This is my 14th year at SXSW but my first year at the Interactive portion of the conference, which as of this year has more registrants than the Music portion, which begins tomorrow. The energy and excitement here is palpable. Lots of creative, smart, forward thinking people looking outside the box re-inventing themselves and/or introducing new and exciting products and services. There is no crying over split milk or sour grapes as to the future of the music industry here that I can see. The revolution is well underway and for those on the bus, which most everyone here seems to be, this couldn't be a more exiting time given the unlimited possibilities the future holds.

Went to a great keynote panel yesterday with Evan Williams, Twitter founder and CEO. Their number one operating principal is to "be a force for good" and he talked about how the open exchange of info has had a positive impact on the world. Facilitating the open exchange of information has given people more control over what they want to pay attention to, helps them easily share information and influence other people, spread realtime info about what's happening in the world, which proved out recently in places such as Chile and Haiti where communication channels are limited and news of the earthquake could spread quickly.

New communication channels between consumers and businesses create the ability to quickly spread both positive and negative feedback and that access to information has forced businesses to be more accountable to their customers.

The SXSW Film Festival is happening alongside the Interactive conference and last night I had the good fortune to end up at the screening of "Lemmy" which is a documentary film about Lemmy from Motorhead. I highly recommend seeing this movie if it comes your way. Even if you're not a fan of Motorhead or heavy metal the film is worth checking out. Lemmy is a legend and the film is full of great lines and gives a rare intimate look into his life. Here's a link to the trailer.