Our last trip to Austin for SXSWi 2007 can only be classified as a major success. It was our first time at the festival and the sheer number of panels, topics, and speakers had us on web-geekery overload. There were so many great panels and speakers that it felt like there weren’t enough hours in the day for us to make it to every session we wanted to attend. It was definitely one of those rare times in life where quantity and quality were one in the same. After all of the panels and several thought provoking conversations between Matt and myself, we headed back to Atlanta feeling like we could take over the world if we put our minds to it.

But after hearing that, you can understand why our expectations would be very high coming into SXSWi 2008. However, unlike last year before SXSW, we didn’t have time to think about the conference because of the 45royale.com redesign. Seriously, I don’t think we even looked at the panel lineup until Tuesday afternoon and we flew into Austin on Thursday. However, once I did have a chance to the schedule, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that last year’s festival was so incredible or it could also be that we’ve evolved as individuals and as a company since March of 2007. After another year of being in the trenches and working on some great projects that we could only dream of last year, I think our perspectives may have changed. What would’ve seemed so fresh and new to us the previous year has become the norm, and we can no longer look at it with that same unbridled enthusiasm because we’ve “been there” before.

Don’t get me wrong, I am still excited about being here in Austin and attending SXSW again. I could be way off base and despite how the panel lineup looks at first glance, it could turn out to be even better than it was last year. Not to mention, we have been so busy with client work and the 45 redesign that I’m not entirely sure my first instincts should be trusted until I’ve had a chance to relax! Personally I think there is still zero chance that we won’t have a great time. The energy level around the conference and the city is such that you can’t help but get caught up in it and walk away a changed person. Plus in addition to all of the festival activities last year, Matt and I took full advantage of our time away from clients to discuss our plans for the future of 45royale, and this year will be no different. That in itself is extremely exciting and I can’t wait to see how it all shakes out!

I’m looking forward to today’s panel lineup the most as you can probably tell by looking at my schedule. Since 45royale.com is now powered by ExpressionEngine I can’t wait for the ExpressionEngine 2.0 Sneak Peak at 2pm. I haven’t had time to do any research so I’m curious to learn what features await us in the next release. Sunday will probably be pretty light for us, but I am really looking forward to getting to meet up with our friend Efe Cakarel, who is the CEO and founder of The Auteurs. He’ll only be in town for a few hours, but getting to meet face to face and strengthen that relationship will be worth the price of admission alone!

Even though the schedule may look sparse at the moment, I’m sure we’ll add a few other panels to the list over the next day or so. But speaking of schedules I think I need to start getting ready to head over to the convention center. We can’t wait to share our SXSWi experience with everyone so stay tuned to our blogs over the next few days as the conference unfolds!