As tech enthusiasts and entrepreneurs nursed their hangovers and headed home after SXSW Interactive, there were still newsworthy launches, panels, and campaigns going on at SXSW Music. MOG hinted at its future revenue streams, Sean Parker predicted the fall of iTunes, and products launched from Rap Genius, Monstro, and others.
The second half of SXSW is much more about concerts than startups, but it’s the only place to see next year’s buzz bands while making business connections. Luckily for those who missed it, or slept through the business hours, I survived the 11-day marathon of the two conferences back-to-back to bring you this breakdown of what the tech world needs to know about SXSW Music. → Read More
TechCrunch TV talked to Path co-founder and CEO Dave Morin last week while we were at the South By Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas. It’s always interesting to talk to Morin, who is widely regarded as one of the most well-connected and in-the-know entrepreneurs in today’s web startup landscape.
In this interview, Morin discussed the latest update to the Path app, version 2.1, which was released earlier this month. We also got his thoughts on Path’s larger API strategy, what Facebook’s IPO will mean for the startup world, his favorite apps of the moment (he is yet another of Highlight’s big-name fans), and Path’s rumored plans for another round of funding. → Read More
What kind of tech startup can be built over four days, while riding across the country on a bumpy bus with somewhat dodgy Wi-Fi? The people who took the StartupBus to Austin, Texas for the South By Southwest Interactive conference found out. The StartupBus had its biggest year ever this year, with busloads of hacker-entrepreneurs from 11 regions in North America coding their way down to SxSWi with the goal of launching a minimum viable web app by the time they arrived in Austin.
Last Sunday, a select group of the best StartupBus apps came together to pitch their work to a panel of potential investors. The winner was Cerealize, a website that lets you custom mix your own blended breakfast cereal and ships a box to your home. Watch the Cerealize team pitch their product to TechCrunch TV in the video embedded above. → Read More
Highlight is one of the most talked about apps out there. It was touted to be the breakout app at this year’s SXSW. But it wasn’t. In fact, almost everyone I’ve talked to who used it ended up turning it off or uninstalling it.
(The same probably goes for Glancee, Sonar, etc.. but I only really tried and talked about Highlight.)
I’ve had many discussions about the app and most have been really polarizing. Either people love the idea, or absolutely hate the idea. I find myself trying to have a more balanced opinion. Although I uninstalled it the first day, I think the overall concept of Highlight is interesting and with enough adoption, could be compelling for the right user.
But SXSW was the wrong place for it to break. Here’s why. → Read More
Every year, before, during, and after South by Southwest, everyone’s eager declare someone the winner of the conference. Then comes the inevitable backlash, with questions about whether Popular App X will ever catch on with “regular people” — or if it’s just useful to techies who are constantly checking their iPhones in search of the next party.
For the second year in a row, mobile Q&A app Thumb (formerly known as Opinionaided) is offering its own take. It made a list of the apps that seemed to be getting buzz at the conference, then polled its users on whether they actually used the apps. The results (there were 4,700 responses total, with at least 220 for each question) are being pitched as an answer to the question, “Which SXSW Apps Do Real Americans Actually Use?” → Read More
Earlier this week, TechCrunch TV hosted a live show from the floor of the convention center at the South By Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas and we were really pleased to have technology evangelist and early-stage startup hunter Robert Scoble as a guest.
Watch the video above to hear Scoble’s thoughts on how SxSWi has grown over the past decade from a few “geeks off in the corner” to a massive gathering, what apps he’s most excited about right now (Highlight gets a mention), his time on the StartupBus, why he’s still bullish on Google+, the kind of startup pitch he’s sick of hearing, and lots more. → Read More
The last time TechCrunch checked in with Brittany Morin was in mid-November 2011, when the former Googler had just debuted her own lifestyle brand, Brit Media, aimed at positioning herself as the “Martha Stewart of Silicon Valley.” So TechCrunch TV caught up with her earlier this week in Austin, Texas at the South By Southwest Interactive conference to find out how things have been shaping up since the launch and what her plans are for the months ahead. → Read More
Some people are surprised when they find out that Getty Images is just 17 years old — its brand name has become such an institution in the image licensing and stock photography space that many people assume it’s been around for decades longer. But starting in 1995 just at the dawn of the Internet age does make it a veteran in many ways, compared to its much younger peers in the web photo space. So we were pleased to have the chance to interview Getty Images’ co-founder and CEO Jonathan Klein while he was at the South By Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas this week to get his insights on how his company has grown up until this point and where it is headed in the months and years to come. → Read More
TaskRabbit, the online marketplace that lets people outsource small tasks and errands to others for negotiated fees, expanded operations into Austin, Texas this past week just in time for the South By Southwest Interactive conference. Now that the Austin launch is out of the way, founder Leah Busque told TechCrunch TV, going forward TaskRabbit will work on deepening its reach in Seattle and Portland. International growth — into London and Vancouver in particular — is also “on the horizon,” she said. → Read More
Even in an election year where Republicans and Democrats are at each others’ throats even more than usual, there is still one political issue in the United States that both sides have to get behind in order to stay in voters’ good graces: Job creation. And since so many jobs these days are created by startups and small businesses, a number of politicians have started championing initiatives to make it easier for people to start their own companies. One such example is the Startup Act, co-authored by Republican Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas and Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia.
TechCrunch TV had the opportunity to sit down with Senator Moran this past weekend at the South By Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas, where he was speaking about the Startup Act and meeting with entrepreneurs from all over the country. We were able to get his insights on what exactly the Startup Act could mean for entrepreneurs, why creating startups is a bipartisan issue, how Silicon Valley should engage with Washington, D.C., and much more. → Read More
Looking for a band for your tech conference, wedding, or launch party? San Francisco startup Hear It Local has just launched a private concert booking and crowdfunding platform that connects you to local musicians, just in time to catch the attention of the music crowd at South By Southwest. Smaller venues can also use Hear It Local to fill their calendars with great affordable bands.
Unique experiences are rising in value thanks to mobile devices and social networks that make it easy to share our attendance. As both individuals and big brands throw more events, and services like EventBrite make them easier to mange, Hear It Local could grow by bridging the divide between promoters and talent. → Read More
Here is the second half of our two-part interview with legendary inventor and thought leader Ray Kurzweil (you can see part one here.) Here, Kurzweil discusses why sleep is so important for technological innovation (but it’s OK to party and program all night once in a while), why facts are better off on Wikipedia than being drilled into students’ brains, the latest bit of research with which he’s recently become fascinated, and why you are what you think. → Read More
Academy Award winning actor Forest Whitaker was at SXSW this past weekend, where his JuntoBox Films studio — which combines crowdsourcing social media technology with traditional film production — announced it has greenlit its first movie. Watch his interview with TechCrunch TV to see him discuss how technology is democratizing the filmmaking process, how Hollywood is slowly getting over its fear of the web, and how many apps he has on his iPhone (spoiler alert: it’s a lot!) → Read More
Legendary scientist, inventor, futurist, and all-around tech icon Ray Kurzweil is attending the ongoing South By Southwest Interactive conference for the first time ever this year, and TechCrunch TV was very excited to be able to sit down with him for an interview. In this first half of our talk, watch Kurzweil discuss why we need more young entrepreneurs, how today’s consumer app landscape proves his Law of Accelerating Returns, how education is stuck in the 19th century, why privacy isn’t as big of a problem as we think, and lots more.
From the floor of the Austin Convention Center, TechCrunch TV is live with all the latest news from SXSW. Find out what TechCrunch writers have to say about their favorite apps, events, and surprises. TCTV’s Colleen Taylor leads a roundtable with our TechCrunch writers. There was huge pre-show buzz for the app, Highlight. We’ll talk to the Founder Paul Davison and about whether it lived up to the hype.
We’ll also have interviews with Dave Morin, Founder of Path; Adam Goldstein, Co-Founder of Hipmunk; and Robert Scoble. → Read More
BandPage, Facebook’s top app for artists trying to stream and promote their music to fans, now powers 500,000 musician Pages. Just 6 months ago that number was 250,000, showing the rapid shift in focus of bands from MySpace and standalone websites to Facebook where fan retention is better. BandPage also just announced new features that allow listeners to tell friends about favorite songs through their Facebook Timeline and the Ticker feed with a single click.
Publishing to Ticker helped Spotify score massive growth and it could do the same for BandPage. BandPage needs to do whatever it takes to keep growing its artist count since it can’t rely on big checks for custom development work from the world’s most popular acts — a model that’s helping other musician marketing services turn quick profits. → Read More
Mark your Calendar. Tune in to TechCrunch later today for a special show, live from the Austin Convention Center at SXSW. TCTV’s Colleen Taylor will host a roundtable with TechCrunch writers who have been running around the city non-stop. They will tell you about the best and worst of what they saw and might discuss TechCrunch Real World Austin. We’ll also speak with the Founder of the much talked about mobile awareness app (yes, it needs a better description) Highlight, Paul Davison.
Other top guests include Dave Morin, Founder of Path; Adam Goldstein, Co-Founder of Hipmunk; and Robert Scoble. → Read More
Don’t be fooled by Bing Gordon’s buttoned-up sounding job title as a partner at top tier Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers — he’s known as easily one of the most fun people to talk to in the tech industry. So when we saw him in Austin, Texas at the South By Southwest Interactive conference this weekend, we pulled him aside for an interview with TechCrunch TV. → Read More
6 drinks for an 160-pound, 30-year-old male? That’ll take 2 days off your lifespan. Just in time for SXSW, 100Proof is a mobile web app from healthtech startup 100Plus that calculates how your drinking shortens or even lengthens your lifespan. Cute graphics shows you how much sex or time boxing a kangaroo you’d have to spend to work off those calories.
Founder Chris Hogg tells me 100Proof delivers the serious message of being mindful of your habits but with a fun tone, and that it previews some of the functionality the full 100Plus app will offer when it launches. He also shared with me some real-time data from the app like that 50-somethings are drunker than those in their 40s, and that Android users drink more than those on iPhones.
→ Read More
The “buspreneurs” have arrived in Austin! The StartupBus, which began a four-day journey from San Francisco/Silicon Valley on Tuesday morning, completed the final leg of the voyage yesterday. The teams of entrepreneurs hoping to debut new products at South by Southwest Interactive arrived by way of San Antonio, where they received an enthusiastic welcome at Rackspace. “We live in a magic moment of innovation and entrepreneurship right now,” remarked Rackspace CEO Lanham Napier as the StartupBus teams took another break from the road.
Take a look at the video to see how apps like Expensieve have become reality. And as the entrepreneurs pull into rainy Austin, they share what they gained from this whirlwind experience and where they hope to go from here. → Read More
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