When you think of SXSW, what first pops into your head? The amazing and eclectic music? Not for me. And I played the damn thing four years ago with my own band. No, for me, Austin's yearly open-house to the world is about one thing above all: tech.

Austin's South by Southwest dates back to 1987; back then it was mostly a regional music showcase. In 1994, they added film and interactive conferences to the bill. It took about another 10 years for SXSW Interactive to catch the media's attention. It was at the 2007 conference when Evan Williams debuted his new social networking service, called Twitter, and nothing was ever the same. A year later, the service exploded at the conference and it was then only a matter of time before Oprah started using it.

Tech media is growing by leaps and bounds and SXSW has become its mecca, a place to get aquanted with the things the rest of the world may not use or see for another couple of years — a nerd cystal ball, if you will. For Creative Loafing, it's become a must-attend event. So what did we get out of it? Location, location, location.

This article appears in Mar 24-30, 2010.