I have worked at The Planet now for an action-packed seven days, the last four here in Austin at South by Southwest (SXSW). I am The Planet’s new Events Manager, and while I know very little about IT, I’ve had quite a bit of experience with trade shows after spending more than 15 years running from show to show with Dr Pepper (my drink of choice, of course). With SXSW as my first peek at how The Planet does trade shows, I can’t help but be really excited about what the future holds.

First and foremost, it is an absolute treat to have a team – from systems engineering and sales to marketing and IT – that shows so much passion for The Planet and our products. Never mind that everybody was on time and did their part — that was just a bonus. Everyone is engaged and having fun … from Jeff Reinis hocking T-shirts mid-aisle to Kevin Hazard and Phil Jackson challenging every geek at the show to a server-building race.

Kyle Monson competing in the Server Challenge

My highlight of the show was definitely when Russell Bishop from the UK took the server challenge. As he worked against the clock to put together the server, George – another show attendee – sang the theme song from “Greatest American Hero.” Needless to say, we all joined in. Things like that just don’t happen every day.

Russell and George (The Singer)

I’ve learned so much in the past few days. The whole team from The Planet quickly recognized my “deer in the headlights” look when anyone asked a complex question, and they quickly jumped in to make us look good. After they finished talking to the attendee, they kindly explained everything to me.

I’ve learned a lot about the power of social media … from something as small as tweeting about a lost iPhone to something as massive as our server challenge being Slashdotted.

Becky Rasch reunited with her lost iPhone

As I write this, it’s the last day of the show here at SXSW, and I find myself a little sad that every day won’t be like the past four … then again, with the same gang back at the office, I’m pretty sure we’ll still have a blast.

-Sherry