Thursday, February 26, 2009

Wait a Minute... What's In It For Me, Nadia?

So I’ve been getting a lot of interest on this attempt to raise money to get to SXSWi 2009 and it’s going great! I truly appreciate you with hearts of gold willing to donate for nothing in return. But I’m sure a lot of you are asking yourself, well... what’s in it for me, Nadia? Well with some advice, help and inspiration from Reem Abeidoh, Rob Blatt, David Szetela and Sarah Cooley, I've come up with the answer.

Now SXSWi or Bust has two levels of contribution: Individual and Company Sponsorship.

What does it mean to contribute as an individual?
Any person contributing at the individual level will receive an ebook - “SXSW Interactive or Bust: An Insider’s Report to SXSWi 2009” - with great content I’ve created: photos, videos as well as key insights I discover during my experience at SXSWi.

Companies contributing $100 or more have a different deal:

For $100, I will be your brand emissary for one day of the SXSWi event. On your day I will wear your tshirt all around the expo and to any events I attend post-expo. You would send me a company shirt along with what you’d like people to know about your company. I’d share info about your company to everyone I meet that day and asks me about your shirt. Keep in mind, of course, that I’ll also have your company shirt on when interested folks tune in to SXSWi or Bust, so your company will reach a larger audience than those physically in Austin, TX.


As a company sponsor, I will blog about your company in a post about the companies sponsoring me. You will also appear on a post once SXSWi is over, in which I will be thanking my sponsors. Finally, since this is really just a way for companies to send their brand to SXSWi for a day, I will attend one panel or core conversation of your choice during your day. If you let me know what your goals are for “attending” the panel, I will use my razor sharp brain skills and learn, annotate, and interact for you! You can pick and choose your day (and therefore, really choose your panel), but please be aware that it’s a first come, first serve situation.

Why is all this good for you? Maybe you didn’t have the money this year (I mean, seriously, who does?) to send someone for all five days. This way you’ll be there and be well represented for one day!


Wondering what I’d look like in your company shirt? Check it
(Thanks @szetela for allowing me to use Clix Marketing as my company model!):



TipJoy-ing My Way to SXSWi

Please help me get to SXSWi this year by donating and spreading the word! While I'm there, I will blog, vlog, draw and possibly sing (you may not want that) about my experiences there so that YOU can see where your money has gone.


Donate below:



SXSW Interactive 2009 or Bust!


Everyone who knows me knows I’m trying to get myself over to Austin, TX for SXSW Interactive between March 13-17. Long story short, I can’t afford the SXSW ticket AND the plane fare. So I did what any sensible yet broke young person in NYC would do.

I asked around.

Reem Abeidoh, in her ever-growing wisdom advised to ask for sponsors. She also reminded me to use my growing network. So I contacted Chris Brogan, who remembers me now because of a post I wrote about his face.

Chris brought up two great ideas: Tweet for sponsors. Ask if I could volunteer at the event. Brilliant!

Chris was kind enough to tweet about my SXSWi dream which resulted in some kind words, some retweets, and lots of new followers from the great state of Texas, but sadly, no sponsors.










When I emailed SXSW about volunteering, they kindly told me they were volunteered out. No room for one more volunteer. Sadness ensued followed by a visit from the idea muse.

I would ask for multiple sponsors!

I am reaching out to the communities I am a part of both online and off to donate small amounts of money for the SXSW Interactive ticket!

A ticket to SXSW Interactive is $500.

Please donate as much or as little as you can today via TipJoy. Every dollar gets me closer to Austin and follow me on Twitter to keep up to date with my quest for a SXSW Interactive ticket!