Spring Break for geeks indeed.

This was my first SXSW and, I’m guessing, not my last. As I was forewarned, the panels aren’t really where the action is: the interesting stuff happens in the hallways, at lunches and dinners, and at the evening parties. That’s where the real “work” of the conference gets done. Its raison d’etre. The panels just provide easy ways to start conversation (“So what panels did you go to today?”). Lone Star beer does the rest.

That being said, I did attend a number of panels, mostly about ubiquitous computing. (Bloggers talking about blogging bores me to tears.) I obviously need to add in a section in the book about designing for ubi comp, even if we don’t really know how to do that just yet.

Austin was hot hot hot. Simply standing still made you sweat. The heat made an exhausting schedule even more tiring, but the heat did make cold beer and the mexican vanilla ice cream all the more satisfying.

I met a few great people, reconnected with old friends, and even shook hands with the web famous.

As is typical when I’m in Austin, I ate too much (BBQ and Tex Mex, natch), drank too much (the aforementioned Lone Star beer and the occasional bourbon), and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

A final shout-out to my comrades in arms at Adaptive Path and Mule Design, whom I wisely followed from event to event. It wouldn’t have been the same without you. Kudos to you.