Epic nightlife.

If there’s one thing Austin has by the truckloads, it’s nightlife.  And it’s easy to get sucked into a walkable whirlpool of bars and bands and all-night diners.  Here’s a quick review of a night on the town in Austin.

In what used to be an old, run-down Austin neighborhood a new group of cool bars has sprouted.  We started at Bar 96 where a great band called Crooks was playing.  I rapidly learned to love the live music of Austin. And I was surprised how much I liked the indie/country/bluegrass attitude that much of the music has.  Crooks was a great band.

But I immediately fell under the charm of Crooks' sexy banjo/mandolin/glitter guitar/trumpet player, Sam Alberts.

After Bar 96 we headed to Lustre Pearl, a dilapidated building that's been updated without losing the original character of the building.  I loved the neon above the living room fireplace.  It felt like a Glenn Ligon sculpture that somehow got lost in Austin by way of paris.  There was also a SXSW Interactive party going on so there were plenty of free tchotchkes from blinking glasses to glowing ice cubes.

Nearby is the Clive Bar which was the most boring of the three.  But it's still a beautiful place to hang out with friends and waste an hour or two.

Of course, you can't just bar hop.  There comes a time when you need nourishment.  Fortunately, Austin offers a variety of all-night diners like Magnolia.  The food was standard diner fare, but the funky vibe was fantastic with it's neon, it's apology for being always open, and the intriguing collages on the walls.

We ended the night at The Ginger Man, a bar with 81 beers on tap.  That's enough to make me wish I liked beer.  But even if beer isn't your thing, this is one cool, beautiful place. And really, who doesn't like a ginger man?

I just barely scratched the surface of Austin nightlife.  So I guess I'll have to plan a return trip for another night on the town.

Food truck: Austin Edition.

Sure, Vancouver has the Japadog. And we have the Chow Truck right here in Salt Lake City.  But I’ve never been to place with so many food trucks and trailers.  Maybe it’s the nice weather.  Maybe it’s the love of tacos. Or maybe it’s the penchant for all things funky.  Whatever it is, Austin loves it's food trucks. I only had time to visit two: the first and favorite was Torchy’s Tacos.  It was a bit of a jaunt to get to this trailer park turned outdoor food court.  But it was worth the trip. 

I had a fried avocado taco and something called the Trailer Park.

And how can you not love a place that sells t-shirts that read, “Show me your taco.”

We also went to a place called Turf n’ Surf Poboy where I was so hungry, I forgot to take pictures of my food. But here’s a photo of the truck.

Living in the Land of Raj.

Companies like to define target audiences with something called a "persona."  It’s a way to bring the target to life by giving him or her a personality.  One of my clients has a whole set of personas, one of which is for a target audience called technology enthusiasts.  These are the early adopters, the guys who are professional, successful, and who you might call geeks.  My clients have named this persona Raj.  And if you’re spending time at the South by Southwest (SXSW) interactive conference, you’re spending time with a lot of Rajes.

Here are a few of my key take aways from my time living in the Land of Raj with plenty of photos for support.

Raj likes his cool, intense, game-infused imagery.

And SXSW west gives plenty of people a chance to get their imagery out there.  Just about every pole, post, box, or other public space was wrapped in plastic to prepare for posters and flyers that were posted all over town, many of those poster targeted at Raj.

The QR code is king.  

These things were everywhere from posters, to trade show materials, to the backs of t-shirts.  Many technology enthusiasts were seen scanning away.

Celebrities that REALLY appeal to Raj may be completely unknown to me.

LIke the guy that started Foursquare, Dennis Crowley. (The first question from the Q&A: can a female friend of mine have a hug? The answer: yes.)  Here’s co-worker Kelly getting her picture taken with Dennis.

There was Felicia Day, a keynote speaker and star of  the heralded web series The Guild (huh?).  That’s one I’ve never heard of but the Technology Enthusiasts were falling all over themselves for this attractive geeky girl who “likes cupcakes.”  And I don’t think that’s some insider technology term.  Felicia is getting ready to launch an all new web series called Dragon Age: Redemption.  Here are the Ogilvy Notes from Felicia Day's presentation:

Also presenting a keynote address, Christopher Poole, the creator of a site called 4Chan.  Once again, I’d never heard of this place where anonymity reigns and anime is everywhere.  His new endeavor is a site called Canvas.  You can sign up for the service at canv.as/sxsw.

Raj likes his gadgets and right now, gadget = iPad.
At the pop-up Apple store set up just for SXSW, the iPad 2 sold out instantly.  And you could see people everywhere fiddling with their iPads, even sketching super-hero-like figures:

Finally, Raj may sometimes spend too much time tinkering with technology.
And not enough time getting out in the real world in hopes of meeting that special someone.  Well, at least now there's an APP for that:

Thanks Raj for making the SXSW Interactive Conference not just educational, but also a dang good time.