In just three weeks I’ll be heading back to Austin, Texas for the South by Southwest Interactive conference. This will be my second year attending, and I’m starting to get my act together, using lessons learned from last year.
One of them is to travel light. Lugging my MacBook around all day (even in an easy to lug wheeled backpack) was unnecessary, but of course I still want to be connected.
With a smart phone, that’s not a problem. Since I have an iPhone, I’m focusing on that, but of course the sites can be accessed from any smart phone, and most of the apps have counterparts for other operating systems.
Official SXSW iPhone Apps
my.SXSW
Lists all official panels, keynotes, parties, etc and lets you select which ones you plan to attend & syncs with your my.SXSW account. It includes a “card” you can complete with all your contact information to make it easy to share, and sections for news and maps.
SXSW Play
“Includes a wealth of rich media from musicians, films, and interactive panels which will be featured at the festival.”
Unofficial SWSWi Mobile Sites & Apps
Sit By Us
Connect via Twitter and see which sessions your friends are in right now.
Happy Hour
Where the party at?
Other Sites and Apps
Gowalla (direct link to iPhone app), Foursquare (direct link to iPhone app), and Buzz Mobile.
SXSW seems to me what these applications were made for. Keep track of your friends, stalk A-listers. The hard part is figuring out which to use. Posting to all three seems a bit much.
i-nigma (direct link to iPhone app)
The conference badges will have QR Codes on them which will include basic information about each attendee. Grab this or another QR code reader to take advantage of this easy way to connect with people you meet.
Bump (direct link to iPhone app)
Share contact information by tapping iPhones.
Google Calendar
I’ve set up a separate calendar just for SWSW events I plan to attend. It duplicates the my.sxsw app but I like having it with the rest of my calendars.
Other Tips
- Bring a charger! Shove the cord into your pocket or bag. Don’t forget the outlet adapter!
- Bring a backup battery, especially if you, like me, haven’t upgraded to the 3Gs yet.
- Bring earbuds or a bluetooth headset. It gets loud and you have calls to make!
- Add post via email addresses to your contacts if you want to send content to your blog, Posterous, Tumblr, or other sites.
- Grab some photo editing applications to help your iPhone photos shine. I like Best Camera, PS Mobile, Photogene, and CameraBag to name a few.
- AT&T coverage was pretty bad last year. Texting worked better than voice, so tell people who need to reach you to try texting instead of calling (also see above, it’s noisy!)
- Exchange cell numbers with your friends and co-workers and add them to your contacts so you know who it is when the texts arrive.
Do you know of any other apps or mobile sites that would be handy during SXSWi? Have some tips? Share in the comments!
Great tips. I loko forward to your dispatches from the scene. I've never been to SxSw but one of these days…
Thanks for these great suggestions. I'm an old hand at SXSWi, but new things come along every year to enhance the experience. Hope to meet you there.
An iPhone is a necessity at SXSW, but only if you can access the conference WiFi. AT&T's 3G coverage last year was virtually inaccessible at the conference, especially with everyone trying to use it.
The qrcode on the SXSW badge will send you to the badgeholder's my.sxsw.com profile follow url.
The qrcode on the SXSW badge will send you to the badgeholder's my.sxsw.com profile follow url.