SXSW Interactive Is Coming Up: What to Expect

More than 30,000 attendees are expected at this year’s SXSW Interactive. Whether you’re Austin-bound, or keeping tabs on the five-day event from home, here’s a quick look at what we’re sure to see.

Social, Social Everywhere: The essence of SXSW Interactive over the years, and one of our personal favorite topics: Social media will be ubiquitous at the event. In fact, did you know Twitter was introduced at the 2007 conference? Whether you’re interested in content marketing, cyber-bullying, data and security, social commerce or even how NASA uses social media, there’s a session on almost every imaginable topic.

Robots, Automation and A Petting Zoo: With automation becoming increasingly popular, several events at SXSW Interactive will explore the future of these technologies, and where an automated approach works to improve efficiencies and where it might hinder progress. This year also marks the first-ever SXSW Robot Petting Zoo, where visitors can operate, pet and program terrestrial and aerial robots.

Wearables and Connectivity: We predicted that wearables would continue to be big this year. With SXSW Interactive coming on the heels of the Apple Watch news, it’s no surprise that there will be hundreds of diverse events dedicated to wearables and The Internet of Things (IoT). Among them: a session on the fundamentals of IoT, one on preventing data overload and a panel about brands introducing advertising to wearables. 

Good Ideas: SXgood is the event’s platform for causes and social innovation. Under the SXgood umbrella, the United Nations Foundation (a frequent client of The Motherhood’s) will be presenting a two-day Social Good Hub with collaborative events and opportunities for attendees, including nonprofits, to swap ideas to drive positive change.

More Space for Startups: One criticism of the event in recent years has been that more mainstream, big brands began to dominate the conference where startups used to thrive. This year, though, SXSW has doubled the amount of space devoted to these innovators at Startup Village – the destination for entrepreneurial programming that has been around since 2012. Not to be missed: the startup competition, SXSW Accelerator®, on March 14 and 15.

What technologies and ideas do you predict will come out of this year’s SXSW Interactive? Share with us in the comments!