Idolizing Celebrities

iStock_000004580895XSmall.jpgI’ve never been one to idolize celebrities. TV & movie stars, recording artists and other famous people are just people like everyone else. But I think it’s healthy to idolize, or at least admire, some people. It all comes down to the reasons.

As I was reading Darren Rowse’s post about a loving fan that virtually attacked him at Blogworld, I realized there’s nothing wrong with having heroes.

I’ll tell you right now that I practically stalk Chris Brogan (he even said so in my signed copy of Trust Agents). I’d drive half a day or fly halfway across the country to hear him speak. Is it because he’s a web celebrity? Because he has 100,000 followers? Because he’s a “social media expert”? No, it’s because he went out of his way to be a friend to me, for no other reason than he is a good person who truly wants to help people. [Read more...]

SxSW 2009 Recap

Brant Kelsey Bull Rider

I should probably have written a SxSW recap when it was still fresh in my mind, but after being out of the office for more than a week I was swamped. I also came back to a few small changes for the book, which didn’t take long but still added to the overall workflow.

Four of us from Kelsey Advertising & Design trekked down to Austin this year, up from just two last year. It was myself, Brant Kelsey (Principal and owner of Kelsey), Brian Handley (illustrator and web developer), and Roman Alvarado (graphic and web designer). Overall, I would consider South by Southwest to be a big success. I really didn’t feel the conference itself was as energized or had the impact it had on me last year, but the people and parties definitely made up for it. I spent a lot of time just hanging out and meeting people, one on one in small personal settings.

I met a ton of people, and saw a ton of friends and acquaintances from other conferences. Some of the highlites are below… I’m sure I’m forgetting someone (it has been over a month). If we met at SxSW, drop me an email! I probably just didn’t have your card and my memory is aweful. [Read more...]