A few weeks ago, B-teamers Chip, Brian, Holly and Steph headed down to Austin, Texas for SXSWi (South by Southwest Interactive). Though they are still recovering from the social media and innovation education overload, they took a little time to sift through their notes/tweets and share a few highlights from their trip.

Top 5 sessions from Chip:

• The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk

• Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki

• Discussion with Dennis Crowley (Founder of Foursquare)

• Tim O'Reilly Interviewed by Jason Calacanis

• The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss, oh wait, my alarm clock (@tenaciousb) didn't work for that one...

Top 5 quotes from Brian:

• "Work for 90 minutes with no interruptions. Take a small break to refresh then start again. Repeat."
  by Tony Schwartz (@tonyschwartz)

• "Do what you can for the other person, not for yourself."
  by Guy Kawasaki

• "If content is king, context is God."
  by Gary Vaynerchuk

• "In terms of content, shoot with a sniper rifle not a shotgun."
  by Felicia Day

• "Reimagine content. Don't recycle it. Make it more awesome and rebroadcast."
  from the book "CONTENT RULES"

Top 5 takaways from Holly:

• Not every sketch ends with a great design. But almost every great design starts with a sketch.
  The key is to generate ideas quickly and at very low cost. Pen and paper is still the best way.
  Ordering Disorder: Grid Design for the New World

• Design for goals and behaviors, aptitude and attitude, not generation
  Your Mom Has an iPad: Designing for Boomers

• Making ideas happen = creativity & ideas + organization & execution + communal forces + leadership capacity
  Stop Dreaming, Start Doing: Tips For Execution

• When you incorporate giving into your business model, you attract better customers AND better employees.
  Keynote: Blake Mycoskie

• Brand is not a logo, stationery or product. It is a gut feeling.
  Designing Ideas, Not Objects

Top 5 insights from Steph:

• Business is becoming more human.
  With the advent of social media, businesses are being forced to engage consumers in dialogue and build positive lasting relationships, as opposed to broadcasting canned messages to the masses. Founder of TOMS Shoes Blake Mycoskie and author of "The Thank You Economy" Gary Vaynerchuk, both presenters at SXSWi, understand that being human — that is to say, being compassionate and caring — is good for business.

• Social networks are evolving to fit our real-life connections.
  Facebook has acknowledged and attempted to resolve the confusion of overlapping real-life networks online through customized status updates and Facebook Groups. However, Facebook users have been reticent to take advantage of these features to form online groups that more closely mimic their real-life networks. Enter group messaging: Startups like GroupMe, Beluga, Fast Society, Kik and GroupedIn are attempting to create true-to-life communication tools whereby people in a specific social group can communicate privately. These more intimate social networks may be the next big thing in social media.

• Social networks are the new customer service line.
  Whether we like it or not, social media is providing consumers unprecedented access to the businesses that offer them products and services. In lieu of the customer service department, consumers are heading first to Facebook and Twitter to offer complaints, questions and outright rants. Companies must adapt to "social CRM," where consumer concerns are addressed via social networks. If they don't, they can expect social media crises the likes of "United Breaks Guitars" and "Chipotle Cat."

• Humans are important. We can't rely on algorithms to create digital media.
  Algorithms have placed ads for food blogs (See Slide 80) next to news stories of devastating poverty. They recommend you friend your ex on Facebook, after you've just defriended. Human beings are essential to creating a conscientious digital experience.

• Time is a limited resource. Energy is not. We must maximize our energy to succeed.
  During his keynote address at SXSW, Tony Schwartz, CEO of The Energy Project and author of "The Way We're Working Isn't Working," asked members of the crowd to raise their hands if they felt demands on them had increased over the past year. All hands went up. He then asked who expected demands to continue to increase. All hands went up. Tony stressed the importance of rest and recovery in excelling in our fast-paced, technology-driven world.