In the blink of an eye, SXSW has wrapped up its final events just last Saturday, leaving attendees in awe once again. This year, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama opened the event with their keynote presentations, making this the first time in SXSW history that a sitting president and the First Lady attended the event. Additionally, Drake made a surprise guest appearance headlining at The FADER FORT, leaving fans with their jaws to the ground as he released the announcement of his upcoming ‘Views From The 6’ tour. Finally, virtual reality was the newest breakthrough trend this year at SXSW, as multiple companies released their latest inventions in the digital industry. Continue…

Since 1987, SXSW has brought in tens of thousands of attendees each year– and this number continues to grow as the event gains more publicity and stardom. For local merchants, SXSW is a great event for their businesses. However, for the rest of us, it can be a huge hindrance, as traffic quadruples, Uber surge prices are at its highest, and the large crowds make it extremely difficult to get into the downtown area. Where do we go when SXSW is invading our city? Here is your chance to explore the great sights that the surrounding areas of Austin have to offer:

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This year marks the 23^rd annual SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin. As a breeding place for discovering new technological advances, this five-day event will take you on a journey into the future as we hear from industry leaders and influential speakers give their insight on the emergence of new ideas and how they will shape our future. We know SXSW can be overwhelming with the hundreds of events to attend, so we narrowed down a list of our top 5 must-see speakers this year.

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Our enthusiasm for SXSW 2016 is inevitable, as are the lines for Austin’s famous food spots. While it may be tough to avoid the large SXSW crowds completely, here are our best alternatives to the places that are already anticipating a mass of people coming to try these local hot spots.

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Just like that, that’s a wrap of SXSW 2015. We had a great time checking out Interactive panels and keynotes, some films, and great bands in the sun (and a lot of rain). To wrap it up, we will be running two blogs: this one on awards and then an upcoming one on top speakers. Two of the most important awards for Interactive honor incredibly innovative companies, products, and startups. The SXSW Accelerator Startup Competition has 48 technology companies go head-to-head in a two-day competition with six winners, while the SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards focuses on evolving and broadening trends of the digital industry, giving out fourteen awards and four special honors.

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SXSW 2015 came and went with a bang, per usual. We had a great time checking out Interactive panels and keynotes, some films, and great bands in the sun (and a lot of rain). To wrap it up, we are running two blogs: a previous one on awards and then this one on top speakers. There were over 600 sessions at SXSW Interactive – the majority of the sessions were picked via users on the SXSW PanelPicker, with more than 3,000 ideas entered. Needless to say, it was very hard to choose the top speakers. Before SXSW, we ran our top 5 speakers to see – now we have our top 5 speakers that we saw.

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While it’s likely you hear all about SXSW bands, films, and interactive panels every year, most people don’t know the exact history of how the festival first started and then grew to the massive event it is today. This blog is part one of our four-part SXSW blog series that will span throughout February, with one blog going up each week.

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SXSW is easily one of the most exciting weeks of the year in Austin. However, it can also be loud and confusing, making it very important to plan ahead. If you’re well prepared, you’ll have no problem catching all – or at least most – of the sets, shows, films, and speakers you want. It will also be easier to meet up with friends or colleagues if you know where you’ll be and when you’ll be there. To help out, here are our tips for surviving SXSW 2015. This blog is part two of our four-part SXSW blog series that will span throughout February, with one blog going up each week. If you missed it, part one covered the history of the festival.

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This year there will be over 600 sessions at SXSW Interactive. The majority of the sessions were picked via users on the SXSW PanelPicker, with more than 3,000 ideas entered. The result is a variety of influential speakers in categories such as Art, Science, and Inspiration, Branding and Marketing, Content and Distribution, Fashion, Gaming, and Sports – and that’s just a short list. While there are many speakers we would love to hear, we’ve narrowed down a list of 5.

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SXSW is a lot of fun, but it can also be very exhausting, loud, and busy. Sometimes we all need a break from the festival to re-charge. To help out, we have a list of 10 things to do outside of SXSW while in Austin.

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