• by March 16, 2011

So after a few days here at the monstrously expansive South by Southwest Interactive extravaganza in Austin, a few observations on various topics:

Interactive is a big draw, with attendance as of last year (14,000) passing music (13,000) and film (10,000). While many of the 1,000-plus sessions are housed in the convention center, many others are in various hotels throughout the city.

There are people everywhere but because Austin is so low key, it's a relatively stress-free environment. Late-day sessions are relatively full, with highly engaged audiences.

Media mogul Barry Diller told a large audience that he was speaking with his wife (Diane von Furstenberg) on the phone a day ago and heard her playing Angry Birds in the background.

With so many people online with PCs and smartphones, network speeds are a bit slower than desired.

Though there are numerous (to grossly understate the case) parties at SXSW, the times of many are staggered so that serious party-goers can party-jump throughout the night.

Sponsors provide abundant free food and drinks day and especially into the night.

QR codes are getting a workout at the trade show, with several exhibitors finally using them creatively, driving those who try them to active mobile websites, downloadable apps and YouTube videos.

Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley, on stage for an hour in the main ballroom, said the location-based check-in company was "doubling down on all efforts," saying the company has grown to 50 employees, 40 of whom were at South by Southwest.

He polled the large audience on a few topics: • Almost no one in the crowd said they want Facebook Places integration with Foursquare. • Almost no one in the audience knew the business model for Foursquare, to Crowley's surprise.

Crowley was asked whether Google would acquire Foursquare, which he didn't directly answer. It was pointed out that a previous SXSW was the launchpad for Foursquare. "We thought people would laugh at the idea and it turned out they liked it," Crowley said.

He noted that Foursquare now has 250,000 venues registered and next up will be near field communication (NFC) where people will be conditioned to tap their phones against things, such as for payments or location-based check-ins.

On the state of the king-range input of ventures such as Foursquare noted that "you can't plan too far ahead."

Microsoft officially launched its new IE9 browser here at a high-end evening event at the swank W Hotel. With the theme of the "beauty of the Web," the company highlighted the hardware acceleration aspects, with the expected comparisons to a screen on a MacBook Pro.

Companies utilizing features of and the new browser, such as Gilt Groupe, eBay and Foursquare gave private demos after the browser introduction.

They seemed most excited about the ability to "pin" an update button at the bottom of a Web page, such as eBay showing that an item for sale has been updated. They also pointed out that the new browser appears more like a mobile app.

The CEO of Klout, Joe Fernandez, said they named their conference room Justin Bieber, who has a perfect Klout score of 100.