I just got back from San Francisco, where I spent the last few days at the Web 2.0 Expo.

I’ve always found tradeshows to be enjoyable because it’s a chance to meet partners and users face-to-face and find out what’s developing. For the past couple years, though, shows and conferences have lacked the energetic buzz about new gear, apps, and business models that makes you feel like you’ve had too much espresso.

IMHO, the O’Reilly folks did a great job with the Web 2.0 Expo this year. The aisles were crowded and people were busily bantering about new services. We were demonstrating AppLogic at the invitation of our friends at Layered Technologies and we routinely had three or four folks at a time in the small booth eager to learn about utility computing and how to get their virtual data center. All-in-all, an invigorating way to spend a few days.