I flew back from Austin yesterday. On the plane I had some time to just think about the last few days and my experience at SXSW Interactive. I have some general thoughts I’d like to share with you.

First, the idea of web-celebrity and self-importance is HUGE at SXSW. I can’t tell you how many times a “celebrity” came into a blogger lounge and immediately everyone stops what they’re doing and tries to find some way talk to them, or otherwise get on their radar. Why? Because they have 5000 Facebook friends? You need to ask yourself what you’re trying to accomplish by networking with people just because they are web celebrities. Do you think they’re going to let you advertise your company for free on their web show? Perhaps you think they can give you a high-paying social media dream job. Neither scenario is likely. I consistently have better conversations with “regular” people at these events than I do with more well-known people. Regular people are often just as, if not more, insightful and they are friendlier and try harder to make a good impression. On the contrary, many celebrities phone in conversations and are constantly looking around the room for their perceived equals. My advice is to stop name dropping and falling over yourself to meet these people. Instead, talk to the person having coffee next to you. Who knows, that may be the person that offers you that dream job. It worked for me.

Second, I saw a lot of companies this year actually tackling the concept of monetization. Companies like Animoto and Overlay.TV offer free services, but they are also charging for premium offerings. Startup cash won’t last forever and you hoping Google will acquire you is not sound business. By the way, did anyone happen to catch Jason Calacanis’ $250,000 offering to Twitter to be placed on the “suggested follow list?” Like many things Calacanis does, it was surely a publicity stunt, but it does beg the question: is this the best revenue model Twitter has? Maybe.

Third, chasing the latest greatest parties at SXSW is a recipe for a crappy night. I know because I did it on Sunday. All we ended up doing was going from club to club because a friend told us it was “off the chain,” only for us to find out the place was at capacity. Then, when we finally did get in, someone else would call us and tell us to head to a different, better party. You can’t win. I think my friend Chris Noble of Kompolt said it best (I’m paraphrasing) “don’t be afraid to miss something at SXSW. The best thing going on at any given moment is the place you’re at.”

Finally, I’d like to thank all the awesome people we connected with that so freely gave their time to speak with us. Over the next few weeks we’ll hear from Hugh Forrest – Director of SXSW Interactive, Stephanie Agresta, Chris Noble of Kompolt, John Geletka of Ratchet, Joe Stepnieski of Skimlinks, Matt Browne of Morefocus Media, Mike Barash of Blurb, Diane Deseta of White Knight and Ben Watson of Overlay.TV. We’ll be bringing you content from these intelligent people over the course of the next few weeks.

SXSW really is a fabulous event. I can’t think of an event that better meshes technology, social media, affiliate marketing and gaming with social opportunities and culture. I can’t wait for next year.