In 2006 there was Twitter, the microblogging service that has change media as we know and love. In 2009 it was Foursquare, and now everyone can know where you are at any given time. In 2011, what is the new hotness that people are buzzing about from SXSW?!  At first, I thought it was group of group texting apps.  Beluga, Fast Society and GroupMe are all about group texting. The point of these apps is that there are the solution when Twitter is too much, Facebook is too public and Foursquare is too slow. Beluga was used effectively during SXSW for some of the Black folks attending to find where is the hot spot, where to get grub or who is out partying. It could be a little annoying but if you want the 411 on the quickness, then it works.

Now that I am back in New York and settled back into the regular grind, I have reconsidered. I think the the hottest thing that came out of SXSW this year was just the status of being there.  More people from more diverse professions migrated to Austin this year. The old skool tech geeks mixed with new school social media people for a few days of drinking beer, skipping panels and collecting swag.  To be in Austin in March is the new going to college in Cambridge.

I have a press badge to attend SXSW Interactive.

I will also be attending TECHmunch and will be speaking on a panel, Appetite For Apps. Panelists are Amy Cao of Foodspotting,Tanya Edwards of The Food Network, Jeremy Fisher of Dinevore and Brian Witlin of Shopwell.

I am hosting the 3rd Annual Cupcake Social on March 13.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a place to stay in Austin and not much money.

Good news: I have a place to stay!

I will be in Austin from Friday to Monday.  Follow me on Twitter (@niche) I will be posting SXSW tips on The Great Austin Migration.

On March 15, Austin 360 and Clear sponsored a Food Blogger Bash. This was second year of the event, and it was fun! We ate tacos, drank margaritas and champagne. Addie Broyles organized the event and I met some cool people including Matt Timms (the king of all the foodie competitions) and The FoodSpotting team. Also in attendance were Cathy Erway, Charles Hope, JD from Citizen Taco, Stephanie Klein, Emily Farris, James Boo from Ice Cream Man, Luis from SXSWFreeNoms, and Amanda from Retro Bizarro.

Clear was one the sponsors, and I talked to one of the representative.  Clear is exciting to me and I can’t for it to come to New York. What is Clear? Clear is 4G wireless network and it is $30/month.

Here’s another picture of me from the party.

Saturday night, I went to the Tumblr party and the i09 party. At the Tumblr party, I danced my butt off to the Eclectic Method. DJ/multimedia experience. It was so fun. Then I went to the Pure Volume House for the i09 party. I was excited to see MC Frontalot perform. Last year, I attended a screening of the documentary, Nerdcore Rising, which features Frontalot and his band as they tour around the country.

Some leftover bits from SXSW. Check out these cool beans–Lauren from LifestylerMag, Leigh from PNN and Nick from Triple Pundit.

On Wednesday, I had dinner at Buttermilk Channel which is in deepest Carroll Gardens. I had the fried chicken with cheddar waffles. It was so yummy, but this is why I’m fat.

Thursday, I went to the screening of “Valentino, The Last Emperor” at the Film Forum. After the movie, Vogue editor Andre Leon Talley did a Q & A with the director Matt Tyrnauer.   Then my friends and I went over to City Winery to hang out with Christina from Glowlab Gallery.  City Winery just became my new favorite wine bar.  The brussel sprouts and chicken liver crostini there are delicious.

Friday, I stayed in. I made tuna without mayo but with a little Italian dressing.

Today, I found my quotes from the Finance 2.0 panel at SXSW on a UAE business site.

This post is a recap of things that I loved, hated, and WTFed?! about SXSW.

First, I hated that I missed the Food Blogging Panel because I wanted to see my blog buddies Rachel, Cathy, Zach, Addie and Kalyn rock SXSW. I booked my flight before knowing what time the panel was scheduled, so I was at the airport while the panel was going on.

I loved that Saul from Freshbooks set up a lunch so I could meet the founders of Outright, Shoeboxed and Batch Blue.

I loved that I ate cupcakes in the morning with Rachel in the lobby of the Hilton.

I loved laughing with Rachel, Twanna and Zach.  [We could have our own reality show]

I loved that I got a HARO sticker from Peter Shankman. I WTFed that a girl from Phoenix came up to me just because I wearing the sticker at The Onion party.

I WTFed that the VIP section of the Onion party only had Miller Lite for Free.  I loved that a guy asked, “Didn’t I meet you at Likemind in Brooklyn?”

I hated that I got called a racial slur on the street by a homeless man.  It dampened my mood for partying, but I loved that I didn’t wake up with a hangover on my last day.

I loved that I got a free ice cream sandwich from the Ice Cream Man.

I loved that I met Austin food bloggers like the TipsyTexan and Addie Broyles.  I loved the goodie bag from Whole Foods food bloggers event.  I hated that I couldn’t bring the lovely lotion from the goodie bag on the plane.

I loved doing a panel about Finance 2.0, and people coming up to me afterward to ask me questions.

I loved meeting Anya Kamenetz.

I hated that I missed  some panels that my friends were on.

I loved that I ran into friends that I didn’t know were going to be at SXSW.

I hated the word “privilege” being thrown around at panel discussions.

I loved using Tweetdeck and Twickie while twittering the panel discussions.

I loved that I rocked three parties Sunday night.

I loved eating cupcakes at the Cupcake Social.

I loved meeting Babette from BakeSpace after knowing each other for years online.

I WTFed the Austin Convention Center. That place is a weird maze.

I loved that I met the guys from Lost Zombies.

I WTFed that a drunk cougar tried to pick a fight with me at the hotel bar.

I WTFed that bars put on the ugly lights at 8PM when the sponsored open bar ends.

I hated the ATM Fees which were $3 and up.

I loved that iPhone and Mac users were fascinated by my Peek and HP Mini.

I hated that it was hard to get something to eat at lunchtime.

I loved that I didn’t have a breakfast taco.

I loved that I want to come back next year.  I am already thinking of SXSW panels to pitch in June.

WAKE UP!!! Today, I will speaking on a very important panel at 10am,  Finance 2.0, Money Management to Save This Generation. I am so happy to be on the panel with Mint.com‘s Aaron Patzer, SmartyPig.com‘s Michael Ferrari, Murali Subbarao of Billeo, and Stessa Cohen. Please come if you are in the town for “South By”. The panel will be in Room 18, Level 4 in the Austin Convention Center. The hashtag for our panel is #finsxsw.