After several months of non-stop client work and the elaborate undertaking that is the fifth version of 45royale, I have finally been able to relax a bit and think about this year’s SXSW Interactive Festival. It’s about time, our plane leaves on Thursday and I hadn’t even looked at the panel line-up until today. After spending some time perusing the scheduled activities at 45’s favorite local coffee house, I have to admit, I’m a little underwhelmed with this year’s panel selection. I can’t really put my finger on it, but there’s definitely a different vibe when it comes to the panels this year. It could be that last year’s events were a crowning achievement in panel-to-badass ratio, but this year seems to lack some of the pizazz of 2007. I don’t mean to take anything away from the presenters at this year’s South By; I know they’re probably putting in a lot of time and effort to make their panel the best it can be. However, our five days in Austin last year seemed jam packed with activity and I felt like we were turning down panels left and right to make room in the day for more panels. There were so many things going on that it was really hard to schedule a day without having the terrible feeling that you were missing the event of the week. I have to be honest, this year I was struggling to pick two panels per day. And after doing some reading, it looks like a few folks have decided to skip this year’s event all together for a number of reasons. So it’s not just me, right? Right?

It very well could be that last year’s event was such a new and overwhelming experience that I felt the need to maximize every ounce of my time in the convention hall. Maybe I’ve grown a bit since then and the things that I was enamored by last year are now part of 45’s everyday routine and have become second nature. Or perhaps my professional interests have changed slightly and I’m more focused ultimately on the goals of the company and our clients. Whatever the case may be, I definitely feel like I’m preparing for this trip a little differently than I did a year ago. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still super excited to go, I’m just hoping that the energy of the festival takes over and pulls me in like it did last March.

On a more positive note, one thing that I’m looking forward to this year is the opportunity to relax and take a much needed break from the every day grind. I’m hoping that this year’s SXSW will be a little more social and we’re able to meet and share ideas with some of the brightest folks in the industry. We’re already penciled in for a few outside events, as well as a Facebook panel and party with our friend Efe Cakarel, CEO and Founder of The Auteurs. I’m really excited about the chance to hang out with Efe and meet some of the people that will help shape the face of social networking in the years to come.

On a final note, if you’re still a little under-prepared for your trip (like I was a few hours ago), one of the best ways to get organized is to use Taylor and Chirag’s incredible panel-planning tool at sched.org. All of this year’s events, panels, and parties are there for the bookmarking and creating an account to add these to your SXSW schedule couldn’t be easier. In fact, they even give you the option to view and share your events via iCal. How cool is that? Here’s mine, I hope to add more as we get closer to Thursday.

Well that’s it. In a few days we’ll be in Texas wearing 10 gallon hats and taking aim at spittoons (I’ve been practicing all night). What more could a man want? We hope that if you’re going to attend some of the same panels or see us around the convention center that you’ll stop and say “hi”. We’re always interested in meeting new folks, so don’t be shy. See you in Austin!