sxsw

There's been lots of interest in the UKTI Trade Mission to SXSW (10th -15th March) so we've extended the deadline until Monday 7th February. If you are looking to expand into the US this is the perfect opportunity, so go and apply now and you could get yourself a place on the UKTI Trade Mission to SXSWi.  

Following the recent announcement of the UKTI Trade Mission to South by South West (SXSW) Interactive 2011 (10th-15th March), there's some rather good news for digital firms based in London who need a helping-hand to take part in the mission.

The marvellous people at UK Trade & Investment London have announced that they have secured 10 grants of up to £500 (tbc)  available for digital companies based inside the M25. This contribution towards the costs of going can be used towards travel and accommodation expenses of taking part in the UKTI SXSW mission.

It's January, the days are short. The rain is lashing down. Yes, it's that time of year when digital folks minds drift towards Austin, Texas and the massive annual gathering that is South by South West Interactive.

Last year over saw over 14,000+ delegates from 54 countries attend 450 conference sessions and this year promises to be bigger than ever. Alongside the interactive conference, there's also SXSW Film and the legendary SXSW Music festival.

SXSW (or South-by to those in the know) has some form as a trend-setter, it's credited with helping Twitter really take-off. Ditto with FourSquare. What'll it be this year?

It's a unique experience, an a great opportunity for UK digital firms to meet the broadest possible audience from the US digital industry, and from across the globe. 300 Brits made the trip last year and there'll certainly be a large number heading West this time around.

Supporting these UK digital firms, UK Trade & Investment are organising a trade mission to SXSW, including:

SXSW Interactive, one of the most exciting events in the digital calendar, will be taking place 11th - 15th March 2011 in Austin, Texas.

This year it will be hosting two competitions, the SXSW Accelerator and the SXSW Interactive Awards, both of which showcase the unique innovation and convergence that only happens at SXSW. The deadline for both is fast approaching - Friday 10th December at 11:59pm.

Plans are afoot for next year's trip out to South by South West Interactive, and we hope, a Digital Mission that's even better than last year.

Due to factors beyond our control the details are still being confirmed but we wanted to make sure that this trip was on your radar as early as possible.

We're gathering expressions of interest from companies who would like to join the mission using this form, as it's likely to be a fairly quick turnaround when applications open.

There's just a couple of days left to add your support to the Brits who have submitted panels for the massive digital shindig and Digital Mission destination that is South by South West Interactive 2011.

The Panelpicker lists all of the 2,410 submissions to the conference section of the event with audience votes comprising 30% of the decision-making progress, so those votes are crucial.

Can it really be that time of year already? The PanelPicker for South by South West Interactive (SXSW), the annual mass-gathering of digital types in Austin, Texas is open for votes and we're building a list of all the panels submitted from the UK.

The lengthy journey to Austin hasn't deterred an increasing numbers of Brits from making the trek, with initiatives like the Digital Mission to SXSW organised by Chinwag, which involved nearly 100 companies this year mixing with over 14,000 delegates from the US and beyond.

A highlight of SXSW is the enormous opportunity for networking. And it's not just catching up with the Americans, with such a large British contingent making the trip to Austin, it's a great chance to catch-up with people from the UK, too.

Bill Thompson, Gareth Mitchell and the crew from BBC World Service's Digital Planet show were in town to record a special live session at SXSW interactive (listen here). Bill swung by the Digital Mission stand where I pounced on him with my flip and asked him about his first SXSW...

The third video installment from Digital Mission to SXSWi 2010 from Techfluff.tv's Hermione Way.

In a whirlwind trip around SXSWi, she speaks to the Digital Mission companies, visitors to the Digital Mission stand "Trust Agents" author, Chris Brogan and Tuttle Club's Lloyd Davis with a ukelele solo (yup, you read that right).

It's hard to describe South by South West interactive. Yes, it is a trade show. Yes, it's a conference. Yes, there's lots of business going on.

The laid-back atmosphere of Austin pervades the event, and despite the frenetic activity, networking and business going on, for the attendees it doesn't feel like a corporate environment.

Hermone Way from Techfluff.tv, took her film crew out and about at the Austin Convention Center, to try and capture what makes SXSW special.

Preparations for the impending mission to South by South West interactive (SXSWi) are in their final stages. Chinwag Towers is littered with all manner of goodies ready for the trip to Austin.

Hermione Way and her crew at Techfluff.tv, with a helping hand from the folks at Viadeo, have put together a trailer for the Digital Mission to SXSWi, giving a flavour of the companies attending, and capturing the pace of what awaits them...with a dollop of tongue-in-cheek for good measure.

Check out 'Mission Possible'...

Top UK Firms Selected for Prestigious US Digital Mission

PRESS RELEASE: London, UK, Thursday 21st January 2010

Forty of the UK's leading digital SMEs have been selected for the second annual Digital Mission to South by South West interactive (SXSWi), one of the world's leading conferences for interactive media taking place in Austin, Texas from 11-17th March 2010. Established in 1994, the conference provides an opportunity for the Digital Mission companies to attend hundreds of conference sessions and networking events.

The successful companies were chosen from over 120 submissions by an advisory board of industry experts drawn from the UK community including: VC's, export specialists, legal experts, journalist and industry pundits, to take part in the Digital Mission to SXSWi.

The companies selected for the Digital Mission to SXSWi '10 are:

• Amberlight
• Audioboo
• Blueleaf Digital
• Brainient
• Codegent
• Codility
• Cube Interactive
• Face Group
• FreshNetworks
• GigLocator
• Howard Baines
• Illumina Digital
• KMP Digitata
• Likecube
• Little World Gifts
• Littleloud
• Mendeley
• Mobilized
• MOFILM
• Moonfruit
• MusicMetric
• Nsyght  
• oneDrum
• Orange Bus
• PageDo
• Pixeco
• Plug-in Media
• Qhub
• Rummble
• Silence Media
• Skimlinks
• Slicethepie
• Smidgn
• SubHub
• TweetJobs
• UberVu
• Vibio
• Videojuicer
• Wolfstar
• WorldTV

Detailed information and contact details for each company is available from the official Digital Mission website: http://www.digital-mission.org/sxsw10-companies

SXSW Interactive festival is the digital conference to attend. Yes, it helps that it's based in sunny Austin, Texas and that the BBQ food is *awesome*, but it's also packed full to bursting with top notch panels from the brightest minds in tech

There are hundreds of networking events hosted by industry leaders and an unbeatable line up of special programs showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer - all happening over 5 days!

Digital Mission to SXSWi is back for it's second year after the success of the mission to Austin in March 2009.

The mission to SXSWi is a great opportunity to take advantage of the publicity and profile from a group of British companies attending SXSWi.

The applications for the mission are open until Fri 4th December. The form is pretty painless and shouldn't take more than 20 mins to complete. There's also lots more info about the application criteria on the Digital Mission website.