To veterans and newbies alike, the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive seminar/convention/gathering can be a bit overwhelming. Thousands of people gather in Austin, Texas, for five days. Topics range from video game programming to search optimization to Web design process to how geeks can find love online. Attendees have somewhere between a dozen and 20 such seminars to choose from during each of six programming hours on a given day with a schedule that runs from 9:30 a.m. through 6 p.m. Since the Internet never rests, Saturday and Sunday are full program days.
Last Sunday, while waiting to get into my 9:30 on how to develop better user experiences, I ran into the friendly character shown at right. The affable young man sporting the Traveling Gnome on his belly does work for Travelocity and was being paid to tote his companion around for the day.
“So how many people have asked to take your picture so far?” I asked. (Remember this is 9:30 on a Sunday morning. Most people arrive at the convention center at 9 or so.)
“At least 100,” came the reply. “No, I’m not totally crazy. I work for Travelocity. You know…’never roam alone.’”
Well, the setup certainly was in keeping with the tone of their advertising. Good job for that, I guess. Two more people took pictures while we chatted for a minute or two.
Fast forward to Monday. My Blackberry was running low on battery (dang, forgot to plug it in until I woke up Monday morning). Conference calls and e-mails were eating it alive. I had been walking past these little mailboxes with the AT&T; logo above them for several days and had kind of wondered what they were. And then I heard someone say, “We have a charger for just about any phone.”
Music to my ears.
“So you guys will charge my Verizon Blackberry for me?”
“Sure,” came the reply. “You need a micro-charger connection. Let me pull one of those out for you.”
I was delighted as the tiny door swung shut, and the AT&T; rep handed me a key. “Just try to get back in an hour or two so someone else can use it.”
I tweeted about it:
MarksKiosk: Sooo nice…#ATT charging my #Verizon Blackberry, secure in locked box, while I attend sessions at #SXSW. Now that is service!
They tweeted back:
ATTSXSW: @MarksKiosk We’re happy you’re happy 
I certainly remember encountering the gnome. I walked away from Austin, however, thinking that the cell phone carrier that does not have our business at CharlestonOrwig has a pretty good handle on social media and customer service. Verizon, where were you when I needed you?
