There was more to see
Mashable created a massive, larger-than-life mural that captured all of the year’s best viral moments, from Pharrell’s hat to Alex from Target. Left Shark? Check. Emojis? Double check. Kim Kardashian? Of course. Not only was it the centerpiece of the Mashable House, it was also one of the key attractions for attendees and celebrity guests. Katy Perry’s Super Bowl halftime show was one of the most talked-about entertainment moments of the year, and not just because it gave the world Left Shark. We brought her giant animatronic Liger to life with a 9-foot-tall recreation that made for the perfect photo opp. We also brought back our secret speakeasy, The Easter Egg, where guests could get a custom cocktail and take a break from the chaos that was SXSW. Hidden inside the Mashable House, the only way to get in was to follow Mashable on Snapchat and grab a screenshot of one of our three speakeasy snaps. And if you couldn't be there in person, you could watch it all on Meerkat. Mashable gave the Meerkat community a sneak peak of the Mashable House, virtually hung out at our packed MashBash and led a Meerkat meetup through the streets of SXSW. Plus, we interviewed Meerkat founder Ben Rubin and were there for Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore's talk with Julia Boorstin.There was more to do
Like pitching a new business idea to win $15,000, for starters. Attendees visited MasterCard’s Priceless Elevator in droves to tell the world why they thought their idea should become a reality, with surprise guests dropping in to offer their expert advice. Fans of the hit HBO show Silicon Valley visited Hooli's high-tech, 360-degree bullet rig, tried their hand at Pied Piper's competitive code-breaking game and battled it out on a custom foosball table. We also hosted an exclusive, invite-only viewing party for the first two episodes of the new TV Land show Younger starring Hilary Duff and Sutton Foster. There were custom cocktails from Goose Island Beer and Tito's Vodka, tons of snacks and more than enough comfy couches to go around. In between all the action, guests could stop by our emoji tattoo parlor to get (fake) inked with temporary tattoos courtesy of Tattly.There were more celebrity guests
Celebrities like Sir Mix-A-Lot and the cast of Undateable dropped in to say hi. WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan arm-wrestled with Left Shark. Morris the Cat took photos with his fans. Rainn Wilson was interviewed by a nine-year-old. Judy Greer gave us her advice for women in their 20s. The Mashable House was the place to be at SXSW.There was more heart-pumping action
The Mashable House may be all about the hottest in digital culture, but that definitely didn’t stop us from breaking a sweat at the Withings silent disco, where we strapped on their new Activité Pop fitness tracker and turned up the music (in our headphones) to see just how much we could move. And if that wasn’t enough running around, RunHaven was at the Mashable House each morning at 9:30 a.m. to lead runners on a 3- or 5-mile jog around Austin.There were more photo and video opps
Windex's selfie mirror station was a huge hit, especially since they were also on hand to clean everyone’s phones and tablets. Guests could also take their picture against alternating mystery backdrops at the Tomorrowland digital screen photo booth while they watched the movie’s trailer.Our SXSW Instacorps— which included Texas-based photographers Carra Sykes, Lauren Marek, Matt Crump, Chris Cody and Abraham Campillo — were also on the ground capturing everything from the Mashable House to downtown Austin. The Speakiesy social networking app connected Mashable House visitors to make sure they were there for every Internet-breaking moment, and the Wayin social media wall captured all the Mashable House social buzz in real time.