All packed, unfortunately. I started coming up with a list of all the people I’ve met this week, and it’s unbelievably long. If I just counted the people I had a conversation with, the list is still incredibly long. For those long-time Me-Knowers, you know this is a big deal. I don’t do this kind of thing very often. I’m very uncomfortable with small talk, with big groups. This was different, somehow. I didn’t feel like I had to explain myself. The people here “get it”.

Before I actually write down the list, I want to do some thank you’s. There were a few people who really made me feel welcome right off the bat, who included me in the “gang” and were just the best. Michael and Ari, James, Brent, Paul (gotta get a blog, man), Mike, George, Esin, Debra and Smokler were all just fantastic. I can’t thank you guys enough for helping make my first SXSW experience better than I could have imagined. I loved hanging out with all of you, and can’t wait till next year, so we can do it all over again. I’m working on a list of people I met that I had good conversations with, or at least ate a meal next to. It’s really long, so it’ll probably get finished sometime after I get home. But, I loved everyone I met, and had a great time.

Now, it’s time to go back home, hug my family, and get to work on the Next Big Thing™.

So, last night, I found out that I know someone who was in this picture. How cool is that?

So, SXSWi is over. Tonight was the big party at Bruce Sterling’s house. It was bittersweet for me, the end of one of the best weeks in recent memory. I’d go into it more, but I’m very, very tired. The back porch meeting took a lot out of me… I can’t wait to get home to my family. See why?

I love SXSWi. It’s the most amazing collection of creative geeks I’ve ever seen, and I’m drinking it all in like a chocolate shake. I’ve met some of my blog heroes, heard some of my design muses speak, hung out with cool people who do and think wonderful things, and made more new friends than I can list here.

If you live on the web, are passionate about self-expression and technology, then I can’t recommend SXSW to you enough. It’s like spring break for geeks. I listened to Howard Rheingold speak about smartmobs today. Yesterday, I learned a little about emergent democracy, got a tour of how Google works from a human perspective, and went to Fray, where I heard funny, touching and true personal stories told by the same people I’ve been hanging out with all week.

For me, SXSW is a way to get out in the world, show the world who I am, and see who other people are. We speak the same language here, and it’s refreshing. There’s no explaining the benefits of web standards, there’s a vibe here where everything is cool. Everyone is open to you. I’ve never met more people interested in meeting each other in my life, and I love it. I’m sure I’ve annoyed a lot of people, because I feel like more of myself here. I think I’ve been a little too much of “me” this week… but I’m not sure I can do anything about that.

And it’s not that this is all goofing off. It’s not. The days are full of interesting panels, where new ideas are thrown around like they’ve existed forever – because they just make sense – well, OK, some of them make sense. But, we’re all here just talking about our passions.

I’ll try to come up with a list of all the people I’ve met here, and all the people I’ve hung out with, but I’m not sure I can. There are so many very cool people here. And now, I can’t wait to get back to work to share all the new ideas that have sprouted, all the great things I’ve heard and seen, and the joi de vie I’ve rediscovered while being here.