We took the day today to explore the various and sundry lounges that are scattered about SXSW. It was entertaining, informative and fun. definitely worth taking time to get off the beaten path.

We explored the HP NVIDIA lounge on 6th, the Beacon, the Microsoft, and the Samsung Bloggers lounges in the Convention Center, and the Gemalto lounge in the Hilton.

There are many others, so step off the path, and explore!

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The rain appears to be lessening, but that’s nothing comapred to the growth and buzz in the air around INteractive and Film – Music is in the background as well, ready to take over. But for now, let’s chat to:

John Yost, CEO of Super Better.

The cast and crew of King Kelly.

Music from Ruby Jane.

Follow the SXSW Baby blog for more South by Southwest fun, and what we’re up to on the ground via Twitter and @SXSWbaby. Got news about SXSW for us? Get in touch via SXSW Baby’s contact form! Don’t forget to follow the podcast via the RSS feed!

Here are more highlights from the SXSW schedule, as chosen by the SXSW Baby! team:

• SXSW Social Breakfast
8am at Magnolia Cafe

• ITALY LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT (SXSchedule)
11:30am The Alamo Ritz 2

• Panels
Anime More than Cartoons (SXSchedule)

• Parties
Copyblogger: Computer Blue at Rattle Inn, 610 Nueces Street

I’ve been moonlighting over at Forbes for a while, but when my article on five companies that could ‘win’ at SXSW Interactive went live, well, I couldn’t not post it here.

Why have I chosen Eventbrite, Glancee, Highlig.ht, Lanyrd, and Pinwheel? You’ll need to read on at Forbes to find out

A wise man once said you should organise your important meetings over breakfast (okay, it was CC Chapman). So two breakfast dates for your diary.

The first is the traditional SXSW Social Breakfast at Magnolias, organised by the SXSW Baby team. Running from 8am on Saturday 10th March, we have the back patio at Magnolias (South Congress) for some great chat with old and new friends – and gingerbread pancakes. RSVP on Facebook (and we know 7 million have signed up, but we expect around forty to be awake in time).

One more that’s gathering a lot of repeat customers every year is the Great British Breakfast, put on by Chinwag and the UK Trade and Investment team. A touch later (10am-noon) at Cedar Street Courtyard, expect a quintessential full British breakfast to be served.

The SXSW Trade Show is a great place to network and learn about all the cool new companies with a message to share.  With that in mind we have come up with what we’d like to see from the Trade Show companies.

Booth Design

Booths should be inviting and allow for space for visitors to enter the booth instead of just talking across the table from the aisle. This allows for better traffic flow and provides for better interaction.

 Staff

Some visitors will want to chat about the product, others may just want a pamphlet. To avoid scaring away the masses, don’t play used car salesman (ie; don’t jump on each visitor with a canned spiel). Instead introduce yourself and offer to answer any questions they may have.

SWAG (What everyone *really* wants)

We’ve seen every sort of SWAG, some that stick around and others that just get discarded. For the best impact and long lasting brand recognition, we suggest the following pointers:

Stuff we can use DURING SXSW:

• Sharpies – either the regular ones or the baby ones. These are almost a necessity during SXSW and are guarded jealously
• Pens (but Sharpies are better)
• Small notebooks – not everyone comes prepared for class
• Blistex – This is really useful, and if you use the name brand item it is more likely to be held onto past SXSW (ie lasting brand recognition)
• Sunglasses – cheap is okay, there are going to be lost, broken, forgotten shades, and they will be retained past SXSW
• Gum
• Bandannas

Stuff we can use AFTER SXSW:

• Bottle openers – unique shapes will catch the eye.
• USB drives – these are a great resource. We’ve even seen some companies provide content on them, which is very useful, but don’t make it so that the drive cannot be formatted for general use after the content has been viewed, otherwise it winds up in the landfill.
• Phone cases
• T-shirts – These are always a favorite, but try to have “SXSW 2012” somewhere on it, it’ll mean more and be less likely to wind up at Goodwill.
• Reusable shopping bags

Stuff that doesn’t have staying power (stay away from this, if it is taken it will most likely not stay around long)

• Lanyards – everyone already has one. Suggestion: pony up to sponsor official SXSW lanyards.
• Mints – especially in non-recycleable containers
• Mini flashlights – most people just use their iPhone so these wind up in the trash when the battery dies
• Hand fans
• Stickers, magnets, sweatbands, guitar picks, lighters etc. (unless your marketing plan is to advertise on guitar cases)

By the way, SXSW announced their list of Trade Show Exhibitors yesterday. Go check it out.

For some reason the press need to find a new service at SXSW Interactive and anoint it as “the chosen one.” It’s all rather silly to my eyes and ears, but never let it be said we don’t listen when the masses have spoken – which normally happens on Twitter.

But that’s okay, because the next web company that’s going to try to wrestle the mantle of SXSW success is based around Twitter. We’ve mentioned Lanyrd here before, but they’ve just launched their SXSW Interactive Session Planner over at sxsw.lanyrd.com. Punch in your Twitter name and  you’ll not only get alerts on your favourite sessions when they are about to start, but also see which sessions your friends on Twitter are attending, which have the buzz, and which will be attended by the TNW crew and Hermionie’s ever-present video camera.

I love that Lanyrd lets you export the data in a common format so you can pop it in your electronic diaries. Perfect. Seemingly they have more tools to come out over the next four weeks to keep the press hype going… the cads.