I often find myself convincing my (non-industry) friends that there’s a lot more to my job than tweeting all day. Besides, what could be hard about that? It’s only 140 characters. Communication strategy, the latest in content writing, and the future of PR often cause many an eye to glaze over.

So imagine my delight when I arrived at South by Southwest (SXSW), a place full of experienced professionals who are just as passionate about the industry as I am. For those of you that don’t know (like my friends), SXSW Interactive is an annual five-day conference filled with presentations and panels from the brightest minds in emerging technology. It’s a place where you can “geek out” with a few thousand strangers and have intimate conversations with the pros you’ve only read about.

As difficult as it was to pick only a few, here are my top highlights from my very first SXSW:

1. Brand Journalism: The Rise of Non-Fiction Advertising. (#brandjo) Led by Bob Garfield, AdAge columnist and NPR’s On the Media Co-Host, this panel explored the recent trend in brands acting as media. From Pepsi Co. to Microsoft, pros from all organizations discussed their opinion on new ideas of editorial brand building. Marketing departments across the board are hiring freelance journalists to share the good and the bad about their brands.  It’s a move that could change advertising and the face journalism.

2.  Media Tomorrow: The Message is the Messenger. (#PersonalBrand) But shouldn’t it be “The Messenger is the Message?” Jenn Van Grove, Mashable, Sarah Evans, Sevens Strategy, Leslie Bradshow, Jess3, Jeremiah Owyang, Altimeter Group discussed a concept that I often think about – your personal brand. In today’s digital age, three types of online accounts have emerged: personal, corporate and the hybrid. Most panelists agreed that the most successful was a hybrid account. For example: @comcastcares. But what happens when Bill Gerth decides to move on from Comcast?

3. Socially Regulated: Social Media in Regulated Industries. (#socreg) Marc Monseau, Johnson & Johnson social media and Shwen Gwee, Vertex Pharmaceuticals were on hand to discuss the ethics and best practices for executing social media in a regulated industry. After recently completing research on these two case studies, it was insightful to learn about their experiences first hand.  J&J launched their JNJ BTW blog in a heavily regulated industry, but they began in safe place – the history of J&J. This approach allowed them to build consensus behind their initiatives without getting their wrists slapped by the legal team.

4. David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing & PR and Real-Time Marketing & PR (two books I read in college) opened up the room for questions and discussion. (#sxbookstore) Scott’s latest book, Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead, encourages marketers to think about communications like this legendary rock band. By establishing an active community and allowing live recordings, they broke the rules and were one of the first groups to truly make fans partners in their journey.

5. The 4th Annual Indy Takeover Dinner at The Boiling Pot – a chance to relax, eat seafood with your hands and chat with some great Indianapolis professionals. (A shout out to our friends at KA+A for hosting this awesome event!)

Overall, the weekend was a huge success. I came back pleasantly exhausted and armed with a large cup a coffee, but inspired and ready to bring new ideas to the table for our clients. To see some pictures from the weekend check out our Flickr page.