Share this post
Ever wonder where the concept of the Delivering Happiness Bus originated?
Ten days before SXSW 2010, Tony and Jenn were having rice soup at Samovar Tea Lounge in San Francisco, when the topic came up. It was a few months before Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose was due to launch, so they thought it'd be an ideal place to get advance copies out.
After realizing all the venues were all booked and/or over-priced, they started to brainstorm on alternatives. Then it came to them - what do people like least about SXSW? Long lines to get into parties, no cab rides back into town when you need them and no places to charge your phone.
Solution? A baby blue bus with a full bar, iPod plug-in, balloon artist and of course, plugs to charge your phone.
The bus drove up and down the streets of Austin providing rides (and memories) for hundreds of SXSW-goers. You can read more about the Delivering Happiness Bus at SXSW 2010 here: the day two recap, the final wrap-up and our favorite video montage.
According to a recent blog post by Robert Scoble, he challenges the industry to follow Tony's lead with the Delivering Happiness Bus, and host more engaging and memorable "MicroSXSW" events at the upcoming SXSW:
"Kill the big parties. Instead, follow Zappos’ lead. This year they hosted a bus. It could only hold about 30 people (it had its own bar, after all). But the time I spent on that bus is still my favorite experience at SXSW. Why? Because it forced a small handful of people to sit together and talk. Even if it was just for 15 minutes it was nice to have an intimate experience with a small number of other people."
If you've attended SXSW, do you agree with Scoble?
For the full Scobleizer post, click here.
