I combined lessons learned from day 7 and 8 mainly because the days are getting longer (music ends late…) and laptop time is getting shorter. Read on for lessons learned…
General SXSW 2019 lessons:
- You grow your tribe by creating and sharing amazing content/experiences.
- Ask yourself why would my client/customer care about this topic that I’m presenting on?
- Be more confident when speaking to others in daily life and when presenting keynotes.
- People want to hear really good stories. Give them a good story to share with others.
- When giving a presentation, slow down and distill your argument into 2 sentences, not 2 paragraphs. This helps you avoid rambling and going so fast that people have a hard time following you and engaging.
Featured Session: Blockchain Beyond the Hype: The Ripple Effect with David Schwartz
- Price is not a metric of success.
- Quantum computing advances are necessary for advancing blockchain technologies.
- One of the major challenges is building technology that people are going to need because we don’t know how people are going to use the technology.
- “How can we make sure there’s a healthy ecosystem when we can’t predict the future?”
- Payments and settlements have been traditionally separated however, this is not sustainable. This is area of financial systems is ripe for disruption.
Featured Session: Laura Jane Grace
- “The artist creating the art should benefit from the art.”
- Start by making small artworks, even if they are bad. If you keep making art and learn what works and what doesn’t, eventually you’ll start make better and better art.
- “You have to have self-acceptance before anyone else can accept you.”
Session: The Token Economy: Digitizing Real-World Assets by Jesse Lund
- “Why doesn’t money move around like information?”
- We are moving to decentralized financial systems but this isn’t the first time we’ve done this.
- Hayek’s principle = If money is controlled by a centralized entity, then it’s subject to influence by politics.
- “We need a paradigm shift in financial services.”
Featured Session: Joseph Lubin
- Create a “new trust structure.”
- Trust infrastructure enables shared systems instead of siloed systems.
- If we don’t look for better solutions to our binary news systems, then we aren’t going to get very far.
- People need money to do great work.
- “It’s incumbent upon us to build systems that are easy to use…[and] secure.”
Show: Amanda Palmer
- It sounds crazy to Amanda Palmer that “there’s a limit to compassion…there’s a limit to empathy.”
- Set up your project origin story and evolution to engage your audience.
- “Trying is the point of life so don’t stop trying. Promise me.”
- Start by focusing on your craft, not on social media or other. It’s harder to “pound the flesh and blood pavement than the socials [media] pavement.”
- “It’s going to make everybody uncomfortable. That’s why I’m doing it.”
Show: JOJO ABOT
- We are all connected on the same energy of love.
- “It’s really about you and your heart and your experience.”
- Our goal is “to radiate love that moves mountains.”
Show: Wyclef Jean
- “Whether you’re from the ghetto or not, we’re all human beings.”