I could talk for hours about the great experiences I had at SXSWi, including the great keynote presentation by Evan Williams, an interesting session by the FCC, and my run-in with Pete Cashmore (I know, be jealous). But unfortunately, I’m going against one of the rules I’ve learned about creating short but sweet blog posts. So, in true social media form, I’ll ask that you to check out my Twitter profile and look at my history as I was live tweeting from the event. Oh! Be sure to check out some pictures I took from SXSW (below). Enjoy!

What’s that got to do with PR? Well, often times a win for us is when we get a story in a magazine because presumably the client’s audiences will read the article and form an opinion, become more aware, take a specified action, etc. But without measurement, we too are these very same billboards…all we’ve accomplished, unless we’re measuring a change in awareness or an action taken as a result of the article, is getting the audience to read (again, presumably).

So what’s a girl to do? Don’t practice PR in a vacuum. Work with clients to ensure a feedback loop is in place – big story hit, client tells us web traffic spiked. New product launched, client tells us sales went through the roof and customers are citing the Wall Street Journal story as one way they learned about the product. Tying results to our actions is paramount to success in our business. Hey clients – help us out – we want to be more than annoying billboards.

I had my first SXSW interactive experience this year and boy was it a good one. I’ve never seen so many Apple products in my whole life – and the overload of Timbuk2 messenger bags did not go unnoticed. Though I know it’s a bit late, I thought I would give a summary of my time at SXSWi by discussing some of my favorite sessions and lessons learned. It’s a three-part series – so be sure to check back!

Let’s start at my registration experience. I thought I would outsmart the crowd and get to the registration line about 30 minutes early to beat the rush – looks like everyone in Austin had that same idea. The line was insanely long (I tried to snag a photo but in true Jlo luck, the line started moving as soon as I steadied the camera on my phone). Despite the length, the registration line was well organized and moved rather quickly. I will say, one thing I love about Austin is the people, and that rang true with the SXSW workers and volunteers. They welcomed everyone with bright smiles and that eclectic attitude that makes Austinites to unique. As I gave my name to the registration clerk, he politely let me know that, “the real Jennifer Lopez would be at SXSW too.” I didn’t hold that against him – I guess there’s no easy way to react to my name. J Lesson learned: You can never be too early for a SXSWi line.

Citizen Journalism Brigade: Making Your Voice Matter: You’re probably wondering why this particular session interested me so much. First off, it was a small panel and audience, which made the session very personal and left lots of room for discussion. The session focused on personal bloggers and how they are beginning to shape the face of journalism by reporting news stories themselves, writing about them and developing a fan-base that people turn to – in some cases instead of traditional outlets. As you can imagine, there were a few journalists sitting in on the session and conversation got a little heated as they tried to defend their profession and all that it entails stating that most of these bloggers do not do the investigative research that journalists are known for and that reading about a story in the paper and then reporting on it on a personal blog is not journalism. The main defense of the bloggers was that they are getting this information to the masses in a quicker way, and although the facts may not always be 100% correct, people are hearing about stories as they happen. Lesson learned: Journalists enjoy their profession and are trying to protect it as the social media landscape evolves.

Well, no more. We cannot, as a client service and PR counsel organization, recommend to our clients that they take the time to put their thoughts “out there” when we don’t do the same. Just as I hope to teach my daughters by example (vs. the “do as I say, not as I do” approach my parents took with me ), I feel compelled to do the same with my clients when it comes to social media. So…I’m back!

And I would be remiss to not give a special shout out to my original running buddy, the one who got me to lace up my sneakers in the first place and developed my soft spot for the canine kind…the only and only Luckstepper.

Shamrock, Blue Dog Rescue

I mean, are you kidding?  Clearly this little magical one-eyed-wonder needed to be spoiled for the rest of his life. Seriously, just looking at this picture brings tears to my eyes.  I called BDR, filled out the application, passed an interview, scheduled an in-home visit…and Jenny with BDR brought the love of my life to my house.  Shamrock, who had been thrown out on the street with a severe eye infection, became Jack, my one-eyed pirate puppy.

When the opportunity presented itself to run the marathon for BDR in 2008 and raise money, I was all over it. Even though I can’t run this year, I will still raise money for this fabulous cause. And when I come knocking on your door asking for money, I might just bring Jack along – because you might be able to say no to me, but trust me, no one can resist Jack’s adorable wink and infectious attitude. And if you ever wonder if your money is going to actually save these dogs – just look at my little man. He is living proof that BDR is changing the lives of these dogs and the lives of those people lucky enough to adopt their new best friend.

I was giddy after crossing the finish line.  I cannot explain the high.  I called my older sister, who has always been a runner, but had not completed a marathon, to tell her how fabulous it went, how great I felt, how I could run another five miles and I would be fine.

And her delightful (and predictable) response was, “Well, did you really run the whole thing?  Or did you walk some?”

“Well, I walked through some water stops – it is hard to drink water and run at the same time.  And there was this one hill that beat me, I had to walk a few steps there too, but…”

“So, yeah, you didn’t really run the marathon then, huh?”

Sibling rivalry at its best.

Earlier this year my sister completed her first marathon (and she did beat my time by about 20 minutes).  First thing I asked her when she crossed the finish line (I flew to Maryland to run the Frederick half while she was running the full) was, of course, “Did you run the whole thing?  Or did you walk some?”

“I walked – I was an ass.  And this was the dumbest thing I have EVER done in my life.”

She didn’t have the same positive experience I did with my first marathon – she could not have run five more miles – no way. But I had flown all the way to Maryland to run with her, so clearly, someone owes me a favor.  This year, for the Austin marathon, which I will have to sit out due to some family expansion (my little boy is due 3 weeks prior to the gun and I hear I won’t bounce back quickly enough to bust out 13.1 or 26.2), I have recruited a ghost runner.  Blake will be running for the INK team in my place, so I can help raise money for Blue Dog – I called in her debt.

What she doesn’t know is the Austin elevation is a beast – I guarantee you the same hill that bested me will annihilate her.

Blake and I prior to the gun at the Frederick Marathon.

Running: The love for running has spread virally among our group. I credit Blair Poloskey for introducing the bug. On her own will, she trained for the 2008 Austin Marathon. A self proclaimed “non-athlete,” she kicked that marathon’s booty and inspired yours truly to check out the pastime of putting one foot down in front of the other in a rapid fashion. The following year, I followed in Blair’s footsteps (pun intended) and bagged my first marathon medal in Austin. INK co-founder Kari Hernandez acquired a taste for the race with her first half at the same event. We continue to bring others into the fold.

Dogs: Blue Dog Rescue (BDR) is an Austin-based volunteer organization whose purpose is to end the needless killing of homeless dogs. To date, BDR has rescued 1,500 dogs including our own beloved Jack, who belongs to Blair. BDR dogs are fostered in private homes where they receive basic obedience lessons, house training and socialization skills until their permanent homes are found. Fosters receive full health exams, vaccinations and are spayed and neutered if necessary. Sadly, many dogs arrive with horrible and heartbreaking problems (heartworm positive, mange, burned or hit by cars). BDR covers the cost of needed medication, treatment and surgery. Funds are generated only through donations, fundraisers and adoption fees. Because of our love for dogs, the INK running team will pound the pavement to raise money for BDR. The team makes its debut at the 2010 Austin Marathon, but we plan on running in other races (like BDR’s own Run for the Rovers 5K) and supporting BDR in a variety of ways to generate much needed funds for the organization.

INK: To be honest, the running bug has not bitten quite EVERYBODY at INK but that does not mean we can’t throw our whole company’s support behind the BDR cause. Come February 14, 2010, expect to see Julie, Kari and myself on the Austin course. Who knows? We may recruit a few more colleagues yet. But those not lacing up their running shoes that day will be on hand volunteering at Blue Dog’s water stop and we will ALL be encouraging people to donate on our running team’s behalf. If you are interested in supporting our efforts in the 2010 Austin Marathon, please visit http://www.bluedogrescue.com/marathon.htm. There you will see our INK runners’ names and you can donate to any one of us. And certainly stay tuned to this blog to hear more from each of our runners about our training. We will have different perspectives as the experience will have unique meaning to each of us (more to come on that).