theregoesdave

SXSW has grown into one of the most legendary Internet conferences of the year. Based in Austin, the SXSW festival also includes Indie Music and Film Festivals, making it a legendary party and bringing a rock star vibe to web celebrity. Huge successes from John Mayer to Twitter have launched at the Festival, so it’s no wonder that it continues to grow momentum.

Most every blog and industry website mentions this legendary good party at least once on their front page during the festival this week. Many bloggers and internet personalities are there right now rubbing elbows with the culturally elite. But you and I my friend, we’re stuck behind our desks dreaming of Austin.

Here are our 5 steps to enjoying the SXSW Interactive Festival while you’re stuck behind your desk:

Step 1: Set the Mood

Put on your favorite Indie band t-shirt and start streaming the official SXSW music player. Bonus points if you can follow along with the live band schedule.

Step 2: Tap into the Vibe

With three conferences, innumerable panels and hundreds of music, film and web personalities, SXSW is a wild and frenetic event. Nothing can simulate this barrage of sensory overload like following SXSW on Twitter. Make sure you send all the messages to your cell phone so you can pretend your friends are texting you updates from other parts of the festival.

Step 3: Check out the Coverage

Everyone is there but you and, well, me. So you can catch the latest updates on TechCrunch, Mashable, Download Squad, Social Times or even Valleywag. Yes, even Valleywag went and you didn’t. It’s important to get different perspectives on scandals such as the mutiny over Sarah Lacy’s softball interview with Mark Zuckerberg.

Step 4: Go Fanatic

Spend an evening in a beer-fueled frenzy, scouring Flickr and Youtube for any trace of the SXSW conference and tag it with “mashablerocks.” Seriously, you could win Rock Band and they’ll ship it to you anywhere in the world! Even if you don’t win, the runner up prize is an autographed Hanson CD. There’s nothing like waking up with a hangover next to a Hanson CD to give you that day-after-the-festival embarrassment and regret.

Step 5: Coming Down

By this point you’ll be jealous and a little angry that you’re stuck behind your desk and not in Austin. There’s no better way to build your angst at all the cool kids than by following Jason Calcanis on Twitter. Then you can trashtalk the smug bastard and get near-constant updates from the fray.

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