sxsw

Who the heck are these people? Highlight's social overload

South by Southwest hasn't even started yet and already the friend-finder app Highlight

is being pegged as one of the most important new mobile apps of the show. It's a little app that alerts you when friends, and friends of friends, are in the same place as you at the same time.

Unlike Foursquare or Facebook, it works without requiring check-in, which is what makes it cool. The serendipity factor is just through the roof. It'll tell you if a person you know (that is, a Facebook friend) is in the coffee shop where you are standing … Read more

Sony announcing Vita news on March 9

Hungry for more PlayStation Vita news?

A Friday Webcast hosted by Sony and titled "PlayStation Vita Game Heaven" will reveal "unannounced Vita titles, upcoming releases, Vita services, as well as new information about in-release titles," notes Andriasang.com.

A teaser video clearly hints at developer interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, but English-only speakers may have a hard time following.… Read more

Highlight, the people discovery app that could change the world

Every year at the South by Southwest Interactive conference, hundreds of apps vie to do what Twitter, Foursquare, Gowalla, Beluga, and Group.me have done over the years: Dominate the conversation and springboard to huge success.

Each of those apps became the talk of Austin, Texas, during SXSW because they were total game-changers when it came to how people communicated with each other. And because SXSW is the confluence of all the movers and shakers in the interactive community, there's no better place to have an app blow up. Succeed there, and the community will yell out your app'… Read more

Foursquare and VH1 partner to help schools with music

With SXSW and Coachella on the horizon, Foursquare and VH1 have partnered to increase visibility and raise money for the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, according to the tech news site Mashable.

How it works is concertgoers can follow VH1 on Foursquare to earn a limited edition "VH1 Save The Music" badge, then when they check-in at music venues across the country they'll be able to unlock the badge and $1 will be donated to the VH1 Save The Music Foundation.

This foundation launched in 1997 with the goal to give public schools musical instruments and also … Read more

StartupBus prepares to take Europe by storm

When entrepreneurs all over Europe begin speeding toward Paris for the high-profile LeWeb conference next month, one of the most innovative startups of all might well be a Trojan horse.

On December 4, the StartupBus Europe will depart the canals and revelry of Amsterdam on a three-day bus and boat trip to the French captal via Copenhagen, Berlin, and Zurich. On board will be 25 "buspreneurs" broken into teams, each of which will spend the 72 hours en route, plus the three days of LeWeb, trying to win a competition to build the best new product.

But while … Read more

Bringing sustainability home to Main Street

AUSTIN, Texas--Imagine a community--urban, suburban, or rural, your pick--that has more choices for housing.

More options to get where you need to go. Closer to jobs. Closer to stores. Closer to schools.

Insulated from the whims of oil prices in the Middle East. Clean water to drink. Crisp air to breathe.

Seventy-nine percent of Americans say they're on board with this vision. (Just 5 percent oppose.)

But call it "sustainability," "livability," or "smart growth"? Wave goodbye to your support.

A panel of experts gathered here today at the inaugural SXSW Eco conference to debate the methods of achieving concepts most Americans support without allowing them to be mired in politics.

Their conclusion? Get the messaging right from day one.

"Part of our problem is too much focus on cities at the expense of our friends in suburban and rural areas," said Robin Rather, chief executive of market research firm Collective Strength.

"We are right now facing a hellacious attack organized by [conservatives] on the notion of sustainability. Part of it is because we focus on cities, celebrate cities, and are not reaching out to suburban folks." … Read more

SXSWi 2011: My Austin adventure

Recently, I made my maiden voyage to SXSW, the annual festival in Austin, Texas, which is affectionately referred to as "Spring Break for Geeks." I had heard about it for years. It's all about discovery: new bands, new films, and new interactive media. Each year at SXSW purveyors of technology, film, music, and all things pop culture get up close with tens of thousands of passionate taste-makers as they take in lots of media, have conversations, and receive oodles of free stuff. This year, CBS was the first to bring a new network television show into the … Read more

With SXSW over, what's next for group messaging?

At the South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSW) last week, messaging start-up GroupMe gave away 2,500 grilled cheeses branded with the company logo, and drained 13 kegs of Shiner Bock beer. It also saw over 2 million messages sent during groups created specifically for communication during SXSW, too, co-founder Steve Martocci told CNET.

"Things are going very well," Martocci said of the start-up's promotional efforts at SXSW, which included the "GroupMe Grill" strategically placed across the street from the Austin Convention Center for the distribution of the aforementioned free beer and grilled cheese to … Read more

Japan struggles in quake's aftermath (week in review)

It's been a week since Japan's devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami. Amid the disaster cleanup and relief efforts, new problems continue to evolve, such as the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Anxiety over the damaged facility increased Wednesday as the United States' top nuclear regulator told Congress the situation was worse than reported by the Japanese government and that "extremely high" radiation levels could hamper containment efforts. On Friday, Japan's nuclear safety agency raised the severity of the crisis to level 5, up from 4, on a scale going up to … Read more