I'm mostly excited – but a little nervous – about my first-ever SXSW experience, which kicks off tomorrow.
After admitting my "South-by-naivete" to the Twitterverse, I received all sorts of helpful ideas from the cool kids who have been going since the beginning of the millennium.
Walking shoes? Check. Business cards? Check. Dorkbot and Nuclear Taco Night? On my can't-miss list.
If you'll be there, find me on Twitter (@halvorson) and let's say "hi" in person. Brain Traffic's own Julie Vollenweider (@jjvollenweider) will be there, too, trying to pretend I'm not embarrassing her too much.
You're especially invited to check out the two terrific panels I'm honored to be a part of:
Try Making Yourself More Interesting
Friday, March 13, 5:00pm – Room A
There are no cheat codes for community. No Charles Atlas shortcuts to
make your pet project the one to rule them all. Want people to think
you're awesome? Be awesome.
Brian Oberkirch has asked me to address Being Sustainably Awesome on this panel, which obviously has close ties to content strategy. (Not seeing it? Oh, believe me. You will.) I'm excited to mind-meld with co-panelists DL Byron (Bikehugger), Amit Gupta (Photojojo), and especially David Rees, who writes my very favorite cartoon, Get Your War On.
From Freelance to Agency: Start Small, Stay Small
Saturday, March 14, 3:30pm – Room C
The web has always attracted mavericks and entrepreneurs, and a rocky
economy makes the freelance life more desirable (or at least more
inevitable) than ever. So what happens when your freelance business
starts to grow? How big can you get without getting bad?
The esteemed Jeffrey Zeldman (Happy Cog, A List Apart, Zeldman.com) invited me to share the stage with the brilliant Roger Black and UX designer/celebrity blogger Whitney Hess to talk about our shared experiences along the professional path. I promise to use the phrase "in these uncertain times" as often as humanly possible.
See you soon!