Notes from SXSWi
Earlier this month I had the pleasure of attending SXSWi for my day job (as an interaction designer). I can’t decide if it was good or bad fortune, but the conference grew 40% in attendance this year over last year, so it was quite a different experience than what I’ve had in the past (I’ve attended since 2008). One good-turned-bad thing that happened was that I wasn’t able to attend as many tech-related sessions due to them being completely with crowds spilling out the doors, but this gave me the opportunity to attend some “greener” sessions held at the same time.
Austin really is the perfect place for this conference, what with all the greenery, the bicyclers everywhere, the healthy eating, and the Whole Foods flagship store (my favorite!). People had some GREAT eco-geeky ideas, mostly benefitting society as a whole.
This is a Sol Design Lab charging station, one of several set up around Austin for the crowds of SXSW. The founder explained that the project is a result of her MFA program. The panels are solar and the charging stations are repurposed retro gasoline pumps. Quite the fitting (and dignified) tribute to Texas oil, if you ask me.
I also learned about leading a zero-waste lifestyle (which would involve a lot of sacrifice to me, so I’m trying to find something that’s more sustainable) and about dozens of awesome start-ups (such as Recycle Match) designed to help people and the environment. Mostly, things designed around recycling, upcycling, and connecting people who need things (whether they realize it or not). I was pretty excited to see the VP of marketing for Patagonia among the attendees, but there were really some stellar ideas floating around and I was humbled by all the ingenuity.
