For the past few years, I’ve had a press pass to SXSW Interactive. This year, I don’t.

I considered shelling out the $400-$500 for a badge, but then I thought about how I had spent my most productive time the past few years, and it was mostly hanging out in the hallways, going to lunch with people I only see once or twice a year, and at the parties. Sure, without a badge I won’t be able to attend the panels, the awards, the official parties, and a few other things, but I realized I could also pretty easily find other people, places and parties to replace those official activities.

I started looking for resources online, but all I found was a few random blog posts – nothing comprehensive. So I figured I’d try to organize something myself – it would put me in the information flow, plus be a good networking opportunity, right?

I set up a Twitter ID and a Facebook group named SXSW Badgeless.

Well, obviously I hit an underserved niche. The SXSW Badgeless Facebook group had 1,000 members on the first day. Wow! And then 1,000 more the second day, and so on, and so on – 10,000 members in 10 days!

And then – BAM!

Hello,

We have removed or disabled access to the following content that you have posted on Facebook because we received a notice from a third party that the content infringes or otherwise violates their rights:

[Group: SXSW Badgeless]

We strongly encourage you to review the content you have posted to Facebook to make sure that you have not posted any other infringing content, as it is our policy to terminate the accounts of repeat infringers when appropriate.

If you believe that we have made a mistake in removing this content, then please contact us at ip@facebook.com.

The Facebook Team

Huh???

OK, let’s be clear here…

First of all, naming a group “SXSW Badgeless” constitutes fair use of the trademark:

1. First and foremost, the use of “SXSW” is descriptive. How can you possibly organize a group of people who don’t have a SXSW badge without referencing SXSW?
2. The purpose of the use was not for profit.
3. The use doesn’t damage SXSW in any way. It doesn’t keep anyone from buying a SXSW badge – it’s merely grassroots community organization of those people who are making their own decision not to.

But Facebook doesn’t seem to care about any of that. I wasn’t given any opportunity to explain myself – or change the name of the group – before they shut down the group. They have no process for intellectual property conflict resolution.

I tried writing them back (twice), as they said to do, but I still have received no response from Facebook.

Here’s what really gets me…

See that? 486 Results!

Clearly, SXSW Badgeless was unfairly and prejudicially singled out. Basically, it got big enough to get on their radar, and they didn’t like it. Too bad.

I’ve been wronged, as have the other 10,000 people who wanted to use Facebook to communicate with each other.

But I’m not willing to sacrifice my Facebook account on the altar of fair use righteousness. So instead I bought the domain unSXSW.com and have set up a site there to aggregate all the information I can find about unofficial (and official, but open-to-the-public) activities during SXSW. You can also follow @unSXSW on Twitter.

For the record, I love SXSW. It’s a great event, and I wish them well. But I also hate brand bullies and won’t cave to them. I understand and support intellectual property rights, but not when they impinge on the 1st Amendment.

Got an email today from Breanna at Phenix & Phenix that there are 34 pages still available in the verysupercool Austin Makes a Book project. I’ve posted my submission, Untitled #3, here previously. You can view some of the other submissions on the new AMAB Facebook page.

Also, they’re looking for a low-key, Austin-y place for the launch party – needs to be able to handle 200-300 people. If you have any suggestions, contact Breanna at Phenix & Phenix or leave a comment here and I’ll pass it along.

The Austin City Council recently passed a ban on texting while driving. They also voted unanimously yesterday to expand/clarify those restrictions to include playing games, shuffling through songs, or using your cell phone’s GPS system – unless it’s mounted on the dash. As Councilmember Laura Morrison put it, “Don’t use your cell phone while you’re driving for anything else than making a phone call.”

Now I agree that texting while driving is downright reckless.

Wait, did I say reckless?

Isn’t there already a state law against reckless driving?

Yup, sure is. Texas Transportation Code, Sec. 545.401:

Sec. 545.401.  RECKLESS DRIVING; OFFENSE.  (a)  A person commits an offense if the person drives a vehicle in wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.

There’s already a law that covers this – it just needs to be enforced. And the existing law takes care of all the ambiguities and irrationalities around the new law. For example, just pressing the next song button on your phone seems to be illegal under the new law, but shuffling through radio stations or even swapping CDs isn’t. And how is a GPS on your dash any less distracting than the GPS on your phone, which you can hold up in front of your face so you can see the road at least a little better? Or what about the proverbial putting on makeup or shaving while driving?

No one will probably ever get stepped for pressing the next song button, because cops can’t see it, and it doesn’t noticeably affect their driving. But the point is…that shouldn’t be illegal. The point is…it’s not the act of texting itself that violates the harm principle; it’s the reckless driving that results from it. And there’s already a law against that.

So really, Austin City Council, don’t you have anything better to do with your time???

Image credits: (1) poka0059 (2) junkmonkey

There’s something really cool happening every day this week – 2 are in Austin, 2 are virtual. I’m going to write more about each of them individually, but I wanted to go ahead and get the whole list out while it’s still Monday.

Monday – My client Sharpenz is launching today, offering engaging, effective and affordable sales training that sales managers can deliver in just half an hour. You can download a free sales booster and try it with your team. You can also get a second free sales booster by helping spread the word. More in a separate post later today.

Tuesday – The incredibly awesome Donna Fox is speaking at AIMEN (Austin Internet Marketing Entrepreneurs Network). This is one of the best monthly events in Austin and Donna is truly a rock star of internet marketing, credit repair, business credit building and real estate investment. It’s free, but you have to register in advance.

Wednesday – My friend Sharon Drew Morgen has an awesome new book called Dirty Little Secrets: Why buyers can’t buy and sellers can’t sell and what you can do about it. It actually comes out on Thursday, but on Wednesday she’s doing a free webinar entitled “What’s Stopping You From Closing All the Sales You Should Be Closing?” (a question I’ve asked myself often). The webinar is part of Maestro Month, a month of free teleseminars from world-class thought leaders – definitely worth checking out. You can also follow Sharon Drew on Twitter.

Thursday – Game On Austin is “A fun-packed night featuring video-game tournaments, demos, and raffles from some of the most creative independent video-game studios and developers in Austin, Texas.” It’s for all ages, so break your teenager away from their Xbox or PS3 and come on out.

A few weeks ago on Twitter, I heard about the Austin Makes a Book project, a book that will be crowdsourced for both content and funding. I’m already a published nonfiction author, but I’ve always wanted to have some of my poetry published as well, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity. If you’re interested in participating, they’re accepting submissions as of today, and they’re taking the first 100, so get in while you can.

Here’s my submission, which I wrote a few years ago after a trip to the Museum of Modern Art in Houston: (more…)