Survive SXSW this year by checking in to the Underground on Whrrl
You’ve read all the blog posts, seen the tweets, received the party invites and feel there’s something in the air (and no, it’s not smog). People are beginning to converge in Austin, starting today and it’s not for the world-famous BBQ or to hunt down Oscar-winner and resident Sandra Bullock – it’s to attend the technology conference of the year, SXSW Interactive.
Now I hate to call myself a SXSW Veteran, but if you can survive one year of this conference and make it back the following year in one piece, you’re doing pretty good in my book. The rumors you here are true: don’t expect much sleep, because between the panels, networking, parties, chasing down “tech celebs” and business opportunities, you’re going to be exhausted fitting it all in.
That’s why the team at Whrrl decided we’d make it easy on you. When you land in Austin, just check in on Whrrl. Why? Because we’ve taken the guess work out of what’s cool to do at SXSW and created the Austin Underground Society to do all the work for you.
Quite simply, The Austin Underground Society will provide you with at-your-fingertips access to the hottest parties, events, and other fun things to do at SXSW. Let our hostess, Velma Underground, save you from all the work as she recommends what the cool kids will be doing at the conference. Follower her on Whrrl and on Twitter. You can view and then save her recommendations in your “want to do list” (new in Whrrl 3!) so you don’t forget.
While the Underground has some “official SXSW parties” listed, we’ve learned that folks often go rogue and throw their own events. So, we’ve focused on providing you the insiders guide on what’s cool – not what’s official. If you want to know where Guy Kawasaki is throwing back some ribs at a boot barn outside downtown Austin, or Jeff Pulver is hosting the twitter elite for cocktails, the Underground Society is your place.
But that’s not all – we got deals for ya, too! Whrrl has partnered with over 50 merchants in the downtown Austin area to provide Underground members with exclusive offers. Simply check into the locations listed within the Underground Society and redeem your offer by showing your phone to merchants. The Four Seasons Hotel Austin, Outback Steakhouse, Cool River Cafe, Chuggin’ Monkey, J Black’s, Red Fez and Third Base are just some of the awesome local business participating.
But wait- there’s really more! Whrrl has some other fun surprises in store for you, too. We don’t want to say what they are, because we think it’s more fun for you to stumble across them… like this logo which made some noise on Twitter today (it’s just chalk guys… really!)
Finally, we’d love to meet you in person! Whrrl is proud to be a sponsor of the “State of Now” cocktail party on Friday, March 12th from 6-8 pm at Lanai. Underground members will receive a limited edition Whrrl t-shirt and free drink when you check in. Hurry- not only is there limited availability, but the party has over 1,000 registered guests- we don’t want to miss you!
See ya’ll in Austin- safe travels!
Look for our team in Austin – Jeff Holden, CEO & Co-Founder, John Kim, V.P. of Product Management and Marketing, and Heather Meeker, Director of Marketing & Corporate Communications.
I survived my first CES
Yes, you heard it correct. I just went to International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) for the very first time this year. For a gal that’s been in the technology space since Web 1.0, that’s quite a shocker.
What made me want to attend CES anyway? From a business standpoint, we didn’t have a presence with Whrrl at the show, as we’re a location-based application for mobile phones – specifically the iPhone – and as you know, Apple is noticeably absent from the show every year. I worried about whether or not there would be value in me attending?
The answer: A resounding YES.
From the moment I stepped off the plane and arrive at the Las Vegas Hilton Convention Center, I was greeted by many familiar faces: Jim Alden, Keira Dazi, Calvin Lee, Rynda Laurel and Ricardo Bueno. It was safe to say the LA crew was “in da house!” Each explained to me what was located in the North, South and Central halls, what I should not miss (the LG super thin TV, 3-D TV) and to wear some comfy shoes- which I was clearly NOT doing. Hmm. Wardrobe change!
Because I arrived so late on day one of the show, I decided to skip the floor and head out to Aquaknox for the Lenovo event, which included Jeff Pulver from the 140 Characters conference. Safe to say the “who’s who” of technology were in attendance, as I hobnobbed with folks including journalist Cathy Brooks, Shiny Heart co-founder Frank Gruber, Social Media Club founder Chris Heuer, PR rockstar Brian Solis and the Mashable crew- Ben Parr, Barb Dybwad, Adam Ostrow and Adam Hirsch. In fact, it was my first time meeting the “Adams” in person to which I was thrilled after emailing them back and forth for years! I tried to capture the night on Whrrl but it was a total fail due to lack of lighting (note to self: bring the Fastmac with flash next time). Thank goodness photographer extraordinaire Ken Yeung was on hand to snap fantastic pics and capture the event!
Day two of the show turned out to be a day of meetings and not a lot of time spent walking around the show- when would I do that? It was great to catch up with Momfluential Media founder Ciaran Blumenfeld and finally meet Liz Philips from HP. But I know what you are all really thinking- “where’s the party?”
Oh yes, there was a party! The Parnassus Group hosted an event at the Atomic Testing Museum (I know what you’re thinking- huh?) to which I was actually able to capture here. Again, the “who’s who” of tech showed up, including Robert Scoble who was shooting video of a flying saucer (don’t ask), and Sarah Austin who was enamored with Star Trek The Next Generation stars Brent Spiner and LeVar Burton. Again, I was thrilled to finally meet people in person, and Sarah was no exception. I wandered around the museum learning about the history of nuclear bombs while enjoying a cold adult beverage and meeting more people, and seeing lovely familiar faces like my good friend Marsha Collier, an eBay author and customer service expert. So glad that Brian M Westbrook caught us in a “totally unplanned” and “not staged” shot. :)
right image/brianwestbrook.com
Finally on day three of the show I walked the floor! G4TV’s Dave Mathews showed me around the entire convention, pointing out various gadgets that he thought were noteworthy. We checked out the much hyped 3-D TV which ended up making me dizzy. I learned all about Powermats and scored a Speck iPhone cover (won best of show). I even walked by the ultra-douchey Ed Hardy booth, complete with a scantily-clad model showing off her iPhone bling. Check out more of my experience here.
So, what was the return on investment of attending CES, you ask? Well for starters, just about everyone in technology and social media attends this conference. If you’re looking to build new relationships, meet with clients and connect with colleagues, this is the place. By far, the value I received from networking and in-person communication was priceless. And meeting people in person is always a huge advantage.
image/Ken Yeung, thelettertwo.com
In addition, it certainly doesn’t hurt to be up on the newest technologies and gadgets. Working for a company that develops apps for phones, it’s nice to hear what’s new with different mobile providers and be able to hold a (somewhat) intelligent conversation about the latest and greatest.
Most of all, any conference is what you make of it. Whether I was a booth babe back in the day at Internet World, prepping speakers for Ad:Tech, or wandering around CES, you have to have a clear goal and purpose in mind. For conferences where you don’t have a presence or tie-in (like CES was for me), it’s crucial you plan ahead. Think about technologies you want to see, people you want to meet, events you want to attend and meetings you want to have. There’s nothing worse than getting off the plane and wandering around aimlessly. Be prepared and I promise going to large conferences like CES will be worth it!
Whrrl takes over BlogWorld Expo 2009
Last week, Whrrl headed to Las Vegas to meet up with some of the best new media and blogging peeps this side of the Mississippi (gathered this side, at least) at BlogWorld Expo. Our team – Jeff Holden, John Kim Heather Meeker, Shafiq Shariff and I – landed in Vegas ready to start a weekend of mingling, networking and Whrrling, which began literally the minute we walked into airport and ran into Maya Bisineer, Paolo Mottola and Paolo Tosolini!
Left: Shafiq on his iPhone. Center: @thinkmaya from MemeTales.com on her iPhone. Right:
@paolojr and @tosolini discuss what it’s like to be named Paolo and watch a bunch of crazy
social media people on their iPhones.
This year’s show was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center and most attendees stayed at the Hilton (next to the convention center), home of the infamous Barry Manilow show. Although the expo hall didn’t open until Friday, we were able to mix and mingle at the Convention Center with great bloggers such as Jen Fowler and Deb Ng. We also discussed our exciting Collective Bias/Whrrl partnership with Jay Thornton, Creative Director at Collective Bias, before it was announced Friday morning.
Left: Barry Manilow on the side of the Hilton. Center Left: BWE sign outside the Convention Center.
Center Right: The lovely @JennFowler and @DebNg. Right: Me and @JayThornton000
at the conference. Find the Whrrl story from the first day of the conference here.
As with most conferences, there are parties, events and mixers just about every night. The place to be on Thursday was the TechSet party hosted by influencers Brian Solis and Stephanie Agresta at the Bank in Bellagio. Word has it we caught a certain mommy blogger (who will remain nameless) pole dancing. (Jeff snapped a picture, but apparently what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas when you’re taking pics on an iPhone). The party networking then continued as everyone followed Brian to Caramel in Bellagio where the VIPs were in attendance. It was a great kick-off to the conference!
Left: Name the Mommy Blogger! Center: Just some of the peeps at Caramel – @shafishariff,
@tedmurphy, @technosailor, @heathermeeker, @chrisheuer, @zaneology,
@brett, @adamjackson, @natasha and @marshacollier. Right: @trixiepixe,
@brett, @briansolis, @marshacollier and Heather! (cc) Kenneth Yeung – thelettertwo.com.
Find the Whrrl story of the TechSet party here .
The next day, we were up bright and early for a full day of panels and networking at the conference. We spent time with some of the most lovely bloggers (Katja, Alli, Jyl, Lucretia, Zane, Amanda, Lindsay, Stephanie and SO many more, it’s hard to name everyone) and chatted with some of our favorite online personalities: Guy Kawasaki (Heather made a deal that if Guy wore a Whrrl t-shirt, she’d wear an Alltop t-shirt), Chris Brogan (John got a copy of Trust Agents signed) and Mark Horvath from InvisiblePeople.tv.
Find the Whrrl story from BlogWorld Expo Day 2 here.
Friday night, we attended the SITScation cocktail party. What does SITS stand for you ask? “Secrets in the Sauce” – a site dedicated to helping new bloggers get exposure and feel part of a community. I couldn’t believe the numbers of fabulous ladies in attendance. We were able to dance and laugh all evening with amazing women such as @CarissaRogers, @BabyBlooze, @theyearofhope, @houseofprince @katjapresnal and more! We even caught Shafiq in a pink boa! Now THAT’s something to be documented!
Left: Me, Heather and Shafiq on the red carpet before the Sitscation party. Center Left: Me and @redsolediaryjen. Center: Shafiq working the party. Center Right: Heather and the lovely
Katja. Right: Me teaching @CarissaRogers and @babyblooze how to use Whrrl on the
Blackberry! You can find all SITScation stories on Whrrl here.
We wrapped up the conference on Saturday with an awesome blogger and brands speed dating event sponsored by Collective Bias that included us along with ELF Cosmetics, Soyjoy, Catalina Marketing, Healthy Choice, Crocs and Genesis Today. Just like speed dating, we had a set amount of time to chat with bloggers such as @HighImpactMom, @sahans, @buckdaddy and @wandertot about their blogs and ways we could partner together. It was one of our favorite events of the show.
Left: Blogger + brands speed dating! Center Left: John sitting down with Amanda (@highimpactmom)
during speed dating. Center Right: Stephanie, @sahans with #blogdog and Joanie, @keepingupwmom.
Right: The fabulous @Bizziemommy! Find the Whrrl story on BlogWorld Expo Day 3 here.
We kicked off the last night with a farewell Blogworld pool party at the Hilton, set outside on a lovely and warm Vegas evening. Jyl Johnson Pattee from MomitForward.com, Ben Parr from Mashable.com and Krista Perry from Park City Mountain Resort, all decided to do an impromptu cannonball into the pool for charity, which ended up raising $2,000 in less than one half hour for Shoes 4 Africa. Let’s hear it for Jyl, Krista and Ben!
Left: The pool at Hilton-so shiny and irresistible. Center Left: @jylmomIF and @krista_parry
cannonballed into the pool for charity. Center Right: Krista and Jyl with @benparr. Right: John and
Danielle Elliott Smith (@ExtraordMommy) hanging out at the pool party. (Thanks to SugarJones
for the pics!) Find the Whrrl pool party story here and cannonball story here.
And what would Vegas be without one last hurrah? TechKaraoke, hosted by Brett Petersel from Mashable.com, was held in the Hilton casino- conveniently located on your way back from the pool party. Heather started out the evening taking the stage for a rendition of Love on the Rocks by Neil Diamond (brave girl). Other notables of the evening include George G. Smith Jr. for the awesome dancing, Wayne Sutton for the rap, Amanda Coolong for the BEST rendition of Black Velvet we’ve ever heard, and a whole lot of mommy bloggers for rocking the tambourines and plastic guitars!
Sadly, we did have to eventually say goodbye to Vegas, baby, but what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay there- now you have all the dirt! On behalf of the entire team, we really enjoyed meeting new friends and seeing old ones too! Don’t miss out on all the fantastic Whrrl stories created at BlogWorld Expo! Till next time!
Seattle Techies Meet Makers of Whrrl
Traveling to our event at BluWater Bistro I used Whrrl on my iPhone to find my way. At each intersection I tapped ‘Go’, next to Move Map to Current Location, and watched in awe as my map centered on where I was. I even called Emily, who was back at the office, and told her, “It works!” GPS has arrived, and life will never be the same (although I bet I’ll still manage to get lost somehow).
Thanks to everyone who came and contributed to a fantastic turnout of interesting people, as we hosted an invite-only event for technologists in the Seattle area. Pelago provided food, booze, and gave attendees the chance to have one-on-one conversations with the senior team and numerous employees. Guests heard firsthand what it’s like to build Whrrl for the web and mobile devices, including the iPhone.
Jeff was losing his voice, but managed to rally and give a talk about the founding and vision of Pelago. There was also a presentation on tough problems the engineering team is working hard to solve, and a demo of the Whrrl website and mobile application. Absent from all this was a demo of our new iPhone app, but I handed over my phone to folks so they could check it out.
The highlight of my night was when the Apple employee who sold me my beloved 3G iPhone last Friday at the Bellevue Apple Store showed up at the event. When I got my new phone (after 7 ½ hours of standing in line) the first thing I did was download the Whrrl iPhone app onto it, and proceeded to show him how it works. He looked us up online, and came to say hi. So cool!
Here are some pictures I took of the mobile application demo on my iPhone (this isn’t the iPhone app):
Whrrl’s goin’ to Noise Pop!
T-Minus the rest of the day and a two-hour flight until Whrrl touches down in San Francisco for Noise Pop 2008! This year we’re the official web and mobile sponsor for San Francisco’s biggest music festival.
Along with our crew of over-caffeinated Whrrlers, we’re bringing to San Francisco prizes, cool swag, and a great SMS experience specifically designed for Noise Pop. The last few weeks we’ve been putting in long hours to pull this all together (can you see the hard work?) and everyone is super excited for Tuesday and Mika Miko’s kick off performance at Rickshaw Stop.
If you can make it, keep your eyes open for us as we’ll be giving out free stuff at the venues. If you can’t, you can at least see pictures of us having fun on this blog.
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