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I am back from my second SxSW experience. Here are some notes and thoughts.

• Use the time away from your daily routine, concerns and responsibilities to think about what you do in different ways. For me this was an opportunity to think about my business and technology in general in a more abstract and strategic way.
• Pick your panels, discussions, presentations, etc. by presenter rather than by topic. Some topics sound great but don’t deliver. This is happening a lot less for me since I started using this approach.
• Go to as many appropriate “birds of a feather” meetups, events, etc. that you can. Speak openly about what you do, your ideas, challenges, etc. and watch and learn as others do the same.
• Speaking of birds, I saw a Pteranodon or a Pteradactyl (not sure which) being carried around the convention center for no apparent reason.
• Keep an open mind and talk to smart people that disagree with you.
• Discuss ideas that other people are passionate about but that you aren’t (yet), learn why they care so much about them.
• I watched a WordPress developer sing karaoke to Billy Idol with a live band in front of a LOLcat slideshow backdrop. Also 99 Luftballoons with the German part in German at the same party.
• I discovered that a friend that is looking for his next gig may be a perfect CTO for another friend’s company and already have taken steps to introduce them.
• I’ve added at least 3 new features and architectural requirements for my products/framework – learning more about stuff and seeing how it can fit often means more work.
• Give generously of your ideas and experience.
• Lastly: I had a goal of having either BBQ or bacon with every meal. I came up one meal short – couldn’t get bacon at PF Chang’s last night.

Until next year SxSW…

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One of my favorite SxSWi events so far was the Ze Frank’s conversation. As alluded to on Twitter, I’m a Ze Frank fanboy, having 2-3 minutes of my life enhanced every day by The Show as it happened back in 2006-2007.

The conversation was a somewhat surreal experience. A room chock full of people that have been enjoyed Ze’s content and contributions online, a room full of fans, that all felt a one-way connection with the speaker and were hanging on his every word. There was a definite buzz in the room. Ze was funny, relaxed, delightfully irreverant and clearly comfortable speaking in front of groups (I’m sure he has this experience frequently).

I can’t remember being in a similar situation before – it was quite unique. Also probably a little creepy if you’re the focus of the attention.

I’m very glad I was there.

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This is really frustrating…

Dear Colorado-based Amazon Associate:

We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to inform you that the Colorado government recently enacted a law to impose sales tax regulations on online retailers. The regulations are burdensome and no other state has similar rules. The new regulations do not require online retailers to collect sales tax. Instead, they are clearly intended to increase the compliance burden to a point where online retailers will be induced to “voluntarily” collect Colorado sales tax — a course we won’t take.

We and many others strongly opposed this legislation, known as HB 10-1193, but it was enacted anyway. Regrettably, as a result of the new law, we have decided to stop advertising through Associates based in Colorado. We plan to continue to sell to Colorado residents, however, and will advertise through other channels, including through Associates based in other states.

There is a right way for Colorado to pursue its revenue goals, but this new law is a wrong way. As we repeatedly communicated to Colorado legislators, including those who sponsored and supported the new law, we are not opposed to collecting sales tax within a constitutionally-permissible system applied even-handedly. The US Supreme Court has defined what would be constitutional, and if Colorado would repeal the current law or follow the constitutional approach to collection, we would welcome the opportunity to reinstate Colorado-based Associates.

You may express your views of Colorado’s new law to members of the General Assembly [ http://www.leg.state.co.us/Clics/CLICS2010A/csl.nsf/directory?openframeset= ] and to Governor Ritter [ http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/GovRitter/GOVR/1177024890452 ], who signed the bill.

Your Associates account has been closed as of March 8, 2010, and we will no longer pay advertising fees for customers you refer to Amazon.com after that date. Please be assured that all qualifying advertising fees earned prior to March 8, 2010, will be processed and paid in accordance with our regular payment schedule. Based on your account closure date of March 8, any final payments will be paid by May 31, 2010.

We have enjoyed working with you and other Colorado-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program, and wish you all the best in your future.

Best Regards,

The Amazon Associates Team

UPDATE: Brad has a thoughtful piece on this.

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I thought about writing a post on NDAs, but luckily the internets have already done it for me.

Read these:

• NDAs are unnecessary because ideas are worthless — Less Everything Blog
  

  It’s worthless because ideas in general are worthless. Anyone can have a good idea, and they do. What has value is execution. The ability to take an idea and transform it into something real, something people love, something someone will pay for.

• Why Most VC’s Don’t Sign NDAs
  

  In 20 years of high tech (as an entrepreneur, angel investor, and VC), I’ve never been involved in a situation where an NDA is enforced except in an M&A context. It’s simply a waste of paper and time for anything but M&A.

• Rands In Repose: FriendDA
  

  But I want Phil to know that what I want to chat about is more than our average conversation. I want slightly more than a smidge of ceremony before I spill the beans about my bright idea and I call this ceremony the FriendDA. The FriendDA is a non-binding, warm blanket agreement that offers absolutely no legal protection.

• Sacred Cow Dung: MYTH: NDAs are a Good Idea
  

  What is the entrepreneur really saying when requesting that executed NDA? [&hellpi;] b) “What I am about to reveal to you is so earth-shattering that it is a distinct possibility that you will drop everything in your life and try to steal my idea and do it without me.”

  and
  

  “Let me explain it this way — Even if you were to go down to the corner of Broad and Wall Street — ground zero for the financial markets — and randomly pass out 1000 copies of your business plan, no one will ever execute that plan without you — no matter how great it is.”

• Why Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) Are Useless | Misanthropy Today
  

  The judge looks at it. “So you’re telling me that the founders of Google discussed search engines with other search engine companies before launching the biggest search engine in the world? I will not believe it!” This judge is very sarcastic.

I’ll still sign them from time to time, but my feelings about it are well covered in the articles above.

I have plenty of ideas (and a hundred or so domain names to match) that I want to pursue of my own. I’ll be lucky if I even get to start on half of them before time runs out, they become obsolete, and replaced by new ideas that pop up.

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