Some of the coolest stuff at South By Southwest Interactive takes place after the convention center's shut tight. One of the most interesting things this week was 20x2, an annual get-together where 20 speakers, from all corners of the Web and the tech world, get two minutes each to answer one very open-ended question. This year, "What's The Secret?"

The answers were as varied and off-the-wall as you could expect. Some took the question very literally (two said the secret was love, which another speaker made fun of). Andrew Huff collected secrets from SXSW-goers, written in lemon juice, which he would then reveal at the event. Unfortunately, you can't get that many pieces of paper singed in two minutes, so he was only able to reveal the secret "Huff is Hot!", and set another piece of paper on fire, before his time was up. But that's good, since Bostonist had a secret in the box. And it's still safe.

Kevin Smokler called for a two-minute game of Telephone, which in a crowded bar, went about as well as you could imagine. Jory Des Jardins read off a list of secret advice, including fun phrases to teach your niece and nephew (I am so getting my nephew to say "can't complain" once he's talking). Probably the funniest secrets of the night came from Dallas blogger/journalist Josh Benton, who put together a two-minute video of non-geek civilians revealing secrets like "If it works in IE, but not in Firefox...I don't care" and "I get up early every morning and vandalize Wikipedia."

Speaking of which, the 21st speaker (yeah, they bent the rules) was Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia's founder, who told a really touching secret about how the site got started. Bostonist won't reveal his secret here (it is his secret, after all), but it was a really compelling motivation for him to want to put together such a massive project.

Of course there are cool things coming out of the conference during the hours the convention center is still open. Another, now local, blogger tells us that the panel “Design Eye for the List Guy” revealed a new-look craigslist. While Bostonist would be lost without the simplicity of graphic-free site, the new look seems to make it all a bit more readable and put together. However, we still wonder why they won’t just put missed connections right up at the top.

Michael Femia made his way down to Texas and will be helping us keep up with the hep cats at the SXSW Interactive festival. For the next week Michael will be reporting for Bostonist on some of the best events he's been able to catch. Find more of his musings here, and images here. Post contributed in part by Michael Femia

Sure, it doesn't have the glitz or glamour of the Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, Golden Globes, or any of the countless other Hollywood award ceremonies. After all, people who spend their days pecking away at a keyboard may not all be ready for a shindig with tuxedos, red carpets, and Joan Rivers (well, is anyone ready for Rivers? - times two).

But there is some form of recognition for those devoted Internet junkies - the Bloggie Awards, which were given out today at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival. The brainchild of Nikolai Nolan (pictured at the cermony), the Bloggies are given to websites nominated and voted on by users. There are all sorts of categories - from "Weblog of the Year" and "Lifetime Achievement Award" (which is a little unsettling to see a 30-ish person take it home) to "Best Teen Weblog" and "Best Canadian Weblog.".

Some of Bostonist's sister sites were up for awards: Torontoist was nominated for that coveted "Best Canadian Weblog" and Londonist for "Best British/Irish Weblog." Gothamist was a finalist for two: "Best Topical Weblog", and "Best Group Weblog". Sadly, we all got skunked. Wait 'till next year!

The big winners of the afternoon were PostSecret, which took home "Best American Weblog", "Best Topical Weblog" and "Best Community Weblog", and the granddaddy of them all, "Weblog of the Year". Boing Boing captured the "Best Group Weblog and "Weblog of the Year. (A full list of nominees
and winners can be found on the Bloggies site.)

But the biggest winner of them all may have been Nikolai Nolan, who brought the house down with his karaoke rendition of "Stacey's Blog" ("Stacey's blog has got its own dot-com...can't you see I just wanna burn your feed"). Weird Al Yankovic, you're on notice.

Bostonist has got some friends down in Austin, this week we've got one more. Michael Femia made his way down to Texas and will be helping us keep up with the hep cats at the SXSW Interactive festival. For the next week Michael will be reporting for Bostonist on some of the best events he's been able to catch. Find more of his musings here, and images here. Post and photo courtesy of Michael Femia

The South By Southwest Festival in Austin has three components: Music, Film, and Interactive. And probably nobody navigates their way between these three worlds as well as Henry Rollins. Best known for his musical career (Black Flag, Rollins Band), Rollins has parlayed that into a career as a "jackass of all tirades" - actor, author, corporate speaker, unflinching social critic. He gave a freewheeling, honest talk at a one-on-one interview session with Esquire journalist Andy Langer.

His big project now is an interview show on IFC. He talked about how he tries to make his interviews different from the traditional. For example, he had Penelope Cruz on the show, and said she was expecting the Leno/Letterman "how's your boyfriend/tell us about Sahara/I hear you got a new car" treatment, but Rollins instead started asking her about a small-budget Spanish picture she was making. He says if you ask artists about things they're passionate about, you get passionate answers.

He also hosts a radio show. He says that most of the music, books and movies he's loved over the years have come to him on recommendations, and tries to make his radio show a "You should check this out - you'd love it" experience, rather than a traditional "here's what we think is hot" format.

Rollins is also involved in the USO, and talked about that for a while. He says that he doesn't do it for the attention, but because it gives him a chance to give soldiers - many of them fans of his – a few minutes where they don't have to worry about being bombed and shot. He also says many of them are concerned about antiwar feelings back home, and think 60% (or whatever the number is now) of Americans are against the troops. Henry tells them his position: he hates the war, he hates the people who started the war, but he wants the troops to come home safe and soon. Most of them, he says, never thought of it that way.

He's just as funny and thought-provoking and (sometimes) angry as you'd expect. When someone at the Q&A said, "I want to congratulate you on everything you've done aside from your music," he snapped back, "Thanks for the back-handed compliment, hippie." He talked about how change will never come from the top, saying "You can write all the letters you want, and
all you'll get is your Google analyzed."

And what does the self-proclaimed "low-budget Renaissance man" Henry Rollins want from his legacy? "He tried real hard; maybe he wasn't great, but damn! He had tenacity."

Bostonist has got some friends down in Austin, this week we've got one more. Michael Femia made his way down to Texas and will be helping us keep up with the hep cats at the SXSW Interactive festival. For the next week Michael will be reporting for Bostonist on some of the best events he's been able to catch. Find more of his musings here, and images here. Post and photo courtesy of Michael Femia