SXSW Interactive Announces Over 500 Sessions

SXSW is big. For the Interactive portion of the festival it’s apparent by the occupation of every conference room, multimedia room, multi-use space, outhouse, and doghouse within a mile radius of Downtown. That’s because they have to squeeze more than 100 sessions into each of its five days.

That’s easily double that number of people discussing the present and future from every conceivable angle of interactivity. That encompass art, science, marketing, design, entertainment, public policy, health, technology, food, entrepreneurship, sports, style, gaming, and more. Seriously, that list could be twice as long.

This latest announcement drops names like Scandal’s queen of crisis Kerry Washington and noted interviewer and divorcée Larry King. Other names include Mashable founder Pete Cashmore, Google’s charitable giving director Jacquelline Fuller, and national director of the Anti-Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt. Sure, there's also a best-selling author (Jonah Berger) and a beauty brand CEO (Emily Weiss), but what would the fest be without a futurist with an alarming outlook? Jerry Kaplan, for one, fills that role.

This is all in addition to previously announced speakers including Casey Gerald, Anthony Bourdain, Adam Silver, and Andy Puddicombe to name only a very few. It’s daunting, but you can peruse the myriad panels on the SXSW site. We recommend you choose a specific track (i.e., SXsports, Health & MedTech, Branding and Marketing, etc.) to narrow your search for the perfect panel.

The fest takes over Downtown Austin March 11-15. Gird your smartphone and Twitter account.