Been around the world. .

Ok, so not really. But, I have been traveling quite a bit - even if it’s just within the DFW area. For a quick summary, I had the pleasure of visiting a couple of great places - and as always - met some really cool folks along the way.

Puerta Vallarta, Mexico

Beautiful place with some of the friendliest people. I, finally, had the opportunity to completely disconnect for a week’s time. I don’t need to remind everyone how important that kind of recharge can be for the psyche. My daily routine consisted of a run on the beach, breakfast, layout, lunch, pool, nap, dinner, sunset walk then dancing.

This was definitely one of those “let’s re-evaluate” life trips.

Dallas/Ft. Worth

Since early July, I’ve been in Dallas working, relaxing and playing. I came to realize that despite the fact that I had lived in the city for over 18 years, I knew no one. As a result, I decided to really experience the DFW area.

• Dallas Meet-Up: A co-idea with @michaelcummings, the Dallas meet-up called for all tech heads in the Big D to meet-up and get to know one another. From my perspective, this was definitely a success. I met quite a few intelligent, interesting and very funny people. Interesting how the pains of the DFW tech crowd parallel those of the Austin crowd- lots of dispersed talent in silo-ed areas. Unfortunately, they have a huge hurdle - distance - which is only amplified by rising gas costs.
• Arlington: Yup, that’s right. I definitely spent time in Arlington, TX. Chuckle as you might, I give it two thumbs up. It’s a bit off the beaten path and plays as an excellent mediary to Ft. Worth and Dallas.
• Denton: Another excellent area with great potential. Interested and excited to see what @stormy has up his sleeves. The city has an incredible town square and an excellent creative vibe. From graphic designers to musicians, there is plenty to be inspired by in this town.

As I mentioned, I had some great conversations with a ton of people, and I will try to expand on those a bit later. I’ll be heading back to Austin on Sunday then it’s off to San Fran.

A.D.D.

When it rains it pours.

I had to take a moment to document that I think I maybe suffering from adult onset A.D.D. And, I personally blame it on communities such as Plurk.com and now, iminlikewithyou.

Holy, every time I log into these communities, I feel suddenly very frantic and schizo. Keeping up with the conversations is nearly impossible on Plurk. Last night, I logged on to find over 450 unread messages and a lower karma rating (all of which discouraged me to log back on tonight). On iminlikewithyou, the interface along side the pop-up messages can be overwhelming. Talk about over stimulation.

My biggest pet peeve remains the “finding friends” options on both sites. It’s nearly impossible and requires a ton of leg work. Why can’t all of the communities just automatically populate my friends list? I’d be more than willing to put my friends in the cloud if it means that I won’t have to use a sub-par search function. But, I digress.

Now, when I’m away from my keyboard, my attention span zips back and forth as if I were participating in these communities. Obviously, this claim is not based on scientific fact. However, thought I’d throw it out there as a cautionary statement for all of those who are about to sign up for iminlikewithyou or yet to have their cherry plurked.

M.I.A.

Know it’s been quite sometime since I’ve written a genuinely thought provoking post - hell, not sure if I have yet or not. But, I recently decided to check the numbers on a couple of the videos.

Steady and sure, each are picking up great traction (e.g. DreamBig video #1 and @garyvee’s Austin visit). However, most surprising was the Twittter cliff jumping video. I literally slapped that together in about four hours. It has over 1,200 views and more than 675 trackbacks. w00t! Also, it was recently featured on Viddler Blog as a community spotlight piece.

Needless to say, I’m seriously considering a sequel.

Also, would love to say thanks the Austin community for their continued support to Austin 3.0. Joey and I are quite impressed by the responses we’ve received from the tech community. We’ll be at all of the upcoming events, so please make sure to stop by and say hello.

Lastly, as if I don’t neglect this blog enough, I will be heading out on a string of trips for the next couple of weeks. Most notably, I will be heading to San Francisco. Watch out Bay Area. I’m hoping to meet a ton of people and to rep Austin!

So, if you’re in the area and want to meetup, drop me a line. Oh! I suddenly have an idea for a mash-up sequel featuring SF Twits. Let’s make it happen!

Keep it moving..

Have felt a sudden guilt for ignoring this blog, but I can’t help but concentrate on the Austin 3.0

I’ve been feverishly working on a post about the history of Austin Tech scene - hopefully it will be well worth it.

On a completely different note, wanted to put this out there for anyone looking for an internship in tech and has a love for music. The MusicFile is looking for a summer intern. Do you know anyone qualified?

Please feel free to pass this along!

 

 

 

New Orleans Recap

Finally back from a much needed vacation. Had a great time in New Orleans hanging out with some great folks. Tons of food, lots of sight-seeing, tons of food, catching up with old friends and TONS of FOOD.

While in NOLA, I had the ability to sit back and read a bit. Caught up on some short stories and finally passed the first chapter of the Wisdom of Crowds. And true to form of a never disconnected internet addict, I checked almost everything via mobile. Have to love that!

Needless to say, I’m on a detox plan for the next two weeks. Then, it’s off to Mexico!

Check out my flickr stream here.