Late for SXSW Interactive 2001
(...like you give a rat's ass)
I was standing on the corner of Congress and 8th, yelling at
the South-by-Southwest (SXSW) Interactive registrants who were waiting
in line for the Frog Design party.
"There are no lines at the Loomis party," I yelled. "There's
beer and Mexican food. It's on Fifth Street. Just walk three blocks
south and turn left."
My age, beard, black trench coat and DeLoach Vineyards
baseball cap worked against me. The people waiting to get into the Frog
party stared at me as if I were a homeless person. I walked back to the
party at Loomis, hoping some of them might think, "Screw this line. I'm
going to follow the homeless guy to the other party."
It seemed to be my job that night, checking out the parties
and reporting on the pulse of SXSW Interactive 2001. Unfortunately, I
was late for the Frog Design party, since I was trying desperately to
get some info on a statue I saw at the Web Awards. I had also been late
for registration, but just managed to squeak in and get my press pass,
thanks to some extreme patience by a blond woman working the booth.
Unwilling to wait in line (come on, there wasn't even a velvet
rope) I left Frog Design's queue and headed over to Ruta Maya's on
Fourth Street to check out the Fray Cafe party. The theme: talk about
your personal experiences on the Web. At Ruta Maya's, I squeezed in
through the crowded room. It was hot and muggy, and worst of all, no
beer. Instead, they drank coffee, smoked, listened to a speaker, then
waited for their turn to share. It was pretty much like every AA
meeting I'd ever seen, so I decided to skip out and take my chances
with the party hosted by the Loomis Group. Called "SXSW of the Border,"
the Loomis bash featured Tex Mex food and Tecate beer. I was home.
Better yet, I ran into a registrant from Southwest Austin
there, so I finally got my angle for the Oak Hill Gazette, the
newspaper I was working for that night. Having nailed down my story, I
decided to leave the party while it was still in full swing. But before
I left, I made sure to thank someone from Loomis for the beer.
"You're April, right?" I asked a blond woman who seemed to be
in charge. "I just want to say that even though I got here late, I had
a great time."
"I'm glad you did," she said. "And I'm not surprised you were
late. You were late when I registered you."
I tell you, I can't get away with anything.
The Web Awards
At the SXSW Music Festival, you listen to music and drink
beer. At the SXSW Film Festival, you watch films and drink beer. At the
SXSW Interactive Festival, I'm not sure what you do. But you still
drink beer.
This was the second year I covered the Web Awards, and I can
honestly say the show was much better this time. First, the awards now
have a catchy name -- the Earls, as in URL, which stands for... well, I
don't really know what URL stands for, but it's synonymous for Web
address. Clever, huh?
Second, the Stephen F. Austin Hotel proved to be a much better
venue than last year's digs at the Raddison, largely because a balcony
off the main room allowed people to smoke without having to walk down
two flights of stairs. Since the hotel is centrally located,
registrants could stroll to the after parties rather than hail a cab,
and the room where the actual awards ceremony took place was much more
intimate than last year's cavernous hall.
Finally, the Earls were held on Sunday rather than Saturday
night. Parking was a breeze.
Halcyon's Encore
Wisely, the SXSW powers-that-be decided to reenlist John
Halcyon Styn to emcee the awards ceremony. Although he did a good job
in 2000, this time Halcyon, as he likes to be called, was much better
prepared, and the SXSW staff allowed him some rehearsal time before the
show. Halcyon came armed with interactive skits (he started the show
with a song about the state-of-the-Web that lamented the loss of stock
options) as well as his usual panoply of bizarre hair styles and
costumes.
Unfortunately, Halcyon was one of the few people easily
recognizable from the World Wide Web attending the awards show. The
only nominated Web site I had ever seen on the Internet was the San
Jose Hotel, which won for best redesigned Web site. All the other sites
were brand new to me.
And there's a good reason for that. The Web Awards are only
open to sites that have been created the following year. If you started
a site before 2000, you were ineligible to enter the contest.
That's just plain stupid.
How would you like to see a SXSW Music Festival featuring only bands
formed in the current year? I'll answer that for you -- you wouldn't.
It's like watching an Olympics where the runners only train for one
year.
I can hear the objections. "But isn't it really like the
Academy Awards, where you only vote on what was released the preceding
year?" I'll answer that question as well -- no, it's not. For one,
there aren't millions of movies floating out there, even if you have
cable. Second, Web sites are more like bands than movies. They evolve.
Movies are set in stone (spare me the director's cut analogies) whereas
Web sites are dynamic and change with the times.
The only category where older Web sites were allowed to enter
was in the Best Redesign category. So if you do have an older Web site
and want to enter the awards next year, just make sure the site you
have right now is poorly designed. Then later this year, have Loomis
Group redesign it for you.
Does SXSW Interactive need to limit entries? Probably. Here's
how: Don't allow those who have entered previously to enter again.
There. That's fixed.
And While I'm Complaining...
Besides the inane entry requirements for the Web Awards, SXSW
needs to work on its press relations. Right now, I'm sitting on
deadline waiting for someone to return my call so the Oak Hill Gazette
can run a photo of a statue.
The statue is silver. The statue shows a person with a monitor
head at a keyboard. Who made the statue? Don't know. Is the statue a
real person doing performance art or a convincing plaster job? Don't
know. (The statue turned out to be a real person, Austin performance
artist Jennifer Ayres. But I didn't learn that in time for the Oak Hill
Gazette's deadline.)
Although technically the interactive festival ended two days
ago, SXSW officials should realize that coverage of the event isn't
over until the end of the week. Why not post some underemployed news
hound in the publicity room to answer festival questions?
Finally, here's another suggestion to improve SXSW press
relations. If a reporter's covered the festival in the past, and the
SXSW Web site has a link to the reporter's article... you might think
about giving the reporter an automatic press pass the next year. At
least don't make reporters go through fiery hoops. How about a simple
email submission for press passes? Trust me. Reporters seeking press
passes for the Interactive festival are likely sincere.
Of course, my press pass problems were partly my fault. I was
late with my submission. Again.
* * *
SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you've recently
subscribed, but you haven't received an e-mail, that means you got lost
between the cracks. Nothing personal. Just e-mail me again.
* * *
STANDARD DISCLAIMER: This column aims to be funny. If you can read anything
else into it, you're on your own.
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