SXSW: The Panel

"Maybe there is only love if you're honest." - Nuspirit Helsinki, Honest

Austin has me coughing and sniffling something fierce. It is 2:16 AM, I've ordered room service breakfast for 8:45 AM and I'm sitting here trying to figure out how to talk about the day I've had.

Our panel, Blogging While Black, was kind of spectacular. I think I talked too much but we said a lot of things that I think we've all been wanting to say; we got some black folks in the room that normally wouldn't have been at the conference at all; and, we started a conversation.

I haven't had such reasoned, genuine conversations about race, social constructs, common ground and identity since my days as the diversity program clearinghouse coordinator back in college. I loved it.

Truly, I'm amped. I got even more amped during the Where Are the Women in Web Design? panel later in the day. I want you at SXSW next year. There's no excuse. We're going to start a Road to SXSW initiative and get all you weblogging tech heads, music critics, filmmakers, and web designers to Austin, Texas for at least a few days.

Even more than the dialogue that has occurred in the last 15 hours or so regarding issues that matter to many of us, the most important parts of SXSW for me has been the fellowship that I feel when talking with web nerds and geeks about tags and folksonomies and web standards and accessibility and the tools we use and the audiences we reach and the commonalities and differences between us. I'm also attending the film festival and have gotten great ideas for my professional content goals on my work sites (and beyond) just by attending a few of those. I've made great professional connections and, more than that, I've made new friends and all of that energy has me with goals, ideas, and challenges for the spring simply exploding from my head.

Your people are here. I'm here. Tiffany is here. Lynne is here. George is here. Cecily is here. Tony is here. Ernie is here. Min Jung is here. Molly is here. Malcolm is here. Jackson is here. Prentiss is here. David Dylan is here. Hell, Black Texas is here. Most of us will probably be here next year as well.

We're already waiting for you.

I'm giving you a year to get it together and be in Austin for interactive. If you're a web professional dealing in design, social and community tools, or are just interested in how we all get together and get down in the blogosphere, this is where you have to be.

I want to know what subjects would interest you as panel discussions. I want to know what excuses you're already forming. I want to know how we can get you here.

I was at a party hosted by blogger and google tonight and then went to hang out with all the blog kids and the folks of the nick denton empire. I got kissed on my forehead.

What were you doing?

Yeah, I thought so.

Comments

[ej]

I'm on a mission.
2006. Definitely.

[the izza]

I'll be there . . . in full affect, boyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

[Cecily]

That's the ticket - throw down the gauntlet, raise that challenge! Folks, if you're not at SXSW next year, and if you're not dreaming up ways to get on a panel - heck, if you're not dreaming up your OWN panel - I just don't know what to say. I'm coasting on adrenaline - SO high, so amped, and I don't want to go back to Vancouver!

[j. brotherlove]

I already addressed why I couldn't attend this year but I won't miss next year. Trust.

[cindylu]

I'm curious, was there a panel by Latina/o bloggers? That would definitely interest me because the issues of race, ethnicity, nationality, class, and language all combine.

Oh yeah, my excuse? I'm a poor graduate student who has to worry about finals right around this time.

[Jason]

There was not a panel about latino/a bloggers. In fact, I'd say we were the only panel directly related to identity blogging during the interactive.

There are some latino/a bloggers and tech heads here, though. I sat in on some panels that dealt with bridging borders between blogs and readers when there is a language barrier.

I'm hoping to come up with some ideas for more identity and social construct panels for next year so that people are encouraged to attend...and to get more minority faces and names on panels in general.

Are you a grad student next year? Could you take 72 hours of your busy schedule to attend the meat of the conference? 48?

[cindylu]

I'm in this grad school thing for the next 4 or so years of my life. I could probably work something out with my schedule, but if it's hectic as a lowly first year, I know it'll be much more crazy and busy as I get into the meat of my program. Plus, I wouldn't be able to stay in Austin for a mere 48 hours if I knew that there would be a number of musical acts I'd be interested in catching coming up.

[karsh]

Well see, what had happened was...I was working! Yeah, lame excuse, but I just started 3/1; it kinda looks bad to take days off when you hadn't even gotten your first check yet.

But on the real? I'm making a plan to be there next year, especially now that I work in electronic media. Austin or bust!

[monique]

wow, I wish I could have been there. The multiple recaps that I've read remind me of almost every conversation that followed a good meal and 3 bottles of "$2 buck chuck" wine at my friend's places. How do you remain true to yourself, represent an entire race to the majority on the daily, provide a contrasting image of blackness to balancee out the BET videos, and find others who understand your equal love of Venture Brothers and UPNs Girlfriends -- all while keeping relatively sane? No, really how do you do it?

Also, what happened to the blogger Monique? I loved her TMI haiku and would have enjoyed hearing/reading her comments

[Keith Jenkins]

Thanks for the update, sounds wonderful! Next year sounds like THE year!

[Nancy White]

The Blogging While Black was the best thing for me at SXSW. I learned a lot, I felt a lot and you, the panelists, helped me examine my thinking. I came into SXSW with an agenda as a women. Why are there so few women. I wanted to explore identity. By sharing your views for that hour, you helped me explore a bit deeper into this thing called identity, helped me add another frame to my (white, female) conception of racism and I got to "meet" some smart, intelligent people who are now a little bit in my life because you have voice and idenitity through your blogs.

I HEARTILY second the call to bring more folks into the conversation. This raises the "conference cost" issue that cindylu posted. So lets mobilize couches, frequent flier miles so that more than the cash flow folks can come.

[saga]

OK, wow - u've already dismantled every possible excuse I could come up with. I'm there.