Though getting to the conference and back was a pain for me once I was there I had a blast (minus the cold/allergies/what-ever-the-heck-is-going-around that hit me). Notably there were visibly a lot more Blacks at this years SxSWi then in previous years. Definitely a good look. The “Where are all the Black Tech Bloggers” panel went off smoothly and got quite interesting throughout the 60 minute duration. There were appearances by Anil Dash, and editor from Boing Boing among others. Oh, and your boy Loren Feldman made it as well, he had a lot to say but wasn’t really sayin nothin. On a positive note it was wonderful to see how many people were interested in the panel, some of the points/questions raised were:
- How can one stand out in a room full of white, male, VC’s?
- Where can employers find qualified Black web professional for executive positions?
- Are there specific feature sets that appeal to Blacks on the Web?
As you can see “Where are all the Black Tech Bloggers?” was not the only question that came up in this panel. As soon as I get the podcast I will post an update so you can listen to the juicy details for yourself. SxSW is posting podcasts and videos from panels on their site as well so you can get full access if you weren’t able to make it down.
Ah now for the parties…on the nights that I did go out the parties were tolerable. On Saturday we tried to hit up the Google party at Light Bar but the line was wrapped around the building so that wasn’t going down. Instead we headed over to the Avenue A | Razorfish party at Six it was aight, free drinks. Six couldn’t hold us so we eventually bounced over to the frog design SxSW Interactive opening party at the Mexican American Cultural Center which was a very beautiful building. I won’t lie… I couldn’t hang and I left early just as the break dancing began. Honestly the parties on Sunday were not live at all we hit up the Facebook, Blogger, and Socialthing! parties. Duds. Maybe I am being harsh, they were probably hot for the MAJORITY of the people who were there (read White) but for me they were kinda lame and it was mostly because of the music. Note: I have an eclectic taste in music so that is saying a lot. We ended up getting crunk in a hole in the wall sponsored by no one. Now if that is not a market for opportunity I don’t know what is. It will be interesting to see if any of these major Black brands with a web presence will make a move to sponsor a party at SxSW next year. Maybe Black Web 2.0 will, that would be HOT!
March 12th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
We (you) should definitely think about sponsoring an event. The night you weren’t there though The Onion/FRRVRR party got kind of crunk — there were rock bands but there were also djs mixing electronica, house, hip-hop, and rock.
I think the black/urban brands haven’t considered having presence at these types of events which brings us back to one of the points of our discussion (How can one stand out in a room full of white, male, VC’s?)
So the question is whether there is content, design, feature sets, and hmm, maybe even parties tailored to this set.
Personally, I can party anywhere, but you bring up good points of course.
As far as the discussion is concerned, I might be able to get you some links to video and podcasts related to it all. Also, I think the panel went over really well. I’ve got a few follow up things up my sleeve too, so I’ll keep you posted on all of that as well. I haven’t been able to find anyone who blogged it, but if I do, I’ll put that link down also.
Don’t you have some photos? You should post them.
On a side note, there were other people in the audience beyond Anil Dash of Six Apart and Joel Johnson from Boing Boing. Ellen McGirt, Senior Writer of Fast Company was there, as were a few others seeded throughout the audience who’s names escape me now.
Peace. It was finally great to meet you in person, and I thank you much for being on the panel.
March 12th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Nah I wish I had photos, I brought my perfectly good, fully charged camera and once I was there it wouldn’t turn on. I have one pic on my iPhone of when you guys were dancing on the stage on Sunday but I think I will just keep it on there.
Yes there were many more people there those were the ones that were just top of mind when I posted. I was great meeting with you also and I really appreciate you letting Black Web 2.0 participate on the panel.
March 13th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Wish I could have been there. I remember when SxSW was strictly an indy/new music confab. Count me in for SxSWi ‘09!
March 13th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
hey you are right on point with your comments with sxswi. hey let’s document there was an inaugrual blacks in technology @ sxswi. it was on friday and we had a good turn out. let’s talk about next year and get a better time for everyone.
panels were great for the audience and both times i’ve been truly great with keeping up with the latest technology trends as well as meeting great people in the tech world.
i really like the black tech bloggers? panel with great conversation, interesting topics and range of talent. some of the other panel topics did not have a range of great story tellers like bootstrapping a business and ecommerce/sports industry. i’ve sat on the sidelines for the past two conferences, however, i’d like to propose another panel to the sxswi board next year.
i like the idea of sponsoring an event but would also challenge the group to recommend additional topics for conversation. enjoy your content and will keep reading.
btw, i have pictures from the inaugrual blacks in technology @ sxswi and will post this weekend.
cheers!
jeff bowman
March 14th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Cool send me the link as soon as you post the pics!
March 15th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Angela, it was great to meet you at SxSWi — although we didn’t get to speak much at some of the social events, it is definitely nice to connect with people whose content you consume on a regular basis!
Looking forward to what is going down on this site, and you should definitely consider sponsorship for the next SxSWi. It is a good look and I think would be well received.
In the meantime, I’ll be watching (and commenting here)
Be easy.
March 15th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I’ve been bumping my gums about some sort of sponsored party during SXSW for the past two years. It’s time to make that happen. I’m sure it won’t be hard to make it “stand out”.
BTW, great meeting you and keep up the great work!
March 16th, 2008 at 8:49 am
@Clarence
Hey Clarence it was nice meeting you as well! Next time we will definitely have to make a point to sit down and chat.
@j.brotherlove
Thanks j, it was nice meeting you as well. I agree 2009 it should definitely happen, SxSWi seems to have made so much progress over the years. With their addition of diverse panels and even this year Lynne and I had a discussion about how many more blacks there were this year than in previous years. Having some sort of sponsored event that cater a little more to minorities would be the next step.
March 18th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
I can’t sleep on SXSW any longer, I must make the trip out there next year! I’ve heard so many great things about it over the past few days. Thanks for sharing the podcasts link!
March 18th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
no problem gureala, BTW dope blog.
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:44 pm
angela:
below is a link to the pictures. let me know what you are thinking about next year. we had a good turn out for the inaugrual blacks in technology @ sxswi.
it was something i thought everyone would like to have and meet informally, talk and network.
pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/glassyhse/sets/72157604116207699/
take care,
jeff bowman