By Larry Chiang<\/p>\n
I watch how tech conferences have inflection points<\/p>\n
It is a pattern I recognize. These are the things that you should pay attention to about SXSW, what certain observations mean and how things might work out<\/p>\n
-1- Hand curation is back<\/p>\n
Automated RSVP’s died Automated check-in died Automated party list compilation sorta died.<\/p>\n
Hand curated connections and manually generated organic connections work. For example, hand curated notes of presentations look super cool and sexy. They’re visual representations of what was said.<\/p>\n
For example, hand curated RSVP lists work. Specific VIPs will host via a tweet or Facebook update. Hand curation occurs when you see it and text a friend to attend in an impromptu manner.<\/p>\n
This leads to my next point…<\/p>\n
-2- Semi Unified Messaging<\/p>\n
Facebook promised unified messaging at Web 2.o Summit at the St Regis. It was set to coagulate email, SMS and chat.<\/p>\n
While I’m waiting for that, I see that semi unified messaging works on your smart phone. It’s where your SMS, email and IM chat pops so hard on your three iPhones that it explodes your notifications.<\/p>\n
-3- WordPress is Winning<\/p>\n
Justin Timberlake is bringing sexy back but I am bringing WordPress trackbacks, back.<\/p>\n
Long form blogging by hand will be produced by 1-3% of all SXSW attendees. Be one of those one-three percent.<\/p>\n
-4- Appointment based education still lives on and thrives much to my chagrin<\/p>\n
By appointment based I mean, tune in Sunday at 11:00 am for Brian Barela, from Cru’s message on my mentor, j.c. By appointment based I mean, watch “House of Lies” on Showtime Sundays at 8pm. At SXSW, by ‘appointment based education’, I mean wait until 3:30PM, March 12.<\/p>\n
Me?! I needed the education of an MBA while I was an undergrad in engineering. If I made an appointment for that knowledge, I’d be getting flanked by a Thiel Fellow versus augmenting, accelerating and being a fan of Thiel Fellows (in my SPADES of spare time)<\/p>\n
-5- Spare Time is Winning at SXSW.<\/p>\n
I’ll expand more on this in a previous blog post. It’s the idea of time treasure management. Just like money treasure is allocated 70%-20%-10% (spending – investing – tithing), so should be your time.<\/p>\n
Most startup execs are doing 110%-(-5%)-(-5%). My ideal is 50%-20%-30%.<\/p>\n
-6- Marketing is Back<\/p>\n
Sales helps. Selling is tough work. Selling helps here at SXSW<\/p>\n
Marketing via sales is back. Lead generation via growth hacking in-the-trenches is still sexy.<\/p>\n
-7- Launch Parties are Back<\/p>\n
The (new) Launch Party is where you make money while you get more shareholder equity. In essence, you do what my mentor, Mark McCormack, taught me…, “Larry, you should make money while you’re making money”. An example of this is “Holiday Party 2.0”. It made money while celebrating baby jesus’ happy birthday party.<\/p>\n
-8- The Advanced Stuff that’s Retro<\/p>\n
Wanna Ga Ga Guaranteed exit?! Pull an idea out of Industry Standard or Red Herring and execute it. For example, Waze.<\/p>\n
People will use it at SXSW. Waze is like a hive mind for traffic.<\/p>\n
-9- Crossing the Chasm is Sexy<\/p>\n
Crossing the chasm from the left sucks. Crossing the (innovation) chasm from the right is sexy and works at SXSW. Crossing the chasm from the right is a signature Larry Chiang maneuver. Thank you Geoffrey Moore for writing the 256 page book, “Crossing the Chasm” that I read and re-read a time too many<\/p>\n
Here is how to “Crossing the chasm from the right”.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/bit.ly\/buster14512w<\/a><\/p>\n Yeah, I just open-sourced that Larry Chiang signature maneuver<\/p>\n -10- Just-In-Time Entrepreneur Education (JITEE for SXSW 2014)<\/p>\n I’m from the future. In the future, we combine appointment based learning with JITEE<\/p>\n Peter Thiel, Luke Nosek & Ken Howery may have financed my move out to Silicon Valley from University of Illinois*… So I can afford to pass the wealth on.<\/p>\n * I did lead generation for PayPal<\/p>\n Here: Get the knowledge of ENGR 145 before you take ENGR 145 under Professor Tom Kosnik<\/p>\n Learn via my free videos and free wordpresses<\/p>\n Learn in class at https:\/\/bit.ly\/buster14512<\/a><\/p>\n My Stanford Engineering video boils down 20,000 hours and moves you to the right on the entrepreneur bell curve<\/p>\n <\/p>\n CEO of Duck9 MIT University EIR (Entrepreneur in Residence)<\/p>\n Duck9 = “Deep Underground Credit Knowledge” 9 125 University Avenue\/ 100 Palo Alto CA 94301 https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/ass<\/a> 650-566-9600 650-566-9696 (direct) 650-283-8008 (cell)<\/p>\n **************** Editor of the BusinessWeek Channel “What They Don’t Teach at Business School” https:\/\/whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/blog<\/a> CNN Video Channel: https:\/\/ireport.cnn.com\/people\/larrychiang<\/a><\/p>\n Read my last 10 tweets at https:\/\/www.Twitter.com\/LarryChiang<\/a><\/p>\n Author, NY Times Bestseller https:\/\/whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/blog\/?s=Ny+times+bestseller<\/a><\/p>\n “What They Will NEVER Teach You at Stanford Business School” comes out 11-11-14<\/p>\n