{"id":12818,"date":"2022-03-23T08:00:07","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T14:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.webii.net\/blog\/?p=12818"},"modified":"2022-03-23T09:14:27","modified_gmt":"2022-03-23T15:14:27","slug":"sxsw-2022-interactive-post-event-reflections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.webii.net\/blog\/sxsw-2022-interactive-post-event-reflections\/","title":{"rendered":"SXSW 2022 Interactive Post-Event Reflections"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a two-year hiatus of in-person events, SXSW snapped back in full force on March 11, 2022. This time, the attendees were offered both in-person events and online content \u2013 the “hybrid model.” As the conferences and festivities wrapped up, I paused to reflect on the experience and takeaways.<\/p>\n

My journey to attend this SXSW began well before 2022. I have attended events for the Interactive Conference a few times in the past, when it felt like a mix of technology and start-up business ideas, spiced with high-speed networking and sitting beside different international travelers at every session, shuttle bus, and train ride. It is both exciting and overwhelming.<\/p>\n

In 2019, I partnered with a local colleague in the web industry, Simon Erich of Trooper<\/a>, to collaborate on a SXSW panel pitch. We were approved to host our event in 2020, and had our badges and instructions in hand. Then, like a sledgehammer through a crumbling kitchen cabinet, everything was canceled. COVID-19 was really upon us.<\/p>\n

\"SXSW

SXSW Agency Owners Meetup hosts Jacqueline of WEBii and Simon of Trooper<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

So we re-proposed our event \u2013 The Agency Owners Meetup \u2013 for the 2022 conference, and it really happened this time! Our goals for this year\u2019s SXSW were to learn things in the technology and digital marketing space, and to build new relationships with interesting people in similar or adjacent industries. The Agency Owners Meetup focused on collaborating with agencies in a variety of creative and digital areas. After all, collaboration with other skilled and smart people is a great way to grow as a person and a business.<\/p>\n

\"SXSW

SXSW 2022 opening kicked off by Hugh Forest. Photo by J. Sinex<\/p><\/div>\n

We tried to take full advantage of the SXSW experience, attending various events at the Interactive conference from day one. There was certainly a wide array of content available to choose from this year. In fact, it felt overwhelming at times attempting to choose between two very interesting sessions competing for the same time slot. In the end, I realized that this was a blessing because it gave alternate options when a certain presentation was already full. And we were given the grace to exit a session if the content wasn\u2019t resonating with us, so we could venture to our “plan B” choice. Content was offered in an array of formats as well \u2013 single speaker presentations, panelists, moderated discussions, small intimate talks, huge featured speakers with completely full auditoriums, networking rooms, demos, online recordings, and in-person interactive experiences.<\/p>\n

\"Priya

Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering, speaking at SXSW 2022. Photo by J. Sinex<\/p><\/div>\n

Here are some of my own takeaways from a busy week:<\/p>\n