
This is why I sell beer. - bigiain
http://jwz.livejournal.com/1373728.html
======
jarin
Well, I mean I've never been wealthy but I've run the range from upper middle
class to dead broke and if I can extrapolate the data I would say that a
predilection for free beer is probably universal regardless of income or
social status. It's the common thread that binds the bourgeoisie and the
proletariat.

~~~
revorad
It just tastes better.

~~~
pistoriusp
Nothing tastes better than a beer I earned with my own labour.

~~~
officemonkey
Life is too short to drink crappy beer. I know I could buy a six pack for the
amount of money I just spent on this "Rochefort 8", but the taste is worth
every penny.

~~~
revorad
Life is too short to drink crappy beer. Therefore, I live in England.

~~~
awj
Life is _also_ too short to eat crappy food.

I kid, I kid. I love in Portland, Oregon, and am jealous of your beers that
are more than hops + alcohol.

~~~
hopstar
There's plenty of variety in Portland. There's the farmhouse inspired
offerings from Upright, a wide range of sour beers from Cascade, all the
quirky experiments coming out of Burnside Brewing, and the strong, complex,
barrel-aged from Hair of the Dog.

I'd wager that we have a greater diversity of beer being brewed in Portland
than just about any other city on the planet.

~~~
awj
Diversity? Maybe. _Widely available_ diversity? No, not really. Going out to
any random (non-brewery) bar, I see the same local breweries: Widmer,
Deschutes, and Rogue. They all make rather hoppy beers (roughly in that order
of increasing hoppiness). Plus, a lot of the smaller places follow the trend
(e.g. Old Market in Multnomah Village).

I will admit it's probably easier for me to find beer that makes me happy in
Portland than in almost anywhere else I've been. Partially this is a
indication of how little I've travelled, but it's also a testament to the
variety you _can_ find here.

------
SwellJoe
I love Austin, and spend three months out of the year there. But, I avoid it
like the plague during SXSW, _especially_ the tech portion. I spent part of
the winter there, and will be arriving back in town in a couple of weeks, just
in time for the SXSW people to be gone. SXSW brings nearly everything I don't
like about Silicon Valley and Los Angeles and New York to a town that I love
and is normally refreshingly free of those traits...and that makes me feel
kinda ill.

~~~
jasonwocky
So what are those traits? After all, I'd hate to offend you the next time I
visit Austin.

~~~
SwellJoe
Don't worry about offending me. I won't be there to offend.

But, here's what I hate about SXSW:

The crowds. I generally hate any environment where one pays hundreds or
thousands of dollars in order to wait in lines. This is not a failing of SXSW
or the people who attend; SXSW has been a great marketing success for its
founders. It's just something I don't like, so I make sure I'm not in town
when some of the venues I frequent will be packed and prices hiked up for the
duration.

It brings swarms of people pushing products and "personal brands" into a town
where that sort of thing is not common, even at tech events. People start
companies in Austin, but the culture is a different one from Silicon Valley,
and I like it that way. But, I like Silicon Valley the way it is, too; it is
true to its history and part of its charm. The problem is when you try to
shove a square peg into the funny looking blob shape that is Austin culture. I
spent three years in Silicon Valley, and I enjoyed most of it. When I first
arrived and started attending nerd events, I thought, "I've found my people!"
Turned out not to be so much true after a bit more reflection and exposure,
and the 38th time I heard someone pitching a revolutionary new travel wiki, or
the countless times when someone explained their new product in relation to
some other new product I'd never heard of ("So, it's basically a clone of X,
but we've added social features!" where X was some company that had existed
for two months and had one developer and at least a dozen users and had been
mentioned in a comment on TechCrunch by its founder). But, it's a valuable
part of American culture and I love that Silicon Valley exists, so I can visit
when I want to experience that culture. I love the history of computing and a
lot of it happened because of and inside of the valley. Nothing wrong with
Silicon Valley, but for me, I have to take it in measured doses.

So, that's the part of the valley that I don't like coming to Austin. I also
mentioned LA and New York, and those cultures also infect the entire
conference and not just SXSWi.

The thing about LA is that the Next Big Thing is the holy grail...and everyone
playing SXSW is trying to convince you they're the Next Big Thing. There are
promoters _everywhere_ , people pushing CDs, flogging their particular
showcase with flyers and parties, and a huge pile of people telling you what
to like. While Austin has more live music per capita than any other place on
earth, Austin doesn't normally do the Next Big Thing. Bands sometimes make
cool posters, and that's about the extent of their marketing prowess. During
SXSW there are hundreds of bands playing every day in Austin, sure, but on
_any_ day in Austin there are hundreds of bands playing (6th Street alone has
several dozen live music venues, most open 7 days a week, and with two to four
bands on the bill). SXSW just means you have to wait in line and pay hundreds
of bucks to see them, and fight a trade show crowd gone wild to get a seat or
a place near the stage. Which brings us to New York culture...that of
exclusion and long lines and stupidly expensive drinks. You don't just get
into every show at SXSW, even with the fanciest of wrist bands. You have to
wait in line, or know the right people. This, again, is a testament to the
success of SXSW. It is a huge event, and the crowds are tremendous. That
doesn't mean I have to like it. I've been a live music fan (and a musician)
since I was a kid, but I decided very early on that once the crowd reaches a
certain size, the experience is remarkably less satisfying. While most of the
clubs in the SXSW rotation are small enough and cool enough venues for
transcendent live music experiences, the crowd, both in size and in kind, are
not.

So, enjoy SXSW. If that's the sort of thing you like, then SXSW is about as
much the sort of thing you'd like as anything I can think of. I do not enjoy
it, so I'll park in some other city while it's happening. I'm in Flagstaff, AZ
this week, and I'll probably spend a couple days at the Grand Canyon, and then
maybe pause in Albuquerque, before heading to Austin for another month, or so.
Austin should be getting back to normal by the time I arrive.

~~~
TillE
There's a lot more to New York than the trendiest clubs and the wealthy in-
crowd.

> I decided very early on that once the crowd reaches a certain size, the
> experience is remarkably less satisfying.

Completely agree. And there's a _ton_ of great small venues even in Manhattan.

~~~
SwellJoe
"And there's a ton of great small venues even in Manhattan."

I'm sure that's true. I only knows what I sees on TV. I've never actually been
to New York, but I'm hoping to visit in late summer (visiting New York in a
33' motorhome, however, is expected to be a challenge, so I might have to save
the New York trip until after I downsize into a truck+travel trailer, so I can
park the trailer outside the city and drive in).

LA, on the other hand, I've visited numerous times. The music scene there is
downright bizarre in its crass commercialism, though great bands still come
out of LA every once in a while.

------
wehriam
Having just come back from SXSW, the (disappointing) hour spent chasing
parties is more about a notion of who you should be socializing with than the
free drinks.

Abandoning the night's most popular venues almost guarantees magic will
happen.

~~~
JonLim
Somewhat agree. However, magic will happen almost anywhere with an open bar.
;)

------
bromley
Free alcohol changes the social dynamic of an occasion. There's less
awkwardness about offering to get someone a drink or vice versa. Less concerns
about expectations of reciprocity.

And people generally seem to end up drinking more.

All good in my opinion.

~~~
jpr
Maybe it's different in the US, but as a Finn I don't think "end up drinking
more" is good since people generally end up drinking quite enough without any
financial help.

------
_delirium
To be fair, _many_ things are the reason jwz sells beer.
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1274612> =]

------
SamReidHughes
By the way his blog is now really at [http://www.jwz.org/blog/2011/03/music-
officially-begins-toda...](http://www.jwz.org/blog/2011/03/music-officially-
begins-today/)

------
pauldisneyiv
While the close of the story is the most fun - I find myself drawn to the
beginning.

I haven't been to SXSW but have paid attention to the writings coming out of
it over the last few years and increasingly the opinions are that "it's
getting mainstream" or that "the new people are ruining it".

It reminds me of when I was in High School and everyone started listening to
Nirvana. The "early adopters" were pissed when that happened...

~~~
aprrrr
Every band that's ever gotten popular, every community (online or off) that's
ever gotten big. Lamenting that the scene was cooler back in the day seems to
be a deep-seated human behavior.

~~~
pauldisneyiv
That's correct - or at least it's correct for a certain type of personality
and I believe the number of people with that make-up is relatively small.

Ironically it's those very people that love finding what is new, different and
very often great - the early adopters - that dislike when their discoveries
hit the tipping point.

Without the early adopters the masses might never discover the greatness the
world has to offer. Perhaps the reason they can't stand the critical mass is
so they can discover something new. Begin the process again.

------
zem
research shows that there is some psychological attachment to the concept of
"free" that bypasses people's usual cost/benefit thinking. see this article
[<http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/04/free-but-at-what-price.php>] for instance.

------
Semiapies
_"These are the same people who started several "Support Japan" websites"_

Really? These same people?

No, some of them may have made little charity sites where not even a dime of
donations has yet reached Japan - or may ever reach Japan - and that has no
relevance to people being douchey at a convention.

Some people.

ETA: If I ever went to SXSW, it'd be for Music, and I'd pay for my damn beer.

------
revorad
Umm, so, shouldn't he be selling event tickets or hotel rooms instead?

~~~
reneky
The point is, he doesn't have to work with these people any more, since he is
no longer a programmer.

~~~
jrockway
I'm a programmer and I have no idea what SXSW is. My research indicates it has
very little to do with programming.

~~~
omouse
Sorry, we're gonna have to take away your hipster programmer badge :-(

~~~
jrockway
No, you can't! I use node.js!

------
pbhjpbhj
A comment from twitter on the article page says: "Maybe half the fun is
finding a place with free beer."

Which makes me think that all you need to decide is how much you rent the
glasses for and how much you charge people to get out of the toilet?

------
brown9-2
Wait a second - attendance at SXSW really costs ~$1000?

~~~
cemregr
Not really. I paid $450 for an early bird badge. $100 flight each way from NYC
with American/Continental. Couchsurfing for accommodation. Eating free food at
parties.

It's not that expensive if you plan well.

~~~
nikcub
you are the Bear Grylls of the tech conference circuit

~~~
pavel_lishin
He better drink his own meme.

------
Bud
Loved this blog——pithy, humorous, and offering a clear opinion. (I don't have
to completely agree with the opinion to enjoy it; some of the rebuttals in
this comment thread have been more convincing.)

------
tvon
I'd be looking for cheap beer too if I had just paid a thousand bucks for a
badge, and at least $150/night for a shitty hotel.

~~~
shiftpgdn
Motel 6 on i35 was available for $60/night and it had a flatscreen TV along
with hardwood floors. Though that was $10/night more than last year. There are
deals to be had you just have to look.

