Left my heart in San Francisco

I got back from San Francisco and Macworld yesterday and basically slept all day yesterday. I'm still delirious — mostly from sleeping so much, but also from the dizzying array of products geared toward a single company — yet made by completely different people. I mean, just the fact that there's an entire fan convention for one company shows just how powerful Apple, Inc. has become. Any public relations or sales strategist would kill for this kind of market power -- people seriously came from all over and paid lots of money just to be sold to.

Macworld itself was incredible in a lot of ways. I was there to spread the word about an iOS app called CineX Player — a video player app that allows you organize your videos, watch any 2D in 3D (yeah, for serious. I think it's black magic), and very soon will let you watch movies in Dolby surround sound — even in the poor-quality headphones you get with an iPod. It's the most insane thing I've ever heard. (On a side note, it's way easier to sell things when they're actually really cool. Someday I'm going to have to sell something that isn't as awesome as CineX Player or Girl Scout cookies and it's going to suck.)

While the CineX Player booth was clearly the best because I was there, the number of booths was incredible. There were booths for apps and booths for products. People have taken Apple to a whole new level. They also took their booth displays to a whole new level — most were just a table with a fancy iPad display, but some people tried extra hard to get attention. One booth selling sports-quality earbuds had a giant trampoline — to prove the earbuds would stay put. My favorite booth was this one:

I have no idea how a protective iPad/iPod case is related to a van with flamingoes... but I love it. And of course, no gathering of tech fans would be complete without a booth showing silly videos of cats (for no reason I could discern):

Even though I was in San Francisco to staff the Macworld booth, I also got to see my dear friend and mentor Autumn. I spent the night with her, her hubby, and her adorable puppy who loves cuddling up and hugging.

 

We got up early-ish on Friday morning and went for a walk along Valencia Street, starting at Ritual Coffee — the definition of coffee snobbery.

Tasty snobbery.

We giggled our way through the line at the coffee shop, and then were off for our walk. As we strolled we swapped PR and Girl Scout stories, discussed our dreams and plans, and marveled in all the city had to offer.

Clockwise from top left: Apparently wizardry is a concern in SF, art on a construction wall, a stuffed unicorn in the creepiest children's shop ever, dancing skeletons on Valencia, best license plate ever, and an anti-littering campaign.

I love San Francisco. The entire city feels alive and jubilant. It's a city that is living in the future, but it never forgets its past. Skyscrapers range from Victorian-inspired beauties with amazing details all over to glass-encased structures that cut through the fog. I also love San Francisco because even though the entire city is covered in art, from graffiti to city-sponsored sculptures, there are always more little jokes and things to spot. You can be there your whole life and never see them all — and that's why I will always want to go back the second I leave.