old corporations to adopt new media is like curing a giraffe of a cough. It takes a while and you’re gonna get kicked. (@TSDivaDani)
  • Like a noun is the crux of every good sentence, honesty is the crux of every good blog. (@c_reed (nice one!))
  • Travelling snake-oil salesmen used to sell from their suitcase, now they just use twitter and my InBox! (@snakecharmers)
  • A good blogger needs a good pair of overalls, because like a farmer at some point you’ll be covered in ****. (@maniactive)
  • Like parsnip cowers in the shadow of the mighty carrot, spammers will never quite measure up to the honest blogger (@smlacy)
  • Even the mighty blue whale knows the difference between the soggy plankton and the nourishing krill of the internet. (@memestorm)
  • Like the mighty aardvark, you must plunge your moist snout of curiousity into the anthill of social media! (@jeffmann)
  • L is for the layers of conversation social media brings to discussions, from the meaningful to the totally contrived. (@deanouellette) (ed: Not sure L was a noun, but what the heck)
  • Many enter the social media vestibule, but they’re not entering the main hall without purchasing a Ticket of Sincerity. (@timedalkat)
  • Social Media is the soup of the internet. You have to stir through lots of broth and peas to find the tasty bits of meat. (@spellwight)

I’ll definitely give it another try someday. Maybe make a whole book of these things.