Comments on: SxSW: Why I’m Not There

By: My.sxsw – a recap «

My.sxsw – a recap « — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 23:46:36 +0000

[...] good friend Gini Dietrich blogged about her decision not to go and makes some valid [...]

By: Rusty Speidel

Rusty Speidel — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:27:24 +0000

I agree with your business decisions, but I think it’s one of the greatest sources of creative ideas and inspiration available anywhere. Seeing folks in person, hearing their panels, reacting with questions–these drive innovation and expertise in a way that skipping it cannot. By Rusty.

By: Deb Dobson

Deb Dobson — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 06:30:23 +0000

Gini,

You raise excellent points. I also did not go to SxSW due to client opportunities/work here. I would love to have gone to meet twitter friends IRL and learn some new ideas, but I also needed to put business before what would have been a really fun event. For me, I made the right choice at this time. I’ve followed the twitterstream as I did with the LMA conference. I like Abbie felt like the kid left out. Once again, a great post Gini. I so love your style.

By: Davina K. Brewer

Davina K. Brewer — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:16:09 +0000

I agree about “getting out what you put in” to any event, but I have to admit to not Jonesing to go. Maybe I’m losing my geek cred. Would it be fun, informative? Of course, but right now it’s just not on my Must Do list. FWIW.

By: Gini Dietrich

Gini Dietrich — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:25:27 +0000

Since writing this this morning, I’ve read some blog posts of those attending who aren’t getting any value from the event. I think Sally is absolutely right – you get out of it what you put in to it.

Martin and Brian, I do see your points and I do think there is HUGE value in the networking and in meeting people in real life. But, in a time where every penny counts, I have to really look at whether or not that networking is going to result in some sort of return on my investment. And I’m not just talking what it costs to get down there and to attend. I’m talking what I lose in five days of not being at my job. It’s a lot of revenue lost and not a risk I can take.

So when someone asks why I’m not there, that is why…as much as I would love being there to see my friends and meet some people IRL.

By: Leslie Poston

Leslie Poston — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:41:14 +0000

On target post.

My reasons – well, honestly I didn’t think they merited a blog post, but I did mention them briefly as part of a larger one here: http://uptownuncorked.com/2010/03/16/ten-tips-on-balance/

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:37:19 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by ginidietrich: Why I didn’t go to SxSW this year http://spinsucks.com/social-media/sxsw-why-im-not-there/…

By: Bloat « Media Bullseye – A New Media and Communications Magazine

Bloat « Media Bullseye – A New Media and Communications Magazine — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:36:15 +0000

[...] Gini Dietrich states that she has a business to run, and she can get as much information as she wants to glean from the event by reading blog posts and Twitter. This presents another interesting issue that I know others have written before: is Twitter killing the conference model? If you can let other people pay to go and just monitor their tweets for the good bits, why would you bear the brunt of the expense, especially if you can stay put and actually earn money by doing client work? [...]

By: Kat Jaibur

Kat Jaibur — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:56:42 +0000

What it comes down to –really — is listening to your gut and seeing if you’re really drawn to an event. We don’t always know how opportunities will come out of something. That’s the fun part. Chance meetings can turn into a lucrative phone call or email, sometimes a year or more later. You can’t go expecting to come home with trophies. It’s about being open and ripe for what’s possible. And if that isn’t what’s attracting you, then best to not go.

For me, this year it meant staying home and attending #Fakesxsw, which I was so grateful for. The creativity and high spirits were exactly what I needed. And I don’t mind saving the $1500 (travel and conf. costs) for other events that I’m really undeniably jazzed about.

By: Brian Schwartz

Brian Schwartz — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:16:33 +0000

Gini, as a fellow small business owner, I understand your reasoning, but as a current SXSW attendee I concur with Martin’s points above.

I actually didn’t think about coming here as a chance to get leads because I knew sessions would be full of peers in my industry. My goal was to gain good information for my clients from sessions, to hear from thought leaders in interactive and to make connections for potential collaboration in the future.

I think if your target audience was the people who use your products (like the vendors in the trade show itself), then you would have a case for actually gaining leads at the conference, otherwise it should be viewed as a place to gain valuable information and connections.

I’ve enjoyed my time here and would definitely come back.