The second bit of news is that SwapYourShop made it into the the 2011 SXSW Interactive PanelPicker! Our proposed panel,”Bartering Life: The Trend of Online Exchange Services,” will cover the twist technology has taken on tradition barter and trade and the ways in which users are seeking to live, work and consume on the the cheap. You can read the full description here.

The SXSW PanelPicker looks to you, the public, to decide who presents at South-by and who doesn’t, so we need your help. Please, please vote for our panel here. You’ll have to create a SXSW account in order to vote, but it’s worth it. Thanks in advance!

The team at SXSWi 2010

A few photos along the way –

While the publicity was of course a great catalyst, myself and the rest of the team were taken aback by the way in which some writers framed the SwapYourShop concept, specifically Urban Daddy’s article. After reading it I had a bit of an epiphany – there must be hordes of men in the world aspiring to be the 21st century Don Draper.

Our reaction to the article was a bit of shock followed by an acknowledgement that publicity is publicity. However, I do want to clarify (and had the article had a comments section, I’d be writing this there) that the intention of the SwapYourShop community is to support creative professionals by helping them immerse in new cultures and creative environments all the while keeping their jobs. It’s an opportunity to escape the day to day routine, gain new experiences and come home more inspired and refreshed. If that involves sleeping with the receptionist, so be it, but that’s not really our message. The article also failed to clarify that SwapYourShop is intended for creative professionals only at this time. My apologies to all of the international diplomats out there who wanted to participate, but the Peggy Olsons of the creative industry have wised up in the last half century anyway.

One final note – amidst the growth madness, we transferred the community’s backend from Drupal to Wordpress’s BuddyPress to better serve our members. We’re really pleased with the new setup and with it, managed to overcome some issues we were previously faced with using Drupal. BuddyPress also provides the community with more user interaction opportunities. Unfortunately, we’re now lacking the functionality to upload photos of your home and office space, but it’s one of our high priorities and hopefully we’ll be adding that soon. Below are a few features we’re excited to have now:

1. Members can follow the activity of their friends and the entire community.

2. Members can create groups and connect with others that share similar interests, professions or live in the same city.

3. Ability to link from others’ profiles in order to narrow searches (ex. find other members located in Cozumel, Mexico)

All in all, it was a totally fun project and a second version might be in order down the road. I’m thinking the next totem pole needs some characters from Chuck Palahniuk’s “Fugitives and Refugees” – a local ghost, a santa from the Santa Rampage and maybe even that 2.5 lb. hair ball that’s apparently an hour south of the city.

Below are a few pieces from the creation process:

Then the printing magic happens… and done!

Taken at Cahal Pech in San Ignacio.

Taken while canoeing through Barton Creek Cave.

Taken on the beaches of Dangriga.

Taken right outside of Barton Creek Cave – tree roots hanging down from the cliff above.

Credit: Sarah Natsumi Moore

And just for fun, here’s a sneak peak of the work-in-progress site:

Stay tuned.