My first day of the SXSW Interactive conference has come and gone… And I must say, I love being at these events. With an estimated 12,000 attendees, everytime you turn around, literally, you are surrounded by a flurry of new faces of people as people scurry from one panel to another with an occasional pit stop in a Blogger Lounge. This event is also happening during the SXSW Film conference with an estimated 10,000 people. The weather is glorious, the food is overpriced and the power outlets are a-plenty thanks to Chevy.

The ratio of of laptops, smartsphones and video cameras to people is staggering. I can’t believe were not creating mass amounts of radiation.

While I have yet to “learn” new things in the panels I attended, I’ve gathered some great soundbites that I can use in presentations but even more, I’ve made new and solidified existing friendships. This is what it’s ultimately about. Taking your online contacts and turning them into offline relationships. Those who know me know I’m totally in my element.

I have met some incredible people, such as Charl Pearce, a programmer with Microsoft, my very first friend after stepping out of the airport and taxi-buddy and Lindsay Burck with LAB and I’m rooming with two of the funniest people I’ve ever had in my life - Dina Riccabonno and Steph Lichtenstein. I Would share pictures but as I write, I am importing 3,060 pictures from the last year and a half back onto my Macbook Air so I cannot access those pictures. Therefore, I will save the narrative for another post.

Instead, I will post several observations that I had on day one… I am confident this list will grow with each day of this 5 day interactive media extravaganza.

Observations:

1 – Schedules are futile. You will go with the flow of the people you meet for the most part. It’s good however to have an idea of what panels and events are happening and what you’d like to see/hear in case you have the opportunity.

2 – Texting is much more reliable than Twitter. Make sure you get actual contact information and not just twitter handles.

3 – Bringing snacks and water bottle was a money and time saver.

4 – Write your Twitter handle on your nametag. I do it at all conferences and it has been very helpful in connecting with online friends and making new ones.

5 – Don’t be shy and just talk to people – that’s what most people are here for!

6 – Groupies are so 1990’s hairbands and boybands. Resist the urge to be a fawning fan and just be normal and have a normal conversation versus a praisefest.

7 – Going out at night is overrated! While it’s fun to say you were somewhere, it’s better if your feet and head feel great to take on the next day!! I struggled with this one yesterday feeling like I really “should” be out at the parties and reminded myself that I came for the panels and networking.. It’s hard to have meaningful interactions when the people you are talking to are drunk or you are yelling over the music.

7.5 - Bacon is the food of choice here in Austin. I thought I was getting chicken fingers and it turned out to be captain crunch coated chicken fingers in a bacon-inflused waffle cone with bacon guacamole. If you’re not a bacon addict, prepare yourself for it to be in very unexpected places. I saw someone eating chocolate covered bacon Thursday night at Frank where they proudly have a sign that says “PORK MILITIA” on the wall.

Moral of the story? Make sure you figure out what the preferred food is of the city you are going to so that 1 – you are in the know and 2 – can plan appropriately if it’s not your thing.

Are you a conference goer? What tips do you have?