BackMeet Me in the Cactus RoomForward

The second annual Break Bread with Brad pre-SXSW happy hour and dinner was an almost unqualified success. My only reservation is that, over the course of the week, I kept bumping into people I wish I had remembered to invite or who I didn't know would be attending the conference.

(Actually, this may more accurately be called the third annual gathering since, as Robert Occhialini pointed out, there was a somewhat more intimate dinner during SXSW 2000.)

Anyway, there were more than 66 respondents to the dinner invitation and, ultimately, more than 50 in attendance. It was a wonderful way to kick things off, and the staff and management at the Iron Cactus couldn't have been more accomodating. Even though I couldn't really afford to reserve a private dining room, they set us up in the swank Cactus Room and kept everyone supplied with food and drink to lubricate the conversations.

I was particularly pleased to hear from several folks who showed up knowing only one or two other people and left having made a new friend or two. Personally, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to put a few faces with names myself, and to finally grasp the hands of some folks with whom I'd heretofore had only online interactions.

BackMeet Me in the Cactus RoomForward