Here’s a thought: walk into a bar, order, and pay with your phone. Why not? Japan as an entire nation has been doing it widely for at least the last five years. I know it sounds crazy but it’s time the wild wild West looked beyond what the mobile giants are pedaling today and ask themselves, “Why haven’t we done this yet?”

We’ve already seen a number of mobile payment technologies break onto the scene since the start of 2010, including a few raised right here in Austin, and they are doing more than just introducing new portals to give our money away; they are actually ballooning a market that has the potential to disrupt how we view, value, and spend our hard earned dinero.

There’s a little piece of chaos at SXSW for everyone; and every year, some folks navigate the flood of people and sensory overload a bit better than others – the difference between a SXSW veteran and noobie is noticeable at first glance. In an effort to reduce apparent nerd-ism, I’ve put together some helpful tips and found some neat tools for first-timers at SXSW.

In a recent ReadWriteWeb article, Dana Oshiro asked, “will this year’s branded iPhone app be a recommendation app?” The answer is yes, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Recommendations have always, even if unconsciously, been tied to the internet, but now it’s time for all that data to be paid forward.

Location-aware software is largely just a novelty right now, but over the next year will greatly impact entertainment, news, and even physical goods. Why you should get in now, or get left behind.