GORGEOUS GLASGOW: Scotland’s luxury boutique Blythswood Square hotel, the former Royal Scottish Automobile Club, was one of the stops on a recent media trip sponsored by Visit Britain, taking participants from the bustling cities of London, Birmingham, and Glasgow, to the Isle of Arran (see p. 27).

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PLENARY

Serious Fun at SXSW Interactive

EDITOR’S NOTE: Kelly Peacy, CAE, CMP, PCMA’s senior vice president of meetings and events, lives in Austin, Texas — home to the South by Southwest music, film, and interactive media conferences, which this year ran from March 11–20. We asked her to attend whichever SXSW events struck her fancy and write about them for Convene.

I

ROLL INTO DOWNTOWNAUSTIN AROUND nine o’clock on a Sunday morning only to find the streets around the Austin Conven-

tion Center full of people. And I mean full of people. Granted, the 2011 South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive conference is in full swing, but I truly did not expect this many people to be up so early on a Sunday, and so happy and full of energy. It must be because they are young; I later learn that about 64 percent of attendees are under the age of 40. For those not in the know, here’s a SXSW

primer: SXSW was originally started as a music event by a local company based in Austin

continued on page 20

ON_THE_WEB: To learn

more about South by Southwest, visit

www.sxsw.com. www.pcma.org pcma convene May 2011 17 

CHALK ONE UP: Attendees made liberal use of a message board at the SXSW Trade Show.

News and notes for the meetings and conventions industry

PHOTO COURTESY JEFF O’BRIEN PHOTOGRAPHY