Today I took my notes on my laptop all day. I have two batteries and they lasted all day for me. They would have gotten even better time if I had remembered to turn off the wireless. I don’t know why, but I was reluctant to cart around my laptop and take notes on it all day long. I felt more comfortable with the paper notes that I took on Saturday than pulling out my laptop and typing. I wish I understood this. My laptop is my sole source of writing when I’m out of town. Why would I be reluctant to take notes on it?

Sink or Swim: (left to right) Michael Lopp, Joel Spolsky, Cabel Sasser, Evan Wiliams, Joshua Schachter

The Sink or Swim panel was really helpful to me. Since it’s just Mike and me working on all our websites it was interesting to hear about other startup companies and what they have done that worked and what didn’t.

Us and Them: A Blog Conversation Survival Guide: (left to right) Nancy White, Jimmy Bise Jr., Grace Davis, Bill Anderson, Tisha Grier

This was a panel that discussed weblogs and enforcing civility on our comments so that the readers are civil to us and each other. They recommended a book in this panel called Choosing Civility. It’s a book of twenty-five rules of how we should deal with each other. I wish everyone on the Internet would adhere to these rules of civility. Civilization doesn’t just happen. We have to enforce it. I don’t require that you wear white gloves when you comment on my website, but you do have to be nice.

SXSW Keynote: (left to right) Jason Kottke and Heather Armstrong

I’ve linked to Heather’s website (www.dooce.com) several times because of the wonderful glimpses into her life that she has written. When she talks about her fans and how passionate and angry they get at her, I begin to worry about myself. Am I too much of a fan just because I read her site every day and make sure I attend her keynote speech? Am I a stalker? I live in the same city. Does that make me an obsessed fan? Considering how many other weblogs I also read, I guess not. It sounds like her stalker fans need a lesson in civility.

Bloggers in Love: Intimacy and Mask Making: (left to right) Lisa Williams, Julie Leung, Chris Pirillo, Ponzi Indharasophang, George Sessum, Jeneane Sessum, Heather Champ, Derek Powazek

When I am writing, there are many times when I say too much. I reveal something to the world that other people might not want revealed. This panel talked about dealing with those issues with your significant other. They had three sets of couples that could answer the questions about how much revelation is too much.

Serious Games for Learning: (left to right) Dr. Jim Bower, Michael Whalen, Erwin Kaplan, Jim Brazell

The most interesting person on this panel was Dr. Jim Bower, who has run Whyville.net since May 1999. It is a game site online that teaches math and science to children. He shared the statistics of his sites and how it was set up to teach math and science to children 8-15 years old. It has become a popular site for girls ages 10-18, which just goes to show the world how wrong it is about girls. They have their own newspaper that the children submit articles. It was amazing and I could have listened to Dr. Bower talk the whole hour, but he only was able to talk for about ten minutes.

Yesterday’s sessions were busy and I didn’t feel like going to the outdoor parties or the weblog awards. We had an enjoyable dinner with a bunch of wonderful people. I have enjoyed this conference so much. I have so many ideas and book recommendations that I can’t wait to get home and start reading.