1. All the big players in (social) media, technology and entertainment were there
Just to name a few: Buzzfeed’s CEO Jonah Peretti, 300 Co-founder Kevin Liles, Rap Radar’s Elliott Wilson and President of Lava Records Jason Flom, all made an appearance. SMW doing it big!
2. The scope of the seminars, events and vendors
PR, marketing, technology, nonprofit, music, writing, television, art — basically, SMW touched on everything I’ve ever loved. And because the scheduled events were so diverse, so was the crowd!
3. Revolt TV: Watch, Engage, Invent – Thursday Independent Event
Despite the trek to Dumbo from the SMW campus, I had thee best time at the Revolt event. Jake Katz, Revolt TV’s VP of Audience Insights and Strategy, provided some insightful commentary on the development of Revolt that led to a great discussion surrounding the fate of music television. The open bar was the icing on the cake.
4. Morning Yoga, hosted by Under Armour & Breathe Repeat
How many conferences do you know that incorporate a workout into the day? After only a few hours of sleep it was a struggle to get up at 7 a.m., but I was determined to make it to my first ever yoga class (late)!
5. Networking
Though I was only able to make it to SMW events 3 out of the 5 days, I still met so many other creatives! We were all so excited to connect, collaborate, and share events.
6. Free Stuff!
In addition to my free Under Armour yoga mat and sweatbands, I went home with a bottle of wine, tote bag, dry shampoo, morning glory muffin, two new journals, a headshot and a free Chipotle burrito! Whoop!