I have to say that the parties at SXSWi on Saturday were a bit of a bust. We didn’t get to any particularly late but the queues were either around the block and if you could get in it took an hour to get a drink. So after a false start at the r&b themed Six bar we wound up at Buffalo Billiards, an absurdly large gaming emporium full of table football, pool, darts and the quite wonderful shuffleboard, a combination of push-halfpenny and curling. But before that we were at the Dorkbot party where there were all maner of robotic devices doing cool stuff and music either prompting or, as I prefer to think, created by two big sparkling devices. Reminded me a lot of the Photophonic Experiment from 2006. There were also Thingamagoops and if I’d had $100 spare in cash I would have bought on there and then. Having played with one they’re as fantastic as you might have imagined and I suspect I’ll be ordering one when I get home.
Here are some photos:
So the lesson learned is you need to know the inside track on the parties. Go for the middling ones, not the big ones that will attract the newbie crowds. The problem is if you’re a newbie that’s pretty much all you know.
One thing though, Twitter really comes into its own for this sort of thing. In fact Twitter is fantastic at events like this, not just for keeping in touch with your people but for scanning what else is going on.