Ben WesthoffAbnormally attractive pedicab driver​Paying homeless people $70 a day to serve as human wifi hotspots is a bizarre way to make a buck, but it’s indicative of the hustler’s spirit at South By Southwest this year.

Folks are grinding hard and employing increasingly gimmicky measures to make money.

But there’s more to it than that. Like the bands parachuting in from optimistic heartland outposts hoping to catch the ear of that one pretty-widely read blogger, on 6th Street the entertainers/buskers/scantily clad swag dispensers are clearly seeking a bit of fame themselves.

So start your stopwatches, energetic exhibitionists, because your 15 minutes are about to begin.