I’ve just touched down from another SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, TX.
Over the next few days, I’m going to post some reflections on the event in 5 different segments, but before I do that, I feel like I still need to describe the conference to others.
SXSW is a incredibly difficult to describe, so I’ve come across an appropriate metaphor for SXSW. Austin is home to some terrific BBQ so, well SXSW is the ultimate BBQ pit- let me explain…
You/Your company Piece of Brisket/Meat
Austin Dry Rub
SXSW: The Smoker and grill
Your Clients/Friends/Agency The Sides (Mac and Cheese, Rice and Beans, Mashed Potatoes)
Ok so you’ve made your plans for SXSW. You’re just a simple piece of meat, but what happens to you over the course of a week in Austin every March is a true culinary experience.
Austin Texas, the Dry Rub
Austin, a.k.a. the Dry Rub. Your plane touches down in Austin. Austin is the place that spices it up. Each year has a different flavor. Maybe a bit more brown sugar, a little less cayenne, you get the drift. You (the brisket) arrive and start to get the Dry Rub treatment. You’re feelin the SXSW love. You hear the music, the sun is out. Who doesn’t love the dry rub?
The SXSW Conference- the Smoker/Grill
SXSW- a.k.a. The Smoker. You’re sloooow cooked over 5 days on a nice, even heat. You’re in this hot smoker for a while with constant heat. Heat=stimulation. Heat=meeting LOTS of people. Heat=learning. Heat= late-night parties. Heat=spontaneous discussions. Heat= serendipitous moments at the Driskill at 1:00am
The Sides: Your friends, clients, partners
Clients/Agency/Friends – The sides. BBQ doesn’t work without coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, beans and rice, right? You’re not at SXSW alone, and these relationships are crucial to the SXSW experience. You, the brisket, works really well with these sides.
Sometimes you’ll meet a new “side” or friend along the way, it’s a piece of cornbead, pickles, mashed potatoes, you name it.
So, are you starting to get the picture here? Upon your return, the table has been set (pun intended) for you to share this BBQ experience with everyone else. You’ve been seasoned, smoked and cooked and are ready to serve to the world. And, of course, you can’t do it alone. No matter how big a company you are, you’ll always need the sides. Sides equal technology, creative, staffing, partnerships, you name it.
Over the course of the year, you may need to go back for “seconds” at another conference. But there’s nothing quite like that first plate of BBQ, right?
And the following March in Austin, the cycle continues, but it might be a bit different, right? It may even be a different BBQ Pit. It’s Stubbs and not The Salt Lick. Maybe the dry rub is a bit sweeter, and maybe the wood in the smoker is oak, and not cherry. And you just have to meet this new side at SXSW..
So, are you getting hungry for the next BBQ at SXSW? I am…
As the Dialogue team ramps up for SXSW (the Super Bowl of Social Media Conferences) we’re still interviewing some great marketers out there. Mike Volpe is our featured Social Marketer today. If you haven’t already, take 30 minutes on a Friday afternoon to watch Mike and Karen Rubin talk Inbound Marketing on their weekly television show/podcast/live-streaming event, Hubspot TV
About Mike
I’m Mike Volpe, and I love Marketing! I work as VP Inbound Marketing at HubSpot, where I get to lead a team of marketers as well as create a lot of content on our blog, for our TV show, and by speaking a lot too.
1. What one trait or habit got you to where you are today?
Passion! You need to find a job that allows you to leverage your passion. I mean it’s late at night right now, but I’m having fun writing about marketing because I love it. Focusing on your passion makes everything else a lot easier.
2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do and why?
Read. I read my email. I read blogs and news in my RSS reader. I read Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. I read my reports in HubSpot analytics. You need to know what is going on before you can do something productive.
3. What makes you efficient with your day?
Seclusion time. I need at least 1 hour a day where I have zero interruptions and I just crank through all my inboxes and tasks. If not, it starts to back up and the problem gets worse. I tend to really focus in on things, and if I get distracted, I have a lot of trouble refocusing, so I need to comepletely uninterrupted time to be super productive. I actually book this time in my calendar, and if I am in the office, I will go hide someplace so no one can bother me.
4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott. He recently rewrote a lot of it to update it for a new addition. The month that book came out, I sent him and email with the subject line “Our company (HubSpot) was based on your book”. While HubSpot was founded before the book came out, it was a true statement. We had lunch the next week and David and I are friends now, and he’s been a great advisor. I should also mention that “Inbound Marketing” by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah (the foreword is by David Meerman Scott) is another take ont he same subject, with probably more “how to” examples.
5. 3 things on your desk right now/3 things you can’t live without
iPhone – Not because I am in love with Apple (I don’t like them much) but because it makes me a lot more productive, I’ll replace it the second something better is available (please Google… help!)
Google Apps - I used Outlook for years, but once I converted and got used to Gmail/Gcal, I am faster and more efficient
DropBox – Having all my important files available anywhere, and collaborating with my team more easily is great
With the combination of these 3 things, I have stopped carrying a laptop and a bag except when I travel on planes. I just walk out of the office. I have a laptop that mostly stays in the office, a desktop in my house, and also a netbook for around the house and sometimes travel.
6. Habit you want to kick in 2010
Checking Twitter too much! It is usually pretty distracting, and can be addictive. And to be honest, most of the super important stuff there ends up getting to me through other channels. But, I do need to make time for it, just in a few 10 minutes chunks during the day (TweetDeck on the iPhone helps a lot with this).
7. Habit you want to form for 2010
Inbox Zero. I have been getting better… around 100 messages in my inbox on average the past few months, rather than 300-ish – but I want to really try to keep it under 10-20, and maybe even hit zero. We’ll see… I mean, I just got rid of this message!
