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Going In
I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I was invited to speak on a panel a few weeks prior and knew with that premise came uncertainty. I didn’t have any speakers I had to see, so I anticipated that my unfocused intentions would get swept away in the white water rapid of geeky madness.

First Hours, Days
I got there really late on Friday, and I chose to not dive into any drunken debauchery since I was really tired. By the morning, the number of people who accidentally ran into me because they were on their iPhones rivaled the number of choices of panels that morning. I chose Bootstrap Your Startup in an effort to understand how poor you really have to be for your ideas to eventually make money. Awesome.

Mr Spam with Fredric of YBPGuide

Cool Stuff
There was a lot of swag and a lot of technology, either walking around with people or hemmed up in booths on various floors. The Microsoft Surface was pretty neat, but seemed immediately pointless, especially since it crashed and most people use a table for food, but I digress. The tradeshow showcased emerging companies (shout to @mrspam), cool hardware, and video games. While I did manage to squeeze in a few more panels, the sheer number of geeks frothing at the mouth over Call of Duty 5 and Street Fighter 4 was comical.

The Fam
If you’ve read other’s recaps on South By, you’ll start seeing a theme that most of the quality from this conference is in the margin. Yes, the panels are decent and you get to see your favorite internet star, but for the first time, I got to meet the #blck fam. Not since college, really, has mobbing up to eat, drink, talk, and pontificate about life happened in mass form. Of particular power was the chemistry and love oozing from my gay brethren. I’m so proud of our generation, our open mind, our love, and really enjoyed my time with @corvida, @lynneluvah, and @jbrotherlove. I’m hopeful the b.s. homophobia attached to #blck will cease, especially if we get more push from old heads like Rev. Sharpton.

Overall
I came away a little overwhelmed. I’m not really a fan of hype for hype’s sake, but the conversations, feedback, and lessons from experienced participants coupled with the reconciliation of people’s avatars to their physical faces was worth it. The ubiquity of Twitter is real, so you might want to get on that. The genius of #blck talent is real, and I’m really excited about that, even if Turn My Swag On surfaced as the anthem of the weekend.

Boo.

Updated: Black Web 2.0 has their wrap-up posted. Enjoy!

Note: Below are videos from my panel ‘Can the Afrosphere Survive in the Age of Obama?’ as well as various photo galleries swiped from the #blck fam. Enjoy!