McKenna To Speak At 2011 SXSW Interactive

I’m delirious at the prospect of attending and speaking at this year’s SXSW Interactive Conference on March 14th.

I will be in Austin, TX from March 11-15, 2011.

I’ve been wanting to go to the conference for a long time, more in the past for the music and film conferences than the interactive portion. But now that I’m writing and blogging, the interactive segment is the place to be. In prior years I could not justify the trip just to party and network. This year, the inscrutable journalism professor Jay Rosen of NYU suggested me to freelance Mashable writer Greg Ferenstein for a panel on investigative reporting for bloggers. I’ll be with Greg and Mashable Features Editor Josh Catone.

Here’s a link to our panel, scheduled for 3:30 Monday afternoon March 14th.

Prior to Monday, I plan to hang with friends I met through Dennis Howlett at an MZinga BBQ/podcast. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Rachel Happe, Jim Storer, Aaron Strout, and Adam Cohen. A shame I hear Chris Brogan will not be gracing us with his imposing presence. There are one or two others I hope to finally meet in person.

Last time I was in Austin was when I drove, by myself, from Chicago to Monterrey, Mexico, passing through Austin, San Antonio, and then crossing the border at Laredo/Nuevo Laredo. Next time I do that I’m going to have to bring Rosie, my Rott.

The road’s gotten a little more peligroso the last few years.

The time before that was new manager training at KPMG Consulting. We stayed a week at Barton Creek. Really nice place.  Do the firms still spend that much money on liquor under the guise of training and building comraderie?

I love Texas-style, bluesy guitarist singer-songwriters.  Here’s one of my favorites.  I hope you like him.

And if you’ll be at SXSW, give me a holler.

I’d love to meet you!