Tech geeks, film fanatics, and music lovers UNITE! It’s that time of year again when we all descend en masse to Austin, TX for ten days of panels, screenings, and parties. That’s right. We’re talking about the one and only, SXSW. What started out as an alternative music festival in 1987 has transformed into a breeding ground for new technologies and creative ideas.

1. The Evolution ofThe Evolution of
sXswsXsw
See how South By
Southwest transitioned
from a music festival to
the biggest tech party
of the year.
20092009
5k5k
10k10k
15k15k
20k20k
25k25k
30k30k
35k35k
20102010 20112011 20122012 20132013
19871987
SXSW launches as
a music festival only
19941994
Added film &
interactive part
called “SXSW
Film & Multimedia
Conference”
19951995
Film & Multimedia
Conference was split
into two separate
events, SXSW Film &
SXSW Multimedia
19991999
SXSW Multimedia
renamed SXSW
Interactive
ATTENDANCE FOR SXSWi
NOTABLE SXSW ALUMNI
ADVERTISINGADVERTISING
SOFTWARE
DEVELOPMENT
SOFTWARE
DEVELOPMENT
SOCIAL MEDIASOCIAL MEDIA
SALES/
MARKETING/
PR
SALES/
MARKETING/
PR
ELECTRONIC
MEDIA
ELECTRONIC
MEDIA
FINANCE/VENTURE
CAPITAL
FINANCE/VENTURE
CAPITAL
WEB DEVELOPMENTWEB DEVELOPMENT
NON-PROFITNON-PROFIT
EDUCATIONEDUCATION
AGENCYAGENCY
TOP 10 BUSINESSES
AT SXSWI
20062006
SXSWi keynote panel
of Wikipedia co-
founder Jimmy Wales
& Craigslist founder
Braig Newmark
20072007
Though it launched
before the festival,
Twitter gained early
traction & buzz
at SXSWi
20082008
Interview of Facebook’s
Mark Zuckerberg goes
sour when audience
turns on tech journalist
Sarah Lacy
20092009
SXSWi saw the
launch of Foursquare,
a breakout
mobile app
20102010
1st
year SXSWi
attendance surpassed
the music festival’s
AGE
31–40
51+
41–50
21–30
YEARS
ATTENDED
SXSW
1st
2–4
5–9
10+
2012 DEMOGRAPHICS FOR SXSWI
<25k
$26–50K
$51–75K
$76–100K
$101–150K
$151–200k
>$201k
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$
COMBINED HOUSEHOLD INCOMECOMBINED HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Drink lots of water
& bring a reusable
bottle.
Charge your devices
whenever you can &
bring a power strip
so your whole group
can charge together
Wear comfortable shoes.
Download the SXSW
app to keep track of
events & never miss
a party!
Bring plenty of business
cards. You’ll be doing
lots of networking.
HOW TO SURVIVE SXSW
activ8social.com // @activ8social // facebook.com/Activ8Social
SOURCES:
1
http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/digitalsavant/entries/2010/03/17/confirmed_sxsw.html/
2
http://www.alexanderrea.com/2012/07/01/sxsw-interactive-235-percent-bigger/
3
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9889528-52.html
4
http://sxsw.com/sites/default/files/attachments/SXSW_Marketing_Deck.pdf
JOB
FUNCTION
Marketing
Business Dev, Sales
Creative
Owner,
Education, IT,
Legal, Student
Management
29%
24%19%
18%
10%
$$$$$$$$$$
40%
60%