Culture

Scenes from SXSW Interactive (photos)

Austin, Texas' South by Southwest Interactive is festively crammed with tech, food, drinks, and parties. Here's a quick tour.

James Martin

See full bio

James Martin

March 13, 2012 3:09 p.m. PT

1 of 17 James Martin/CNET

Along 6th Street in Austin, Texas

Along the 6th Street bar corridor in Austin, Texas, on Sunday night, SXSW was in full swing. Today marks the official end of the Interactive portion of the festival and the official start of SXSW Music.

We've seen apps and keynotes, consumed lots of food and drink, and, of course, overheard all kinds of stuff on Twitter.

Dozens of bars were filled to capacity on Sunday, the last opportunity for many of the Interactive attendees to network and celebrate, with music spilling out onto 6th Street and dozens of companies hosting their event-closing parties.

Take a look at a few of the scenes from SXSW Interactive 2012.

2 of 17 James Martin/CNET

Pork belly bahn mi tacos

One of the best things about Austin is the food, and during the SXSW festival, there has been no shortage of sponsored parties and food trucks serving free food. These pork belly banh mi tacos, which were served up courtesy of Web site builder Squarespace, were one of my favorites of the weekend.

3 of 17 James Martin/CNET

Longest. Line. Ever.

When I arrived at the Austin Convention Center on Friday to pick up my badge, I encountered one of the longest lines ever. Thousands of people were trying to get their badge at once. The line snaked through the convention center, doubling back dozens of times, and took hours to get through.

4 of 17 James Martin/CNET

Rain, rain, rain.

Coming from San Francisco, I was expecting a change from our normally foggy, 62-degree weather. I was surprised to find that Austin was actually colder than San Francisco--around 50 degrees and raining.

5 of 17 James Martin/CNET

The Onion's Baratunde Thurston

Baratunde Thurston, who leads digital development at satirical newspaper The Onion, delivered the keynote address to the SXSW Interactive audience Saturday afternoon.

6 of 17 James Martin/CNET

Blackened Tuna Po Boy

In Austin, food trucks can really deliver. What is arguably some of the best food in town comes from food trucks, as I discovered with a late-night snack of a blackened-tuna po boy from Turf N' Surf Po Boy on Congress Street.

7 of 17 James Martin/CNET

Cyborg anthropologist Amber Case

Cyborg anthropologist Amber Case explored our increasingly symbiotic relationship with machines during her keynote at SXSW Interactive on Sunday afternoon.

8 of 17 James Martin/CNET

Hacking at Google Village

Hackers and engineers spent some time on Sunday in Google Village along Rainey Street, where they were building bots to compete in the Lego Mindstorms Rumble.

9 of 17 James Martin/CNET

Delta Spirit at the CNET party Sunday night

California folk rockers Delta Spirit played at the official CNET party Sunday night, held at Maggie Mae's along 6th Street. The group's eponymous new album comes out today. You can get it here.

10 of 17 James Martin/CNET

Strolling Google Village

Set up in rented houses and bars in its own part of town, the Google Village became a festival within a festival, attracting food trucks and street musicians to Rainey Street.

11 of 17 James Martin/CNET

Bike powered margaritas

Margaritas made via bike power at the Android House in the Google Village on Sunday.

12 of 17 James Martin/CNET

GroupMe grilled-cheese eating contest

Preceding the main event, where champion eater Takeru Kobayashi set a new world record for eating the most grilled-cheese sandwiches in 60 seconds, GroupMe hosted an eating contest between SXSW attendees.

David Tisch, left, managing director of angel investment firm TechStars in New York, briefly set the world record by eating four grilled cheeses--before champion eater Kobayashi took the stage.

13 of 17 James Martin/CNET

Kobayashi sets new world record

At the eating contest, hosted by RecordSetter, which allows users to set world records by uploading video, and GroupMe, whose technology enables mobile messaging among groups, champion eater Kobayashi set the world record for the number of grilled-cheese sandwiches eaten in 60 seconds: 13.

14 of 17 James Martin/CNET

CNET at the Thirsty Nickel

CNET and SecondMarket co-hosted events at the Thirsty Nickel along 6th Street all weekend, with panels and interviews, as well as an open bar, free food, and Blue Bottle coffee.

15 of 17 James Martin/CNET

Google Maps themed pinball machine

At the Google Maps House in Google Village, attendees could relax with a Google Maps-theme pinball machine. The temporary Googleplex at SXSW is offering Google Passport and Google Offers carts to help attendees find deals on places to eat, shop, and play in Austin.

16 of 17 James Martin/CNET

Salt Lick BBQ

About 45 minutes outside of Austin is Salt Lick, a legendary barbecue joint that sits on a big ranch and features endless picnic tables lit with strings of white Christmas lights.

A trip to Salt Lick is almost a SXSW rite of passage. With family-style platters of grilled sausage, ribs, and brisket, it's a real, not-to-be-missed Texas experience.