I don’t entirely remember how I discovered that there was an Interactive track to South by South West. I knew about the music track for quite a while, I only discovered that there was a part of it that was dedicated to people like me, people who were designing and building websites.
I only knew a little bit about Austin other than it being the home of Austin City Limits and that it was generally famous for music (which I discovered first hand on 6th Street). I ended my first day in Austin with dinner at Katz’s Deli (closed in 2010). My meal was clearly not kosher-style (Roast Beef with Provolone Cheese).
Looking back on my notes from the event it’s interesting that even then I had an interest in accessibility, attending a panel on the topic right before going to hear Lawrence Lessig speak about The Creative Commons.
Personally, the highlight of the trip for me was the panel and presentation by Josh Davis (Praystation.com) – Jeffrey Zeldman (Zeldman.com) – Derek Powazek (Powazek.com) – Gabe Kean (Bornmagazine.com) about Independents Day: Celebrating Independent Content since I was at the time a fan of what they were doing online.
Interactive Keynotes: Kevin Lynch (Macromedia) & Jeff Veen (HotWired), Simon Assaad & David Carson (Heavy), Cory Doctorow (EFF) & Bruce Sterling (author)
Notable Speakers: William Hurley (Invisisoft.com), Bob Regan (Macromedia), Erick Schonfeld (Business 2.0), Doc Searls (Doc Searls Weblog), Derek Sivers (CD Baby).
Notable Sessions: I-Mode and Asian Culture; Small Business Survival Skills: Find Your Niche; P2P Journalism, Weblogs and Collaborative Media
— Information from History of SXSW
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