Update from SXSW

From Saturday: I'm basking in the sun and all of the intelligent, creative energy here at SXSW Interactive in Austin. The atmosphere here fairly crackles with all the excitement that comes with an incredible film festival and tech conference happening at the same time. Last night, I had BBQ with fellow panelists Marrit, Danny and his wife Sharon, Amy, Tracey and Kim -- it still amazes me that blogging really does break the ice, so to speak, so when you meet folks you've read/enjoyed, you fall into conversation as easily as if you'd been introduced.

This morning I had the pleasure of hanging out with Sara (and her lovely husband, daughter, and parents) and James at a local cafe, and, as I expected, they felt more like friends than "readers." I tell you, we need to do some more meetups. It's so fun to get together in person. Am noodling on this. More on this in a later post.

I ended up having lunch and dinner with Sara and her husband (mole and ceviche...mmm), and there was so much to talk about! Sara and I have since attended a few SXSW sessions together (we share the tech and parenting roles in common, although she is a much more skilled tech practitioner than I), brainstormed a bunch, and generally had a great time.

From Sunday: I'm drenched. Texas thunderstorms soak you to the skin in minutes. The day started with my Parent Bloggers 2.0 panel, which went really well, I think. Great questions from the audience. I can't even remember everything that happened today. More sessions and conversation with Sara (she's working on an incredible project called Dressr -- a Web app that lets you remix your wardrobe). Meeting a reconnecting with people I've only "known" via email. The highlight was the SXSW Web Awards: Rael's company's maiden product, Stikkit, won the award for Technical Achievement. What an incredible thrill to see the Values of n team's work recognized like that. (And I got to shake emcee Ze Frank's hand. *sigh*)

Today: More sessions, more interesting people to talk to. More updates soon.

Tags: SXSW

Comments

[Jim]

Sounds like a lot of fun and very productive as well.

Since you were there on business, do you get to take the tax write off?

I liked your run down.

[Hot Wife]

Asha,

It was great meeting you! I love this site and I am going to tell all my friends.

Congrats to your hubby.