From the Pelago crew: thanks to all who helped make SXSW awesome

Well, I made it through another successful SXSWi this year and even didn’t get SXSars (AKA sick after the conference).  As a “veteran” – ok, it was only my second conference, but still – I knew what I was getting myself into when I landed in Austin. Lots of social media and technology rockstars I wanted to meet in person. Lots of friends I hadn’t seen since CES if not last year. Lots of networking events and parties I needed to attend. And one thing was for sure – I wasn’t going to get lots of sleep.

Now that’s it’s been almost two weeks since SXSW Interactive started, I’ve thought about what the key takeaways were from the conference and what I wanted to share.  I’ve read the beautiful, sassy Jolie O’Dell (@jolieodell) say she won’t be back next year. Influencer Robert Scoble (@scobleizer) agreed with Jolie about how SXSW has become more about mobs of people and less about meaningful interactions. I even recently spoke with MyTekLife (@myteklife) and gave an overview of my experiences where I agreed SXSW has lost some of its value. You can read that post here.

But, at the end of the day, I still believe there is NO better place to meet, network and connect with key players in social media and technology than SXSW. Let’s face it- everybody is there. Even if the only value you receive is from face to face interaction, I say yes- I’ll be there, year after year. And I met and saw some awesome people this year. While I can’t mention everyone here, I did want to point out a few awesome peeps you should follow on Twitter and get to know, if you already haven’t:

Damien Basile (@db): Social media consultant based in New York. Damien and I have multiple friends in common and have chatted on Twitter and Facebook for years but never met in real life. He’s also one of the most well-connected, intelligent and thoughtful people in social media today – the real deal.

(cc) Kenneth Yeung – www.thelettertwo.com

Rick Bakas (@rickbakas): Head of social media for St Supery winery, based in Napa. And let me tell you something- this guy gets it. He’s connected with the most influential folks in social media to both host in-person and virtual wine tastings to help build some solid online buzz for the tasty brand.

Brian Simpson (@bsimi) Heads social media for Roger Smith Hotel, a boutique, family owned property in New York. Brian has broken through the clutter so that when you think of all the hotels to stay in the Big Apple, Roger Smith tops the list.

Jen Grant (@cr8tivejen) Jen is a consultant that works with the Four Seasons hotels, one of the top luxury brands in the world. She’s also extremely savvy when it comes to thinking about new ways to market the brand via new and interesting social media channels.

Kelly Olexa (@kellyolexa) Kelly is the queen of social media in Chicago. A self-professed sales and marketing diva, I consider Kelly to be one of the most connected people in the tech industry not just in the Windy City, but in the nation.

Wayne Sutton (@waynesutton): Funny that I’ve spoke with Wayne, who’s considered to be a thought leader in the LBS space, many times. But it took sitting down in person at the Mashable party to really understand just how awesome he is.

Whether I saw you at places like the Belmont, Mashable party or the Techset Blogger lounge, I wanted to thank everyone I met this year at SXSW for such a memorable experience. Also, a HUGE thank you to everyone who supported Whrrl at the conference, too (you know who you are).  :) 2010 is an exciting year that has already proved to move very fast, and before you know it, we’ll all be at Internet Week in New York- see you there!

You can see all the Whrrl check-ins during SXSW on our Austin Underground Society page… lots of fun pics and parties were documented!