Wind Rises 2005

Chapter 339 Blue Bird
Geeks meet hippies, this is the impression many Americans have of SXSW.

You must know that SXSW was originally just a local art festival. The first session was very small, with only 700 people participating.

In the early 90s, the scale was so large that 500 bands participated, there were 60 interactive modules, and Pepsi and IBM also became sponsors of the conference.

In the mid-90s, the conference began to add "Interactive Multimedia and Film Unit".

After the turn of the millennium, the movie shows at SXSW became more and more South by Southwest crazy.

Such as "Love is Like a Bitch", "The Weight of the Soul/21 Grams", "Crash" and the legendary cocaine film "Wild Life" starring Johnny Depp are all screened at the conference.

Also after 2005, the hot spots of SXSW Carnival gradually began to integrate with the Internet.

Including the famous website Craigslist

Craig Newmark and Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales both spoke at the conference.

Therefore, SXSW Carnival is not just a simple music, film art festival, or technology event, but more like a very special cultural event that combines art and technology.

Ma Liang looked at the advertisement on the big screen again, and quickly remembered all the information about the SXSW carnival that he knew in his previous life.

He came to the United States this time, firstly to visit Miss Jiang University, and secondly to look for opportunities to catch up.

And this SXSW event was held in March, and it is only half a month away from now, so I have to attend it.

There is another more important reason for Ma Liang to make a decision so quickly.

The legendary blue bird - Twitter (Twitter) will be in the limelight at this SXSW carnival and has completely embarked on the road to the top.

And within a few months after the end of the carnival, Twitter successfully obtained its first financing.

So Ma Liang had to rush to SXSW, and before the investment institutions investigated the competition on Twitter, he was the first to talk to the founder about angel investment.

Don't miss this opportunity, time will never come again.

If he misses this opportunity, it will be very difficult for him to have another chance to invest in this blue bird.

We must know that although Twitter had some twists and turns in its previous life, the financing rhythm was quite smooth.If you don't vote in the angel round, it will be difficult for you to be eligible to follow up in the next few rounds.

Who told him that his current strength is not good enough, if he has no money in his pocket, he can only hold back his bad luck and pick up the leaks ahead of time.

So Ma Liang suggested to Sister Jiang: "Sister, you see that SXSW carnival seems very interesting, why don't we go to Texas for a visit!"

"Carnival? Texas? When?" Jiang Yinqiu asked curiously.

Ma Liang glanced at the advertisement on the big screen again, and then replied directly: "It will be in the middle of next month, from March 3th to 13th."

"Huh? I still have to go to class at that time." Jiang Yinqiu was very embarrassed after hearing this.

Although there are many second-generation students in Columbia University, after all, there are some dawdling majors, such as art and philosophy.

But some colleges are extremely strict, and the academic pressure is really not small.

Just like medicine, history, business, and her current law major are all strong majors of Columbia University.

Especially for the law major, I don't know how many elites have been sent to the American political arena over the years.

You must know that even Columbia University’s student dormitory has a few special buildings, and the application qualifications are only open to law school students, which shows how much attention is paid to it.

So sister Jiang University still has scruples about skipping class and going to Texas to play.

Hearing this, Ma Liang persuaded, "Damn, isn't it just asking for a few days off! We'll be back right away after only playing for two or three days. I'm still thinking about going over there to see if there are any investment opportunities."

"Investment?" Jiang Yinqiu was even more surprised when he heard that.

Ma Liang had no choice but to explain patiently: "That's right, I came to see you in the United States this time, and I wanted to find some potential entrepreneurial projects to invest in one or two.

As you know, Apple just released a brand new smartphone.

This is a subversive innovative product that will surely bring about a technological revolution.

There will definitely be many start-up companies born in the mobile Internet field. If you invest in a potential project, the return will be hundreds or even thousands of times. "

"Okay, then we'll go play next month." Jiang Yinqiu finally couldn't hold him back and agreed.

The big deal is to stay up for two more nights when I come back, just to make up my homework.

After making a travel plan, the two found another restaurant to have dinner before returning to the hotel.

For the next few days, the two of them were like a couple of gods and gods, going in and out of each other every day, inseparable.

Happy days always pass quickly, and March comes in the blink of an eye.

Ma Liang booked the air ticket in advance, and took Miss Jiang from New York to Austin the day before the start of the SXSW carnival.

In just over two hours, the flight landed smoothly at Bergstrom International Airport.

It is said that Texas is the most conservative state in the United States, not one of them, but it was in Austin, a small village in Texas, that a group of young people once gathered to discuss the future of the entertainment and media industry.

This group of people originally wanted to spread the works of local creative and musical talents in Austin through music, and at the same time bring back new inspiration from the outside world.

Then there was the idea of ​​the SXSW music festival, which evolved into what it is today, Carnival.

As the capital of music, Austin has more than 5000 live music venues throughout the city.

No matter when, you can hear the creation of independent musicians. Whenever the SXSW carnival opens, it is almost the rhythm of carnival in the whole city.

Ma Liang and Ma Liang drove towards downtown Austin in the car they had rented in advance.

Due to the increasing influence of the SXSW Carnival, it not only created a great influence on the innovation community in the United States, but also attracted sponsorship from manufacturers in related fields.

Running the carnival made money, which in turn furthered the growth of the SXSW event.

As long as the innovation in the cultural field is done well, it can also promote the local economic development, which is the same reason as Ma Liang suggested that Sister Bingmei should vigorously organize the [Red Square Music Festival].

The SXSW carnival usually lasts for about two weeks, and thousands of people flock to Austin every day.

During this period of time, activities sponsored by manufacturers can be seen everywhere in Austin, encouraging participation, interactive new product experiences, music performances or film screenings, most of which are free.

More than ten years later, some domestic technology companies are scrambling to show themselves at the SXSW carnival.

For example, ofo and Mobike in shared bicycles, as well as NIO in new energy vehicles, have participated in the grand event in Austin, Texas in Ma Liang's previous life.

Ma Liang and Jiang Yinqiu checked in at the hotel first, and then they wandered around the city.

Although the official performance of the SXSW carnival will start tomorrow, the "caravan" music festival-style branch venues have already been scattered in downtown Austin, and hippie youth can be seen everywhere.

In some branch venues, there were even bands or musicians playing in advance on the stage, which attracted a lot of onlookers.

Thousands of merchants of gourmet food and various fun products have also gathered here, and the business is good.

Ma Liang and Jiang Yinqiu wandered around casually, and bought some gourmet snacks along the way.While eating, enjoy the happy atmosphere of the SXSW Carnival.

Walking and walking, they came to the main venue without knowing it.

"Hey, look, Ma Liang, the billboard over there." Jiang Yinqiu pointed to the two sides of the performance stage in the main venue, where there were two super-large screens.

Ma Liang looked intently, and was so excited that he almost didn't turn over, is it really such a coincidence.

Because at this time, on the big screen, the advertisement of the blue bird happened to be playing.

These two 60-inch large screens were installed by Twitter at the venue, in order to present the dynamics posted by everyone in real time.

And behind the large screen on the left, there is a huge poster of Twitter.

There is not only a schematic diagram of Twitter’s website on the poster, but also an introduction to its use, and a super domineering slogan (Slogan):
"GameLayer Is Coming!"

(Game circles are coming!) ——
PS: Two chapters were blocked yesterday, and I was immediately stunned.

In the last two chapters, a large section was deleted before it was released.

I posted it in the relevant paragraphs in the form of picture comments, brothers who haven't read it can go back and have a look.

(End of this chapter)