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Won’t Be at SXSW This Week? Then Join Us Friday on Twitter for #NotAtSXSW!

Brian Solis, Shannon Paul, Kellye Crane, Leigh Durst, SXSW, Samsung Blogger's Lounge

Ah the beginning of March. It’s that magical time of the year when Social Media geeks all look forward to migrating to Austin, Texas for SXSW.  You can meet almost everyone, and spend a few days in sunny Texas connecting with all your real and virtual friends, and getting more from a few days than you can at 99% of the events you’ll attend.  You’re on Cloud Nine this week and Thursday when you get on that plane for Austin it will be A Very Merry Social Media Christmas!

Unless…you’re not going to SXSW, in which case you secretly hate everyone that is, and are seriously considering totally boycotting Twitter for the next week because you can’t stand to read all the tweets from your friends regaling the amazing times they are having in Austin.  Right?  I’ve been to SXSW three times, but I missed it in 2010 and will again this year.  I was miserable in 2010 seeing how everyone was having such a blast in Austin, and I was missing out.

Well my pal Mario Sundar won’t be attending either, but he had a great idea.  Mario’s idea was that this Friday, when everyone is getting into Austin and beginning to enjoy the SXSW experience, that we should do something for those of us that couldn’t make it to SXSW!  Instead of turning off Tweetdeck to avoid the tweets from our friends in Austin, what if we had a special Twitter chat JUST for us?  Not for the people at SXSW, but for those of us that couldn’t make it?  Our idea is to have a special #NotAtSXSW chat this Friday!

Pretty cool, huh?

The idea is, for those of us that can’t make it to SXSW this year (Like Mario and myself), let’s try to replicate some of the fun our friends will be having by coming together and enjoying each other’s company in a Twitter chat.  And since networking and connecting is such a big draw for SXSW attendees, we thought that Friday’s #NotAtSXSW chat would focus on Using Social Media Tools to Network.  We can share tips and ideas on how we are using social media to connect with others, and meet new and interesting people!  Oh and BTW, Mario is the Senior Social Media Manager for LinkedIn, so be sure to hit him up on tips for using LinkedIn for networking!

The #NotAtSXSW chat will be on Friday, starting at Noon Central, and run for one hour.  We also decided that what we’d do is see how popular the chat is, and if y’all want, we can do another chat on Monday, March the 12th, at the same time.  We just thought this would be a great way for those of us that can’t make it to SXSW to still have something fun to look forward to while our friends are all out in Austin!

So what do you say, see you this Friday at noon Central for #NotAtSXSW?

About Mack Collier

My name is Mack Collier and I am a digital marketing and content strategist located in Alabama. Since 2006 I've helped companies of all sizes from startups to global brands such as Adobe, Dell and Ingersoll-Rand, create customer-centric programs, content and experiences. A long-time internet geek, I've been online since 1988 and began using social networking sites in 1991 when I joined Prodigy. Today, I help companies understand how new technologies like web3, crypto and artificial intelligence can integrate with existing marketing strategies to lead to exceptional customer experiences.

Comments

  1. Tom Martin says

    Mack,

    What a great idea…. it would also be kind of cool to do some G+ hangouts too where smaller groups could connect in a slightly more intimate manner… which is the other very cool opp at SXSW and other conferences.

    In fact, I think I’ll start it off. So at 1:30p on Friday, March 9 join me at https://plus.google.com/hangouts/extras/talk.google.com/%2523notatsxsw-tomshangout for a cocktail (sorry it’s BYOB) and conversations… should be fun. Anyone else that does one — maybe use the same #NotAtSXSW followed by their name and HangOut — so others can find.

    Thoughts?

    @TomMartin