Fearless in Austin

After years of hearing stories from South by Southwest, this was my year to attend on behalf of the Zeno Green Machine and make some of my own. I would be missing the season finale of True Detective, but I didn’t care. I was on a mission and it was well worth the wait.

It’s been about 24 hours since returning from Austin and I’ve let my brain process everything. With that, check out my top 6 experiences from SXSW 2014:

6. The Mashable House: A giant interactive room that had everything from sleeping pods to a wrecking ball. Yes, I had to sign a waiver to emulate Miley Cyrus, and this will most likely become my new Facebook profile picture

5. 2014 Trends: The buzz that I heard the most about was wearable technology. While Google has been innovative in this venture, several start-ups have begun popping up - one being Nymi, which creates a wristband that turns a person’s heartbeat into a secure biometric identifier which can access a home, car or office. Fashion Tech is also the rise, with designers and start-ups such as Cute Circuit creating attire in which a piece of clothing is an actual interface. Back to the Future, anyone?

4. The Food Trucks: There are probably more food trucks in Austin than there are Duane Reades in Manhattan, but the ones that stood out the most were Crepes Mille for the brisket and Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ, again for the brisket

3. NY Tech Meet-up: A great opportunity to meet and discuss the digital landscape with start-up founders, entrepreneurs and fellow agency people. The Rio was a perfect location to hold the event, equipped with a rooftop pool, though the weather kept us from diving in

2. Brand Activations: You want to talk about minds being blown? From Oreo creating a flavored cookie based on current Twitter Trends to Pepsi developing a hub where you can actually control a room with your brain, the creativity was on fire

1. 6th Street: Nothing screams SXSW like 6th Street. Crowds of industry folks, live blues (might I suggest Friends) and the happenings at night - suffice it to say meeting new friends with big ideas on 6th street was fun, exhausting and unforgettable

Many fearless thanks to the hardworking teams in Austin and beyond who put on an amazing event this year and brought innovators from around the globe together.

I’m sure if you have the chance to attend SXSW your adventure will be different than mine, which is just how it should be! Leave a comment and tell us your top memory this year.