24 Hours at SXSW 2010-March 15th 2010 with Kara Murphy from iloveitsf.com

Unless you’re surgically fused to someone, chances are you aren’t going to have the same experience at SXSW as anyone else. With that in mind, we invited some of our friends from around Austin and the country to document 24 hours of their experience at SXSW. Geeks, filmmakers and musicians will all be sharing their SXSW 2010 experience with us. There might be some surprises!

Kara Murphy and I are virtual friends. We both lived in San Francisco, have tons of the same friends, but have never met in real life. Thanks to Twitter and Facebook, we’ve managed to have a virtual friendship.  Kara is a great photographer, and when I miss San Francisco, I head over to her site iloveitsf.com.

Kara Murphy’s  view of March 15th, 2010, at SXSW

I’ve been to SXSW before yet I have never experienced the Interactive portion. Since I’m on vacation and staying for Music as well, I decided to gradually ease in to the onslaught of parties and events. However, after being asked by the Mashable staff to take photos and video for their MashBash on Sunday night, I had to swiftly recover from a mild hangover that same morning, head over to the conference center to pick up my credentials, and get to work.

Below are my pictorial highlights of an incendiary 24-hour period in Austin. Since I’m staying with a close friend I met in SF many years ago, who is currently a native, I also got to experience some of the best local spots to watch a movie, get a drink, and eat at any hour outside the realm of SXSWi.

Here’s a look inside the vast, expansive registration hall inside of the convention center. Lines for badges were massive on Thursday and Friday. This year, Interactive registration was up 30% from the previous year and is expected to eclipse Music for the first time in the festival’s history.

Long lines were a huge complaint that resonated with attendees. However, one line people didn’t mind standing in was located inside the Trade Show room where “The 4-hour Workweek” author Tim Ferris signed complimentary copies of his best-selling book.

March 14th is Pi Day in honor of 3.14 – the mathematical constant that determines a circle’s circumference based on its diameter. Ning got into the spirit of celebrating the nerdy holiday by offering massive quantities of free pie inside the convention center.

Playing “telephone” the old-fashioned way outside of the convention center on a beautiful afternoon.

The Ice Cream Man trucks, which offer up a variety of free treats, are a ubiquitous, welcome staple throughout the duration of SXSW.

To continue reading about Kara’s day at SXSW, click here:

Sometimes I tend to embody the typical “damsel in distress” persona and my sudden, untimely need for a new adapter for my PowerBook was no exception. The closest place that offered what I needed was 20 minutes outside of downtown Austin! Miraculously, Bing came to my rescue by generously offering me a free ride there and back. The driver was pleasant and did not complain once about what ended up being a 45-minute round trip. Thank you, Bing! FYI, they’ll be offering free rides all week so look out for a car resembling the one pictured above.

Mashable’s editors requested that (obviously) we document interesting people and experiences at SXSW. Google Sidewiki’s Natalie Villalobos has been using Google Maps’ technology along with the tools Square offers to help save a section of endangered rainforest located in the Amazon. For more information on how you can easily help, visit http://www.300acres.com/donate/.

After wrapping up my visit with Natalie, I left the Hilton and headed over to Buffalo Billiards for the big event. Even though I arrived almost two hours before it was scheduled to begin, a line had already started forming at the door.

The calm before the storm: Pete Cashmore chats with one of the event’s main photographers backstage in between bites of vegan pizza. Despite all of his popularity with Mashable, Pete is still one of the most incredibly humble, gracious, and sincere people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Girls just wanna have fun: Girl in Your Shirt Cofounder/President Jenae Plymale has built an ingenious business and is just as incredibly sweet, fun, and down-to-earth in person as she is in her infamous videos.

Gary Vaynerchuk is also an incredibly successful entrepreneur and author plus his Wine Library TV episodes can be found on Virgin America flights nowadays. His “Super Secret” wine party began at Lanai and quickly moved to the rooftop of The Speakeasy. I got there just as Gary was leaving the first location for the next. Needless to say, it was akin to the surreal excitement of witnessing a typical Hollywood A-lister get swarmed by the press and a mob of adoring fans.

Next, my Austin friends and I headed to one of their favorite venues. Beauty Bar always attracts the best live performers and eccentric people to boot.

Magnolia Diner is a favorite amongst locals for many reasons. Open 24 hours, its broad selection of delicious food that comes in generous portions at affordable prices make it a must-visit destination at any hour of the day. I accredit it helping us all avoid another hangover. Be warned, though, this place is extremely popular. Even at 2:00 am, we waited over 30 minutes to be seated.

After an exhilarating Sunday, a movie was the perfect option for winding down on an overcast Monday afternoon. Austin is one of the few towns I know of with theaters that serve you food, coffee, tea, alcohol, etc. while you’re enjoying the show. We decided to hit up Alamo Cinema Four to see Shutter Island.

I hope you enjoyed this recap. For more of my photos and writing, please visit my personal blog at http://iloveitsf.com.