I’m finally done digesting everything that I learned / observed in Austin, Texas during SXSW. I have learned some very valuable lessons and met some really great people. I think the one thing that I took away, that I’m willing to share, is that there are three types of people in the tech industry.

1. Heavy Hitters — The People who have made it.
2. Heavy Dreamers — The people who will make it.
3. Heavy Purists — People that are so passionate about something they are too close minded to be a heavy hitter or heavy dreamer.

Heavy Hitters - These are the people that have already made their entry and exit from their projects. They took their money, and ran. When they walk into a room, flocks of geeks whisper ‘… do you know who that is … ‘. These people are vast buckets of knowledge, but when they are talking, in order to learn from them you always need to be thinking in the back of your head “what are they NOT telling me…”

Heavy Dreamers - These were my favorite people. These are the ones that are always looking at whats new, whats old, and whats next. They always know something about everything or want to learn everything about something. These people have a passion for their current project but are willing to go to something else at the drop of a dime. A heavy dreamer can be a Heavy Hitter, but, they don’t stop there… Because it’s just never enough… 9 times out of 10, “Whats Cool” on the internet is what ever Heavy Dreamers have worked on..

Heavy Purists - These are the people that are evangelists for the newest fad. ‘Fanboys’ if you will. You see them everywhere — They read the Heavy Hitters blogs everyday, and worship their every word. They drop names to support their one track minds, and are never thinking outside of the box. I really see these people like the Emo kids who wear Skinny Jeans — Just people to amuse the Heavy Hitters, and Heavy Dreamers. In the end these people are just painful to talk to. They are painful to be around. But… They are great for our industry. They are the Dreamers and Heavy Hitters lab rats — because they are so passionate about what they are doing, they solve our problems, and show us how to fix them… Or, fail, and show us what not to do and how not to do it… Thanks guys!

What am I? I’d like to think I’m a Heavy Dreamer. I know I’m surrounded every day by some of the best Heavy Dreamers in the industry — and met some more of them this past week — What will happen now? I’m not sure, but it’ll be awesome whatever it is…