Community

The Forecast is Awesome

That was a hell of a year. It has been a ridiculously wonderful experience to participate in and learn from the giant, piñata-studded, slightly tipsy party that has been content strategy in 2010. (On the personal side, I’ve had a lot of wonderful conversations and read a lot of spectacular things. And rather miraculously, the members of my immediate family are ending the year alive and in good health.)

Although I’d like to drag you all under the slightly crispy mistletoe for a big smooch, that would be weird and we’d all get colds. So instead, here’s a redacted but enthusiastic list of things coming up on my end in the first quarter of next year:

  • A gobsmacking content-related project from Arc90 that I helped out with, a bit.
  • The relaunch of Loosecubes, a coworking and indie work/life company. Content freelancers and indie people everywhere have much to look forward to.
  • A new blog series dealing with professional ethics, responsibility, and breaking into the content world. (I’d planned to do it in December, but I’m just going to lie here under a glass of eggnog instead.)
  • That book, which is even now being edited by Ms. Brown.

Also coming in early 2011: an enormous and juicy project for the content strategy community, built in collaboration with two secret co-conspirators you already know and love. More on that in January.

The Best Wishes I Have

To my friends and colleagues who’ve had a 2010 full of triumphs and weddings and babies and bliss, I raise a happy toast.

And to those of you whose 2010 has ranged from challenging to ghastly, here’s the thing: We’ve made it to this point—past the darkest day with special bonus total freaking eclipse—and on to the bonfires and champagne. So keep warm, take comfort where you can, and know that we think of you constantly.

A very sweet new year to all of you. Over and out.

SXSW 2010: Being There

This year’s SXSW(i) was by far the largest and most overcrowded that I’ve been to, with the heaviest marketing presence and the largest number of panels I had no interest in attending. It was also the most fun I’ve had in Austin, even though it took me a full week to catch up after returning.

Wonderful Things

  • Not feeling like I had to go to panels. Instead going out into the beautiful weather and eating delicious food with smart, funny people. (Frank’s, Moonshine, the sausage cart outside Shangri-La, El Sol y Luna, and even the noodle bowl from the convention center stand out as especially fun and/or yummy.)
  • As always, meeting a fresh batch of awesome people. Equally as important: getting to relax with people I already know, but rarely get to see.
  • Hitting Cog’aoke just before there was an impossible line and thus getting to enjoy the best parts (Kevin and Jeffrey‘s magical opening performance, Glenda, Roger Niner, Tony Bacigalupo, the “I’m On a Boat” guys, and Jason Santa Maria on “Rebel Yell”) and hang out with lovely people in the audience. Big love also to the chicken-girl.
  • Hitting a magical house party stocked with cute dogs, delightful people, and 18-year-old rye and then attending the unadvertised 80s dance party at which many of my colleagues did, in fact, rock their faces off.
  • Discovering that yes, it’s true, a lot of people really have figured out that content matters. Related: really enjoying the panel I was on and discovering that some other people enjoyed it, too.

Less Wonderful Things

  • By the time we left, I caught myself avoiding the eye of any woman under the age of 30 wearing eyeliner and a tight t-shirt, lest she try to sell me something. BOO. On the other hand, the Bolthouse free juice/smoothie people were a great relief—regular people giving away something yummy that I actually wanted. (You can apparently get their juice at Gristedes, Food Emporium, and D’Agostino’s, btw, if you live in NYC; also, their chai is dairy-free and they’re family-owned.)
  • Some of the panels were really crowded and thus impossible to get into if you were coming from another panel on the other side of the convention center. My response was to outdoors and roll in the grass/drink beer/have fun, but it did cut down on the amount of official programming I saw.
  • The evacuation during the Arc90 guys’ presentation, which I was really enjoying. They apparently reconvened after the evacuation, but I didn’t see the rest of the talk, and I hope they post slides/audio soon.

I’ll post separately about content stuff and our panel and that kind of thing tomorrow, but for now: thanks to all for a really good time. I look forward to seeing you again next year if not before then.