I’ve just registered at SXSW. I arrived at noon, on the dot, which is the time that registration begins. Already there was a queue of about 25 people in front of me!
We waited on level 1 until we got the go-ahead to proceed up to level 3, where we joined another queue. Then I realised we were not even the first batch of registrants as there was an even larger group of people waiting to collect their badges. Our line moved quickly though and soon I was also standing around, waiting to collect my badge.
Because I was so busy checking work emails the evening before (and up to 4am this morning), I hadn’t uploaded a recent photograph of myself to the SXSW Registrants website. I did so this morning after breakfast but it was too late – my photo wasn’t approved in time. So in the end, they had to take a photo of me using a low-resolution webcam 🙁 But the photo looks OK on my badge.
Everything feels mostly the same as last year. I’m still choosing which panels to attend, but am not feeling super excited about anything at the moment. At 3.30pm our first panel discussion begins but that’s the only one available, so it’s not like we have any other choice.
Strangely, a panel at 5pm will be held at a faraway library near the cemetery! Even though the topic’s on video blogging, I doubt I will make it for that one as it involves a bit of travelling. It sounds like a basic lesson anyway, so it may not be worth the trip. There are other video-related panels to attend on other days.