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From LBB Online: Why Elizabeth Thompson, Strategy Director, GSD&M – and actual Austinite – thinks many of us are approaching SXSW in wrong way

SXSWi 2015: Please Put Down Your Buzzwords

It’s almost here. The annual week in Austin where digital pioneers converge to revolutionize immersive experiences by harnessing big data and bitcoins.

Enough, already. This is Austin. We spend 51 weeks out of the year having normal, funny, smart conversations over cheap tacos or Paul Qui’s latest culinary creation without pretense over either one. We’re not above (or below) cold Lone Stars beers at The White Horse or craft cocktails at Odd Duck bar. No matter the setting, what most Austinites love about this city is the genuine nature of the people and the openness to new thinking.

SXSW was born to introduce new music and evolved into introducing new films, new technologies and new ideas. But, in some sense, the spirit of curiosity that created the festival has been overshadowed by the desire to impress and be impressed, to launch the next ‘groundbreaking platform’ or ‘hack your life through wearable technology’. Read more here.

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