I landed in Austin, Tex., tonight with high hopes for the next two days. Conservatives from across the country — and many in Texas — are gathering at the Renaissance Austin Hotel for the Right Online conference. The fact that liberals are across town at Netroots Nation (formerly known as Yearly Kos) makes our conference even more special.

For several months Americans for Prosperity has been working with allies on the right (Heritage, Leadership Institute, Media Research Center and others) to create a gathering that would bring together activists, organizers and web gurus. Over the next two days, attendees will get a taste of everything from online fundraising and social networking to reputation management and web video. Blogging will be a key component.

Heritage alone is sending five people to the conference. Tomorrow my colleague Bill Beach, director of our Center for Data Analysis, will teach a class on Computer-Assisted Research and Reporting to nearly 20 professional and citizen journalists. Others from Heritage include: Todd Thurman, who joined us from Yahoo! last month and oversees online marketing; Alex Adrianson, editor of the comprehensive InsiderOnline.org website; and Mark Kelly, who is connecting conservatives every day in our coalitions office.

It‚Äôs fitting the conference is taking place in Texas. In addition to raining on the liberals‚Äô parade at Netroots Nation, Right Online will showcase the movers and shakers in the nation‚Äôs second largest state. Texas has taken a leading role in government transparency — an important cause for online activists. As I wrote about just last week, the Texas Public Policy Foundation is making access to information a top priority through TexasBudgetSource.com. I‚Äôm anxious to see what else is happening on the ground.

For me personally, the trip is a great opportunity to visit a new place in America. For all the places I’ve been and cities I’ve seen, I’ve never had the occasion to visit the Lone Star State.

UPDATE — 1:27 a.m.: Jose Antonio Vargas of the Washington Post writes about the Right Online conference. He mentions Heritage’s weekly bloggers’ lunches and quotes several friends, including a key organizer of this conference, Erik Telford.