It takes a lot more than a stack of breakfast tacos to survive the social and scheduling explosion that is South by Southwest. With thousands of panels, screenings, shows and parties all squeezed into nine surprisingly short days, it's very easy to lose track of space, time and a whiskey-soaked colleague or two.
[eventbug id="sxsw2011"]Wired's SXSW crew has pieced together a survival kit consisting of a handful of mobile apps designed to keep you on time, in the know and entertained.
Some are specific to the annual conference in Austin, Texas, which in past years has served as a launch pad for Twitter and other heavy hitters. Others will serve you well beyond Austin's city limits.
SXSW Go
Sure, it seems obvious, but there are two reasons the official SXSW app deserves a home on your iPad. First, there's the "Discover" channel. Instead of presenting everything in a stuffy grid, it slickly pairs eye-catching photos with all the vital who, what, where and when for upcoming events. On top of its marriage of form and function, it's actually great for, well, discovery.
Coming in second on SXSW Go are the "Places" and "Maps" sections. These helpful hubs provide a complete list of all the venues, event schedules for each location and even directions to and from any combination of venues. This one's essential, at least until SXSW wraps on March 20. Also available for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7.
Beluga
In a sense, Beluga is like having your own chat room with friends. The app lets you set up messaging groups, called "pods," and then blast out missives to the whole gang in one fell swoop. Want to round up the posse for a 6 p.m. dinner at Stubb's Bar-B-Que? Just select the group and start texting. The true beauty of the app is its compatibility; even non-Beluga users can receive the messages as plain-vanilla text messages and respond to the group seamlessly. It's like the mobile chat room of the future, but with less "a/s/l"? Available for iPhone and Android, with BlackBerry coming soon.
Lanyrd
Sometimes a bird's-eye view of a sprawling event is best. "Social conference directory" Lanyrd achieves this by offering everything SXSW has to offer at a glance -- attendees, popular events and even tweets coming out of (or generally about) the conference. Users of the web app can "follow" the deluge of multimedia flowing from the conference too, including podcasts, videos, image galleries and blog posts. Though it can be a little overwhelming to stay on top of the flow of info, Lanyrd remains one of the best ways to get caught up on the day's highlight reel and any missed events.
Uber
With thousands of conference-goers competing for comparatively few taxis and pedicabs, it's nifty to have an app-fueled ace in the hole. Uber ditches the concept of meatspace taxi-hailing by providing on-demand town car service via both its app and text messaging. All it takes is pulling up a map within the app, pinpointing where you'd like to be picked up, setting up payment options, and you're off! The app even takes care of payment (a nominal tip is automatically included in the price). Apps available for iPhone and Android.
Bragging about debauchery via text is passe. True social media mavens use photo-sharing app Instagram to coyly advertise their exploits. Oh, and a pro tip: Try to share fewer pictures of meals and more photos of the serendipitous -- like Bill Murray serving cocktails to conferencegoers. Available for iPhone.
Sched
Want to go less official and more social with your scheduling? Sched.org's unofficial SXSW schedule is great for building out custom itineraries and shooting copies to your mobile device. It also scales painlessly with Outlook, Google Calendar and social sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Sched says its mobile web app boasts "nothing to install and perfect for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry."
Foodspotting
Some of Austin's greatest meals travel on wheels. Foodspotting's website and iPhone app will not only tell where to find great sit-in eats, but also give you the deets on the city's deliciously diverse food truck scene. Mouth-watering, food-fetishizing photography included.
Plancast
Scheduling apps are a dime a dozen, but Plancast gives you a peek at the guest lists of some of SXSW's biggest events. As the website's users log in and check off their planned attendance at various venues, you get a general idea of which outings are slated to be ragers (like Foodspotting's Street Food Fest) or find smaller meet-ups to crash with friends.
Shazam
With the amount of music filling the bars and streets of Austin, the chances of encountering a band you've never heard of is high. Rather than be the clueless n00b who shouts, "What're these guys called again?" in between songs, why not lean on Shazam's excellent song-tagging app instead? Once the app "listens" to a snippet of a song, it can identify and catalog the artist and track for safekeeping. Available for all kinds of phones.
Have we missed some killer app? Did we forget some brilliant snippet of code that could get Team Wired running harder, faster, stronger? Share your setup in the comments below.
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