I’m exhausted. But man that was cool.
Unless you’ve experienced it yourself, it hard to explain what it’s like to attend South by Southwest. Since the inaugural festival in 1987, SXSW, or just “South By,” has emerged as a premier destination for creatives across the globe. Originally mostly a music festival, the event has grown into its current form, a somewhat chaotic but still magical mix of tech conference and cultural festival that spreads itself all over in the “proud to be weird” city of Austin, Texas each spring.
I’ve always wanted to attend South By – and I’m not really sure how I haven’t done so until now – but I finally made the trip this year as SXSW returned to its full IRL form after a pivot to virtual during the pandemic. And I got to share the experience with an amazing delegation from Georgia.
It was a great time. Here are a few reflections:
Diversity is Beautiful
Because SXSW includes several integrated conferences covering a wide range of communities – business, tech, art, music and film – the event brings together a wide variety of people with different personal and professional perspectives. The opportunity this melting pot of attendees provides for diversity of thought and outside the box thinking is probably the most valuable aspect of SXSW.
Innovation = Creativity
In business and tech, it’s called innovation. In music and film, it’s called creativity. But in many ways they are one and the same. Bringing together creatives from across a variety of disciplines is so much more interesting and valuable than staying in our silos – and business and tech leaders can learn a great deal about innovation from the creative process of musicians, artists and storytellers.
IRL > Virtual
To be fair, this is way too simple an equation. I’m a big believer that there is an important role for well-produced virtual events – and it’s definitely a more efficient way to take in content rather than scrambling all over Austin only to find the venue is full and you can’t get in. But there is something really special about shared real-life experiences that helps us make stronger human connections. Virtual just can’t replace that. And it felt great to be immersed in SXSW.
Home Sweet A-T-L
This was most time that I’ve been able to spend in Austin and it’s very cool place. But my biggest take-away from SXSW was an appreciation for just how lucky I am to live and work in Atlanta. At a private dinner hosted by my friends at the Metro Atlanta Chamber, I convened with some amazing entrepreneurs, creators and business leaders from the Atlanta community. As each of us shared our individual projects and goals, it made me proud to see how others in the group offered support.
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Well done SXSW. I’m even more excited to build something special at NOW South Festival.