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South by Southwest Festival 2016: Friday, March 11.
President Obama Keynote
The lines for Obama were out the door, down the streets, and going on and on. A SXSW lottery was held so regular badge holders could win tickets to the speaking event. Sadly I didn’t win 🙁 I got to watch the live stream though 🙂
It was big news. President Obama was the first sitting president to visit SXSW. Considering the event was held during the Interactive (Technology, Data, Innovation) portion of the festival, a big focus of what Obama talked about was on the way technology is shaping our world.
Obama recognized the importance of embracing new talent and tech developments and how the government should get more involved in adapting tech advancements to better help citizens.
He cited examples including how more simpler and faster process of applying for college financial aid on the FAFSA website and the social security application being made more accessible.
Some depressing figures cited included how the U.S. ranks 31st out of 34 in voter turnout for developed nations.
“It’s easier to order pizza than it is to vote in this country”- President Obama
Obama’s closing remarks were how this country needs it’s citizens to step up, get involved, and look for ways to improve. It was reminiscent of former president JFK’s quote.
No Tipping. Hospitality Included.
I was interested a lot in this panel, wondering how a restaurant went about paying their servers more and abolishing tipping. The no-tipping debate has grown in the past year and questions about it have risen. Can restaurants implement no tipping without raising their menu prices surging? Is tipping even constitutional?
Dan Meyer, one of the panelists, owns The Modern in NYC. Since raising server and cook pay and eliminating tipping, the restaurant’s business has surged and become more profitable.
I talked about this with another festival attendee. He informed me of a case on the other end of the spectrum. A restaurant in LA had decided to implement no-tipping back in 2015 and it failed for them.
Joe’s Crab Shack has been experimenting with this. Their servers will start to be paid $12-14 an hour in some of the locations.
Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some
The film called a “spiritual sequel” to Dazed and Confused premiered premiered on Friday, March 11th at SXSW. The movie follows a group of college baseball guys in the days leading up to starting the college semester. It made me remember when it was a simpler time 🙂 (the movie takes place in the 80’s).
The line started 3 HOURS before the premiere time. I waited in line for 2.5 hours. It was worth it. First time seeing a film at SXSW!
This first day of SXSW 2016 was awesome! Definite improvement over the last time I came in 2014. Stay tuned for the next few days!
Colin // RebelwithaPlan
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