The author (left) attends a mixer at the conference with Natalie Currie and Asha Aravindakshan.
I was one of about 1,500 people to attend the inaugural SXSW V2V hosted at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada back in August.
V2V – which stands for a bunch of things, including Visionaries to Vegas, Vision to Venture, Voice to Voice, and Venture to Vegas — was all about learning the skills, making the connections, and finding the inspiration to take ideas and talents to the next level.
I have attended SXSW Music, Interactive, and ECO in the past and was excited to learn more about V2V, so I signed up for one of their Meet Ups held in July at the 1776 campus in Washington D.C. There I met SXSW V2V Producer Christine Auten and told her I thought it would be awesome if they could somehow incorporate walking into one of their sessions. I mentioned that I attend many conferences and workshops and try to take short walks when the schedule and weather permits to reflect and move around. But I had only seen this included in the event format once before – at an America Walks/CDC Walkability Workshop. This was my chance to make it a reality!
Two weeks later, Christine and I chatted. Incidentally, when I called, Christine got up from her desk and went outside for a quick walk. I asked about adding a “walking mentor session” to Interactive and also to the V2V program. I soon received an email from Christine and Kathryn Irwin, the mentor-session lead programmer, that it was going to happen!
I planned the route once I arrived in Vegas and, logistically, the layout and format worked well for the 10-minute, one-on-one mentor session. Those who signed up met for introductions and left their bags in a safe spot. Although, 10 minutes may not seem like a lot of time, it was enough for them to share ideas about their businesses. Pristine, Secure Waters, Women’s Long Term Care Project and Cloughjordan EcoLearn representatives left me with great impressions of their work. And, they seemed pleasantly surprised that we would be walking, which was not noted before they signed up for the session.
(Not incidentally, I applaud Lauren Fritsch, who, during her How Not to Suck as a CEO: Startup Management and Leadership workshop, had us stand up from our seats and stretch.)
The health benefits of more regular walking habits are well documented, and we all know how restless we get at conferences, so this is just a no-brainer.
The mobile mentoring session panel will be included in the SXSW Interactive 2014. If any mentor panelists are reading this, please connect with me about changing your format from sit down to walking.