Notes Before SXSW 2024

March 7, 2024 by Jay Cuthrell

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See also: Notes Before SXSW 2024
See also: SXSW 2024 Days 1-3
See also: SXSW 2024 Days 4-9

I’m heading to Austin, Texas this week for SXSW 2024.

Will you be at SXSW 2024 too?

Getting Informed

In the past, I would live blog SXSW. Or, when there was a microblog social network of the times, I would live post hot takes. This time, I will not subject newsletter readers or social media followers to this real-time stream of stuff. Instead, I will revisit this same post over the nine (9!) days of SXSW 2024 and send the final update as a regular Fudge Sunday update.

Trust me. Your inbox will thank you later. SXSW 2024 begins this week and I am pumped. I am also oversubscribed. Of course, this is normal. Let’s visualize to set the mood… For example, this is Day 1 at SXSW 2024 (so far) for me.

Day 1 at SXSW 2024 (so far)

Strong start, right? Bold. But, I think we might have a problem. By we, I mean me. Day 2-9 at SXSW 2024 (so far) is even more packed with collisions. Exhibit A: Interactive, Film, and Music collide

Day 2-9 at SXSW 2024 (so far)

Eagle-eyed readers may notice the artifacts sneaking in at the top. Yes, those are bands and artists which means I also have many decisions to make… and my own need to sleep as a human that would like to function and partake of the prior programming choices I made.

So many decisions to make about so many bands and artists (so far)

And then there are folks like the Ausnio team making me consider even more things! 🤣

Update: Work Plug

Disclosure, I work for IBM.

At SXSW 2024, IBM is sponsoring the Artificial Intelligence track!

As a shoutout to my fellow IBMers, I’m planning to check out these sessions:

Why the Future of AI Should be Open featuring Dr. Dario Gil
Quantum Computing: Real, Revolutionary, Right Now! featuring Heather Higgins
Why We Should Be Talking About Quantum featuring Heather Higgins
How AI Is Changing the Art of the Job featuring Nickle LaMoreaux
UX Researchers and Designers Meet Up featuring Andreina Dyer

Keynotes

As there are only seven (7!) keynotes, I have selected the ones I feel strongest about but I’m also ready to vote with my feet.

And then… there are films to screen.

Films

There will be an astounding 451 screenings at SXSW 2024. Most films have multiple options and I am penciling in a few.

First, the truly high-brow ones…

Second, the ones I want to digest and think about…

Maybe I’ll pick up some short format features along the way.

Sessions

There is an amazingly daunting amount of sessions with unique voices from a diverse tapestry of industry, academia, and government. I needed to make hard choices!

Day 1 is always a rush just as it is a hard slog making it to Day 7. If SXSW has human bookends, they would be Hugh Forrest (Day 1) and Bruce Sterling (Day 7).

As I narrow down my selections strategically, I will also judiciously apply my Platinum Badge entitlements and my allocation of SXXpress Passes. Tactically, I’ll be able to decide in the first 5 minutes if I am voting with my feet to find a discussion outside a session or flip to an alternate session that overlaps.