As South by Southwest has grown in the years since its beginnings as a music festival, the interactive component of the festival has garnered more and more attention and grown along with Austin's reputation as a high-tech hub.
In the Beginning
South by Southwest -- also known as SXSW or "South By" -- began in 1987 as a music festival designed to showcase local artists from the city's eclectic music scene.
As the festival grew from 700 registrants to thousands, in 1994, organizers decided to add a film and interactive component and expanded the original name to the SXSW Film and Multimedia Conference. The following year, the film and multimedia component was split into separate events. Then, in 1999, organizer renamed SXSW Multimedia, and it became SXSW Interactive.
In 2011, organizers estimated that the film and interactive events jointly attracted 17,000 registrants.
Notable Happenings
SXSW Interactive marked a number of milestones, including the addition of a component for video games in 2006. That same year, the festival's keynote panel included Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist, and Jimmy Wales, a co-founder of Wikipedia .
In 2007, the social media tool Twitter garnered buzz and attracted a number of new users after it was promoted at SXSW Interactive.
In 2009, the festival added its Accelerator competition in which companies battle for bragging rights over advancements in social media, mobile applications and Web entertainment. That year, the Foursquare application was launched at SXSW Interactive.
In 2011, SXSW Interactive added a technology summit for industry leaders from European, Asian, Middle-Eastern and South American countries.