How do I get around a new city without Uber or Lyft? Where is the best mouth-watering BBQ? And how does Austin stack up to other tech hubs across the U.S.?
For the first time ever, GeekWire is headed to SXSW next week, where we’ll be spending time at the popular festival in Austin, Texas, that combines tech, music, film, gaming, and much more into ten action-packed days.
My main focus at SXSW — outside of finding the best BBQ and navigating around an Uber/Lyft-less city — will be sports technology. Much like the big Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, sports tech has become a big theme at the annual event as technology continues to impact the sports world.
Founded in 1987, SXSW this year is inviting folks like Dallas Mavericks owner and serial entrepreneur Mark Cuban; Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive; Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, who spoke at the GeekWire Sports Tech Summit; and others. Athletes and sports celebrities like Kerri Walsh Jennings and John Cena are also slated to talk.
Other hot topics apart of this year’s sports tech track include artificial intelligence; Snap’s Spectacles; marijuana; robotics; live streaming; drone racing; investing; and more.
We’ll also be exploring some non-sports coverage. For example, Jill Soloway, creator of hit Amazon show “Transparent,” is giving a keynote address; Stan Chudnovsky, head of product for Facebook Messenger; is on a panel about bots; famed investor Chris Sacca will talk about startups; and Nick Denton, founder of Gawker Media, will also speak.
The “Interactive” track at SXSW is the “tech/startup” portion of the event, but SXSW goes far beyond that, with additional tracks covering “Film” and “Music.”
Let us know if you’re headed to SXSW — you can email me or find me on Twitter — and stay tuned for all our coverage from Texas.
