SXSW 2019 is officially over. What an amazing conference! Here are my final two days worth of lessons learned from SXSW 2019.

General SXSW 2019 lessons learned:

  • Think of creative ways to present really technical information (both visually and verbally). It’s okay to present the findings but tell the audience what the main takeaways area and how they apply.
  • Pitching your product or company during a presentation on an unrelated topic will turn people off immediately.
  • Playing videos during presentations is distracting (unless it’s directly tied to the content that you’re talking about). If you play videos, limit them to 15 to 20 seconds long. People came to hear you speak, not to watch videos.
  • Ego limits your growth and learning. Ego doesn’t allow us to embrace beginner’s mindset because we think we know everything. Ego leads us to believe that we know everything already. I’ll elaborate on this concept in a future post.

Session: Cannabis and the Aging Brain by Fabricio Pamplona

  • There is a correlation between what happens in your blood and in your brain.
  • More research is needed on Cannabis and its affect on Alzheimer’s patients.

Featured Session: Lola Plaku

  • What someone’s budget is does not determine your project/product worth. This amount only happens to be what someone can pay you.
  • Create a niche market by defining a niche customer. Get ultra specific about who your customer is.

Featured Session: The Next Killer App on the Blockchain with Julian Hosp

  • The evolution of revolutions: industrial revolution –> digital revolution –> trust revolution
  • Ask yourself: how can trust transform your industry?
  • blockchain = solution
  • We need to find problems that blockchain could potentially solve.
  • What problem are you trying to solve for? Think about the problem being solved. Is this problem worth being solved on the blockchain?
  • Blockchain will allow us to supply trust and charge accordingly. This is because decentralized systems can build trust.
  • Blockchain is about more than cryptocurrencies.
  • Data that informs advertising and marketing will not be a viable business model in 10 years.
  • Blockchain will enable us to connect the physical and virtual worlds and, as a result, will be crucial to building out the “Mirrorworld” as described by Kevin Kelly in the March edition of Wired magazine. Side note: I’ve recommended and/or told nearly everyone I’ve met at SXSW about the Mirrorworld article. It’s fantastic. Everyone needs to read it.
  • Blockchain will not be the only solution. We need both centralized and decentralized systems…we need to live at 32 degrees Fahrenheit as championed by Safi Bahcall.

Session: Traditional Sport Influence and Investment in Esports with Kelsey Impicciche and Michael Prindiville

  • Health, wellness, and especially sleep are important for all athletes, including esports athletes.
  • Mental preparation is also a big part of being an esport athlete.
  • We need more health-focused companies sponsoring esports athletes (i.e., water, healthy foods, mattresses, etc.).
  • Better eating leads to better performance.
  • We need more tournaments and organizations to support women in gaming.
  • We need to tell diverse stories and have diverse players tell their stories to keep increasing the number of minorities in gaming.

Show: Nerdcore showcase

  • “Living this life is amazing…I am not here to be average…I am not here to be passive.”
  • It’s fun to see what happens when we expose ourselves to new and innovative sounds.

Root – a Game of Woodland Might and Right by Patrick Leder and Cole Wehrle

  • You need a full-time customer service person to manage a kickstarter campaign.
  • Games are really good at stealing and borrowing from other games.
  • Create games that let the player drive the story so that nothing is ideologically bound while they play the game.
  • Create time each week to read, strategize, and create. Block this time out on a calendar and don’t let anyone or anything bother you during this time.
  • Traditional retailers and distributors may no longer be a viable business model, especially once AI and blockchain disrupt these industries.
  • Language is important for your product (i.e., where product can be anything you ship from artwork to music to game to clothing). How do people talk about your product? What specific words are people using to describe your product and share it with others? Are they using strong verbs and precise nouns?

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