Whether you are going to South by Southwest or absorbing the show from afar, it’s easy to feel like the flurry of SXSW is whizzing through your feed and you’re not where you’re supposed to be. For those on the ground in Austin, Texas, it can be a harrowing experience managing all the activity and excitement. But don’t panic. There’s still plenty of time to get organized and make the most of what matters at SXSW.
This year’s event is jam-packed with more big ideas and innovations than ever before, and we’re here to help you take advantage of all the possibilities.
Since it began in 1994 with 36 speakers, SXSW Interactive has grown into the top global digital and interactive meeting in the world, with more than 30,000 attendees descending on Austin each March. The social and digital evolution can be chronicled by pivotal discussions at the previous 20 events, and no doubt there will be major milestone discussions in 2015.
Over the course of two decades, SXSW Interactive speakers have broadened from digital and social inventors such as Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram’s Kevin Systrom to the likes of new age auto and rocket manufacturer Elon Musk and social activist Edward Snowden. As the idea of "convergence programming" grows, SXSW Interactive in 2015 means people such as NBA legend Charles Barkley are part of the conversation, too.
The story today is about how digital and social innovation impacts every corner of business and industry to shape people’s lives, governments’ actions, and opportunities for new economic growth.
SXSW Interactive’s broad array of speakers and events is enormous, with so many things to see and do at the convention center, hotels, and sites around the city. Whether you’re a veteran or a first-timer to SXSW Interactive, you need to plan before you go to get the most out of the experience.
To help you plan, SXSW Interactive organizes content around very specific themes. MSLGroup is offering its third-edition Insider’s Guide to SXSW Interactive will help you follow the SXSW TraX of your choice with specific panel picks in six categories made by our top experts. You can download your copy of the book here.
Our team of experts will be onsite to follow seven different areas of interest and offer you real-time updates and discussion opportunities, both on social platforms and during live events. We’ll even make influencer introductions onsite and through social channels.
We invite you to contribute to the community and follow along by just checking our Twitter hashtags. This will be helpful to those of you heading to Austin, as well as those who want to track along from home. We will follow these categories:
Food and Experiential Dining – #MSLFood
Health and Medtech – #MSLHealth
Social Media and Privacy – #MSLPrivacy
Work and Career – #MSLWork
Branding and Marketing – #MSLBranding
Content and Distribution – #MSLContent
Global Opportunities – #MSLGlobal
We hope you join MSLGROUP on our journey to SXSW Interactive 2015. To get a daily email update, please visit this link to choose your TraX.
See you there.
Stephanie Agresta is global practice director, digital, at MSLGroup
@stephagresta