sxsw

Hottest new apps out of SXSW 2012

Think of SXSW, or "South-by" as it is affectionately known by its attendees, as a sort of amalgamation of film, music, and interactive media conferences, but topped with copious amounts of booze and barbecue sauce, and neatly packaged in a charmingly chic weeklong festival. It is a geek gathering like no other.

But more than just the expected parties, panels, and conference sessions, SXSW for the past few years has also been seen as a potential springboard to startup success, particularly for mobile apps. Considering the well-documented launch of Twitter at SXSW 2007, and the less epic, though … Read more

.CO Internet is a company cool enough for Brooklyn hipsters

AUSTIN,Texas--If you haven't heard of Juan Diego Calle's company quite yet, consider yourself not among the in-the-know here over the last few days.

Yes, the buzz at this year's South by Southwest Interactive has been around social apps like Highlight and Glancee hoping for a Twitter-like breakout. But there's another hot startup here that gets little press and yet is everywhere.

I'm referring to .CO Internet, the Miami company that fought hard to land a contract with the government of Colombia so it could commercialize the country's top-level-domain, or TLD.

At last year'… Read more

SXSW 'Homeless Hotspots' ignite controversy

The advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty's BHH Labs launched a campaign at the film, music and interactive festival South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, that is raising ire among critics.

In what appears to be a case of poor judgment, BBH Labs kicked off a campaign called "Homeless Hotspots." Yep. It is exactly what it sounds like--walking, talking homeless people who provide access to a 4G network in exchange for a donation (BBH Labs suggests $2 per 15 minutes). … Read more

Diller's Aereo Web TV countersues broadcasters

Well, it certainly didn't take long for Barry Diller to follow through with his promise to go after the broadcasters.

Aereo, an online video service owned by Diller and his IAC/InterActive Corp., has filed a countersuit against the broadcasters who have taken aim at his new venture, according to a report from Reuters. The suit declares that Aereo does not infringe on the broadcasters' copyrights.

Aereo was hit with suits earlier this from nearly every major TV broadcaster in New York. The Internet TV service, which was scheduled to launch March 14, intended to take shows freely available … Read more

The 404 1,008: Where does this look infected? (podcast)

The sun is starting to show itself to the East Coast, which means you probably won't see Jeff outside without a hat, sunglasses, and industrial-strength sunscreen.

Joseph Kaminski hangs out in the studio with us this morning and helps us with the rundown that includes rumors about the next Xbox, a review of Mass Effect 3, and homeless 4G hot spots at SWSW 2012.… Read more

Two ideas for handling content aggregators, attribution

Here's the simple truth about news on the Internet: Any original article can be (and often is) quickly rewritten and redistributed across the Web--sometimes in ways that credit and direct readers back to the original source, sometimes not.

Now some optimists hope to establish codes of conduct for so-called content aggregation, the NYT's David Carr reports.

Although aggregators can often send a lot of traffic to the site where an article first appeared, that's not always the case.

Last year, for example, writer Simon Dumenco wrote a column for Advertising Age on Steve Jobs' death. Soon after, … Read more

CNN to buy Mashable for around $200 million, report says

This could be the news of the 2012 South by Southwest: CNN is set to pay more than $200 million to buy social media blog Mashable, according to Reuters blogger Felix Salmon.

Salmon, who is attending this week's festival and conference in Austin, Texas, says that "a little bird" told him that CNN will announce the deal on Tuesday. If the deal goes through as rumored, it would be an amazing coup for Mashable founder Pete Cashmore, who founded the blog in July 2005. The site draws about 20 million monthly unique visitors

The New York Times confirmed … Read more

At CNET's SXSW 'big data' panel, sparks fly over privacy

AUSTIN, Texas--Representatives from opposite sides in the "big data" privacy debate tangled Sunday over whether a proposed White House "privacy bill of rights" is necessary to keep Americans safe online.

During a "big data" panel sponsored by CNET at South by Southwest, Berin Szoka, president of the non-partisan, non-profit, tech policy think tank TechFreedom, argued that states and the federal government might have better results providing privacy protections for Americans by enforcing existing laws than they would if they adopted new regulations.

"We have a difference of opinion of when government should get … Read more

The best OHs at SXSW?

AUSTIN, Texas--"We can't get in? Whatever, that's the douchiest party," began the incensed would-be reveler at South by Southwest. And then the quick about-face. "Wait, can we get in?"

Or this geek gem: "Can you unplug it? I want to see the ports."

Or maybe "'We're a consumer-facing data driven multiplatform Web-based solution with wide market appeal.' 'Huh?' 'We send people cat videos.'"

These and many more are "overheards," the famous "OH:" Twitter convention that can sometimes leave you speechless at the fact that … Read more

Instagram coming to Android 'really soon'

In the near future, Android users will be able to start sharing photos on Instagram, according to TechCrunch.

The popular app is coming "really soon," the app's founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger said at a South by Southwest conference presentation today. "In some ways, it's better than our iOS app. It's crazy," Systrom said.

Instagram is a free photo sharing app that let's users touch up and share photos with other followers on the app; pictures can also be uploaded to social-networking sites like Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook. Some describe Instagram … Read more