As many of you know because we’re friends on Facebook, or you follow me on Twitter, I’m going to be at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin later in March. I think it’s like March 13-17.

I’m really excited because South by Southwest is where a lot of fabulous stuff happens. It’s where a bunch of social media geeks get together, and it’s a lot of fun and a lot of bloggers go there. So if you’re going to South by Southwest, and I highly recommend it, especially if you live in Texas or in the area because South by Southwest is a fabulous festival-lots of bloggers, lots of great sessions.

Last year was my first year, and I had a hard time figuring out the best way to make the most of it. But this year I’m prepared, and I figured I could share these tips with you, and you can skip the whole session they do at South by Southwest about how to make the most of it because here, you’ll get it at Shama.Tv.

So here are a couple of things you can do to make it a really good experience.

1. The sessions are great, but the lounge is where it actually happens. Last year when I went to a few of the sessions, but the really good friends I made, and a lot of the stuff I learned was really in the lounge just sitting around meeting people. They’d come up and say hi, I think I know you, and we’d start a conversation. So hang out in the lounge, and make sure you plan out some time to hang out there, and get to know people. Be more interested in them than you are yourself. I know you’re out there thinking I’m at this conference and I have to network, network, network, but it’s not about how many people you meet, honestly. It’s about the relationships you make when you’re there. And I can totally vouch for it because I was there last year and the relationships I made are fabulous, and I’m really excited to see those people again. So again, it really happens in the lounge area, and that’s key. It’s something for you to remember.
2. If you’re not on Twitter, please get on it! It is such a power tool at conferences, especially one like South by Southwest. What happened last year was I’d be sitting at this session and I’d see a Tweet go by, and it’d say, “Hey, if you guys want to go out for lunch, I’m in session 290, and we’re going to meet outside.” So I’d go outside, and there’d be like seven other people I’d never met. Seven very interesting, cool people I’d never met before, and we’d all group up and go to lunch. This was great! I was meeting a lot of people, and this is really a great way. So Twitter is really a power tool at these conferences. If you’re not there, you may get sick of the hash-tags and seeing South by Southwest, but if you are there and on Twitter then make the most of it. Last year it really was hard because I didn’t have Twitter on my phone, I was using my laptop, but this year I do. So again, Twitter is a power tool, and if you’re not on it I want you to get on it, and if you are already on it, fabulous. Be active on it during the conference because it is going to pay off.
3. How do you promote yourself at these things like South by Southwest. Cool things I saw last year was people bringing things like T-shirts and mugs. Free give-aways, guys-bookmarks, things of that nature. You can give stuff away in the lounge, and I know because I came back with a bag full of stuff from people and I used the things! It’s a great idea, so if you have things like that bring them. Bloggers and everybody else love those things. So bring something to give away, and make sure it’s not crude and don’t push it in people’s face. Totally cool idea to take things to promote yourself.

So if you’re going to be there, please seek me out. I will be there. I will be the one with the laptop that says “Shama.TV,” so it’s kind of hard to miss, and I look forward to meeting you if you’re going to be there. If not, don’t worry because I’ll cover it for you guys right here on Shama.Tv.