We’re back and finally somewhat recovered from the madness that is SXSW. This year, Michelle, Pam and Matt attended (Michelle’s usual partner in social media crime, Adam, was out having a baby – congrads, Adam!)
Like last year, the event was blur of meet-ups, panels, interviews, intense hallway conversations and non-stop activity. Sadly, the BatchBlue team didn’t get to attend too many panels, but as a networking event, it was great. And a lot of cool stuff came out of it.
In the days (okay, more like hours) leading up to SXSW, we put the finishing touches on the beta of BatchBook sync, which was hugely exciting for us as it brings us one step closer to the idea of true data portability. Our plan was to soft launch BatchBook sync at SXSW, then return home to do some tweaking and de-bugging before really getting the word out. But like many well-intentioned plans (especially as they pertain to SXSW), this got tossed out the window and instead we found ourselves buckling our virtual seatbelts for a wild web app ride. Lots of new traffic and an ill-fated server move resulted in some growing pains for BatchBook, but thanks largely to the superhuman, nocturnal efforts of Sean and Matt, we’ve made it through and are better than ever. We also give a huge thanks to our customers both old and new for bearing with us through that rocky week.
T-Shirts and a Texas-sized small business brunch Since we knew how much people depend on Twitter in Austin to help them plan, we brought a bunch of “BatchBook Social CRM” t-shirts with us that had a space for people’s Twitter handles on the front. The t-shirts were a big hit: we literally had people chasing us down to get one! Thanks to our friend and unofficial BatchBlue mascot TJ Sondermann for the concept.
On Sunday, we planned on hosting a Small Business Brunch with our friend Shashi Bellamkonda of Network Solutions. We expected maybe twenty or so folks to come by the delicious Moonshine Cafe to meet up, network and talk small business. We were pleasantly surprised when more than double that number showed up, thanks in large part ot Shashi’s mad Twitter skills. The restaurant was extremely accommodating and graciously set up extra tables so everyone could enjoy their delicious Sunday brunch. We hung out with social media man Jeff Pulver, Lisa Rodwell from Moo cards, Saul Colt from Freshbooks, Becky McCray from Small Biz Survival, and many many others. Perhaps the most important connection made that morning was when Matt learned chicken-fried steak is best eaten with gravy.
The Small Business Web
We were also happy about how much excitement the concept of the Small Business Web generated, both with our new sync partners and the press we spoke with. Grant Robertson from the Download Squad shot a really fun video (see above) of us and some of the folks from Freshbooks, Outright and Shoeboxed talking about the Small Business Web. It was definitely our most rock star moment, as people crowded up to us after the interview wanting to know more about our products and how they worked with each other. Cool! We’re still sorting out the details of what the Small Business Web will look like as we partner with other folks, but we did put together a sort of mission statement:
The Small Business Web is a movement to bring together like-minded, customer-obsessed software companies to integrate our respective products and make life easier for small businesses. While there are many products available for small business owners on the Web, the approach we’re taking is to use each others APIs to provide a high-level of integration between these applications and create a more seamless experience for our customers.
Our goal is to refine and better define the Small Business Web over the upcoming months. We’ll be updating here as we do.
We also got some other great press coverage coming out of SXSW, which you can read on our Press page. One of the coolest things was that Chris Brogan called us his “favorite web app” (well, after Twitter), which is a huge compliment coming from the King of All Social Media (though he would tell you he was but its humble servant).
In all, it was once again a worthwhile conference filled with interesting people doing exciting things and we were very glad to be a part of it. Thanks to everyone we met and we hope to see you again in Texas next year (you too, Adam!)
Later this week, three folks from the BatchBlue Crew will be shipping down to Austin for South by Southwest Interactive. I won’t be with them.
After going to SXSW 2007 and 2008, this year I’ll be home. We’re expecting our third child… just about any minute now. But that doesn’t mean I can’t share my infinite SXSW wisdom with folks heading down for the first time.
So, here you are… 9 SXSW Tips From a Guy Who Can’t Go This Year:
Know the turf
Right away, take a walk around the Convention Center and get a feel for it. Know which exits are on which streets. Make sure you know how to get to each level. There’s not a ton of time between panels.
Use Twitter
If you don’t plan to use Twitter, stay home. Twitter is basically the subway map of SXSW. Here you can find out which panels you should go to, which impromptu meetups spring up, which parties (cough, business gatherings) are cropping up, which events are full, what’s lame, what’s fun, etc.
Talk to people
They’re really nice. No, really. Maybe it’s the Texas warmth in March. Maybe everyone’s still just a bit buzzed from the night before. But everybody’s really nice and wants to hear what you’re interested in.
It’s a place to make connections, not to find a job
In 2007, I was looking around for a job doing this crazy “new web” stuff. While I made a few good connections that really helped my career, nobody was down there looking to hire anyone. However, they are looking to meet talented people in order to expand their network. So, make some connections and something may happen down the line. No need to bring a stack of resumes to Austin, though.
When to caffeinate
If you want coffee, get it while a panel is in session. Seriously, if you get in the coffee line in between panels, you’re going to miss most of the next panel anyway. We’re all web geeks. Caffeine is a necessary fuel. So just pick some downtime, get coffee and get caught up on email/Twitter/whatever.
Plan your panels
Last year, I imported every panel I was interested in into a calendar I synced with my iPhone. You need to do this. Why can’t you just work from the handheld program? That doesn’t have things like speaker lists and descriptions. Don’t just pick one panel per slot, either. Things will change depending on where you are, who you’re with, a modified schedule, whatever. Have options and know what they are.
Downtime is good
Related to the one above, don’t force yourself to go to a panel at every time slot. Some of the best conversations happen in the halls while sessions are going on. Also, you may need to catch up on email, blogging, Flickring, Twittering… or napping.
Bigger isn’t always better
Don’t focus solely on the huge parties. It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality. Find out where your friends are going. If you’re there to network, check Twitter to see if the folks you want to meet posted where they’ll be. While I’m a fan of the annual Great British Booze-Up, some of the best conversations happened in small restaurants with a few smart people.
Have a buddy
Last year, my buddy was Michelle. Of course, we actually traveled to Austin together, so that worked best. But if you’re coming alone, you can still find a buddy. I flew solo in 2007. I posted on the SXSW blog, wondering what the best way was to get to the Convention Center from my hotel (it was in the middle of nowhere). A kind fellow named Chris Lee said he was driving right by there every day. He picked me up and drove me back… every day (remember the third tip where I said people are nice?).
So, there you have it. If you’re going, I admit I’m kinda jealous. But remember, while you’re up all night surrounded by screaming people, I’ll be right there with ya. Just for different reasons.
We feel so strongly about finding the best tools and procedures for turning our customer’s conversations into new product features that we convinced a few of our high-profile friends to join us in telling some inside secrets. And they are doing it publicly (if we can get your help voting us in!) as part of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Conference’s panel discussion titled “Customer Service is the New RD.”
The plan is to talk with these folks about the tools they are using to connect with customers and how these conversations are integrated back into the product development process. It’s easy to say you are listening to your customers, but unless you can act on what they are saying and give them what they need it is not a very productive conversation.
But listening is not an easy task when conversations are happening in so many different places. Proving the point, Lane volunteered himself for this panel when he read our description on the conference’s interactive panel picker and submitted a comment. Now we get to meet (and pick the brain of) a really cool guy who’s built an entire company around being constructive with customer feedback.
The SXSW Conference itself is a model in positive customer interaction. Though they receive 1000s of submissions for panel ideas, they review each individually and send a PERSONAL NOTE to each potential panelist. As Hugh at SXSW so nicely put it, “in the inter-connected web world, the more that you can do to provide top quality customer service . . the more likely that your business will survive and prosper.”
We love this conference and are excited to see what the online community helps them develop as their next product; the 2009 show.
And a few of our recommendations:
And our own resident geeky do-gooder Michelle Riggen Ransom submitted a SXSW panel idea exploring ways folks are using “Social Media for Social Change.”
Last year, Michelle and I attended the South By Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, TX. It was an inspiring experience on many levels, and as soon as we left we knew we wanted to submit a panel for 2008.
And we have! We’vementionedmanytimes before that providing top notch customer service is one of the founding principles of our company. We wanted to organize a panel that shows how we (and other companies) are using customer service to help shape the development path of our products (in our case, BatchBook).
With forums, Get Satisfaction, good old email support and more, let your early adopters help build your product and create the solution they’ve been searching for. See how boot strapping start-ups (and some past the start-up days) build an online R&D lab to turn 1000+ voices into real features.
Since we knew how much people depend on Twitter in Austin to help them plan, we brought a bunch of “BatchBook Social CRM” t-shirts with us that had a space for people’s Twitter handles on the front. The t-shirts were a big hit: we literally had people chasing us down to get one! Thanks to our friend and unofficial BatchBlue mascot TJ Sondermann for the concept.
