SXSW has come and gone and once again I left being both inspired and exhausted! Here were a few of the memorable events from the 2018 festival!
Ready Player One’s Oasis Install
To hype of the release of Ready Player One, the studio recreated the fictional Oasis in downtown Austin. This was by far the coolest installation that I was able to get into (the Westworld recreation was damn near impossible to get a ticket for). And thanks to Atom Tickets I was able to score $5 off a movie pass to see Ready Player One and jump into the front of the line!
The experience was completely immersive—robots and 80s nostalgia was everywhere!
I didn’t want to leave and had a blast playing the retro pop culture quiz game!
The New World of Microadventure at the Pinterest House
One of my favorite sessions was by adventurer Alastair Humphreys at the Pinterest House. This dude has literally been all over the planet doing some crazy adventures, including cycling completely around the world! But even before he takes his next big escapade, he struggles with that “first step” that we all do.
To help overcome it, he is a huge advocate for what he terms “microadventures.” If a round-the-world jaunt sounds too intimidating, why not try to walk across the city? Adventure is everywhere—right before the talk Alastair woke up early, ran across Austin and even took a dip in Town Lake. Even the smallest adventures can be exciting!
Google Fun House
On the eastside of Austin, Google took over a huge house and turned it into this massive fun house to demonstrate their voice UI capabilities. You could control all sorts of things, including the hydraulics on a low rider! Check out this video:
But what was more impressive were their sessions next door—Googlers enlightened us all about how voice will be the next interface. Did you know that thousands of people tell their Google Assistant “I love you?” The future is here.
Stumbling Onto a Street Party with the Grandmaster
As we were walking back to our place, we stumbled upon this huge street party featuring none other than Grandmaster Flash himself. Only at SXSW do you catch a party like that!
Until Next Year…
Had a blast at SXSW 2018—can’t wait to see what is in store in 2019! ! !
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