SXSW had to be the best non-stop event of the year thus far.  Everyday was filled with mind expanding content with Keynotes from Tony Hsieh, Chris Anderson & Guy Kawasaki, and enough panels to suit whatever your taste for knowledge may be.  Every-night was its own animal all on its own.  I've never seen so many industry leaders all in one place and so easily accessible.  ScreenBurn gaming expo had some pretty great displays and demo's of yet to be released games.  Also our very own LA native GirlGamer had a booth with Nvidia which was one of the most attractive and visited booths in the ScreenBurn area.  Over all SXSW delivered nothing but happiness.

 

 

speaking of happiness Tony Hsieh, Current CEO of Zappos.com, presented on the three tiered business philosophy of Zappos.com: company culture, customer service and, the science of happiness. Hsieh cited Zappos' 24 hour call center, 365 day return policy, "surprise" upgrade shipping and 24 hour warehouse as examples of customer service policies that set Zappos apart. He explained that Zappos' passion and commitment for great customer service was manifested by the fact that they used their marketing budget for customer service and in return have a 75% customer return rate.  Here is the video of the keynote along with shots of each of the powerpoint screens:

The latter portion of Hsieh's presentation focused on company culture and the science of happiness. Hsieh believes that "culture and brand are the same thing," and invests a large amount of resources and training into cultivating a healthy company culture and in intentional hiring and training practices. With healthy company culture, Hsieh believes that great customer service and happiness will be the natural results and ultimately, "delivering happiness- that's what the Zappos brand is about."  He also gave a few recommendations on some key books you might be inclined to pick up.

Ultimately it was an amazing experience and one definitely worth experiencing if you have yet to be part of it.  Definitely check out our SXSW picture section here to experience most of the night life through our eyes.  I leave you with something I like to call the ProjectFresh: