In 2010, SXSW’s Interactive Festival surpassed the Music portion for the first time in attendees.  Considering the droves of humans that flood the incomparable music hub of Austin, Texas for the Music portion of the festival, this was no easy feat.  Three years later, in 2013, those numbers doubled.  No longer willing to be Music’s red-headed stepchild, the Interactive Festival has really stepped up her game – here is our guide to the hottest topics, trends and technology to grace the Fest this year.

Meet Your Heroes, and Teleconferences from Exile

In past years, the Interactive portion of SXSW has been known to kick up more drama than its creative and temperamental counterparts in Music and Film (take for example the social media storm that followed the 2008 keynote conversation with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg).  This year is no exception; per usual, it is the speakers chosen for keynotes and panels that are generating the most buzz, and for good reason.  Not only is Wikileaks founder Julian Assange scheduled to speak remotely during the conference, but famed whistle-blower Edward Snowden will be teleconferencing from exile in Russia to converse with the American Civil Liberties Union’s principal technologist Christopher Soghoian.  The panel claims attendees will be able to “hear directly from Snowden about his beliefs on what the tech community can and must do to secure the private data of the billions of people who rely on the tools and services that we build”.  The conversation will happen via satellite on Monday, March 10th at 11:00am Central, and as one of the most anticipated panels of the festival, will also have livestream hosted by the Texas Tribune.   Other speakers worth noting are Adam Savage of MythBusters fame, and everyone’s favorite astrophysicist/rock star Neil deGrasse Tyson, who will not only be speaking, but also screening COSMOS: A SpaceTime Odyssey starring none other than himself.

The Future of Digital Currency

Attendees, investors and entrepreneurs have shown massive interest in an exhibit to be hosted by Atlanta-based BitPay, a digital currency payment processor who hopes to “give valuable insight into the future of payments” and plans to “provide an interactive and in-person bitcoin experience”.  CEO Tony Gallippi is personally speaking in two panels – “Bitcoin and Math Based Currencies: The Road to $100 Billion” and “The Future of Money”, which he will host with Aaron Task of Yahoo Finance and Bob McCooey of NASDAQ.  With the possible exception of Online Privacy, Digital Currency looks to be the hottest ticket item at this year’s Conference.

Hot Tech to Watch For

While the Interactive Festival is slated to highlight all sorts of new and trendy wearable technology, nothing really seems to stand out as a can’t-miss or “best of” item.  Nonetheless, I recommend attendees take note of some of the new and exciting ways that will be displayed this week for you hip kids to wear your gadgets.  “The Internet of Things” highlights some of the biggest technological advancements of the last year, and will a look into the future of areas like 3-D printing, gaming and social media.  With so much amazing technology being showcased this year it was hard to pick any true frontrunners before they were given the chance to present, but if San Francisco’s Launch Festival was any indication, a startup called Connect looks like it may be the belle of this year’s techy ball.  Connect is the brainchild of Sarah Lavoy and Ryan Allis, an app that gathers all of your contacts from your phone and social networks, then shows where they have checked in or posted something near you – only in a not-creepy way.  As a lazy minimalist, I am beyond excited to see how this “all-in-one” really works.  In the Honorable Mention category worth mentioning is the SAM API launched by Bravo Labs, which has been described as giving developers “the tools needed to create applications that enhance everyday experiences for people by changing the way they interact with physical spaces including offices, restaurants, arenas and other large venues”.   Intrigued?  So am I – if you get a spare moment, they definitely sound worth checking out.

Wherever you end up, good luck, godspeed, happy hunting and Cheers! To you all.