Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

sxsw06: austin-bound

I arrived in Austin tonight for my first visit to the famously raucous SXSW Interactive conference. This whole trip will be in interesting experience for a host of reasons:

• Wow, there’s a lot of people here. And it’s supremely wired. I’m hoping for lots of inspiration and geeky commiseration. There are a number of really interesting sessions on the schedule, and some great speakers lined up.
• This conference is very much about socializing and networking. The parties are almost as much a focus as the conference itself. Which means that I have to make an effort to be social. Thankfully, I’ll have Rob with me for many of the social events; he’s much better at breaking the ice and starting conversations than I am.
• On a personal level, this is the first time I’ve been back to Austin in about 13 years. My family lived in Austin for 3 1/2 years, during which time I attended O. Henry Middle School. Looking out the window as I rode from the airport (formerly Bergstrom Air Force Base, where my dad was stationed) to my downtown hotel, there were lots of little things that jogged my memory from all those years ago. Just seeing the familiar glow of the University of Texas Clock Tower made me smile. (And I’ve got a great view of it — and the capitol building — from my hotel room.)

It’s way too late already. Need to sleep and prepare for the busy day ahead…