As per usual, our office was a murmor the week before SXSWi as we researched speakers, compared schedules, and generally looked forward to digging into this year’s interactive panels. And, as per usual, half of the anticipated talks were nothing like the course descriptions while the other half were so interesting we couldn’t wait to get back to the office to relay poorly autocorrected ipad notes.

See our favorite sessions after the jump!

It’s no secret that we are huge fans of Austin’s biggest yearly industry conference, South by Southwest Interactive. This year looks jam packed with big name speakers (Rachel Maddow? Al Gore? That guy from The Oatmeal?!) and thought provoking talks on topics ranging from design theory to how to launch a startup. Here’s a quick rundown of the talks we are most excited about in 2013.

See them all after the jump!

As a designer at SXSW, I kind of felt like a kid in a candy store.

There were so many great talks on design theory, mobile design, negative space, and the future of web, that I had to make some hard decisions of what to go to and what to miss. So, because there is no way I could compress all the things I learned and interesting discussions I attended into one blog post, here are some takeaway points from my three favorite discussions.
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Looking to party with a bunch of monkees? Well, Friday March 16th might be your day! We’re giving out FREE passes to Texas Music Magazine’s SXSW Event sponsored by yours, truly — Monkee-Boy Web Design, Inc!

Of course, there is a lil’ catch. But we promise it’s worth it. In order to enter simply show us love in one of these places.

1. Twitter: Tweet “I want to party with @monkeeboy during #SXSW”
2. Pinterest: Follow a Monkee-Boy Pinterest Board
3. Facebook: Write on our Facebook wall why you want to hang out with Monkee-Boy on Friday March 16th!

That’s it! We’ll start contacting winners Thursday morning with details on how to claim your passes.

After nearly five days of SXSW Interactive, it’s easy to feel a bit of information overload. I wasn’t able to attend every development-related talk that I wanted, but I did make it to several, some of which were quite good. Here’s a rundown of some of the better ones, and some of the thoughts/ideas I’ve come away with.

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The week of emerging technologies, exceptional panels, quirky tech workshops and good ol’ fashioned face-to-face networking is here! Tomorrow marks the beginning of South by Southwest Interactive 2012.

If you’re like me, this year has been so jam-packed with action that reviewing the entire SXSW schedule has been impossible. Luckily, my fellow monkeys and I have formed a cheat-sheet of must see web and mobile events. Expect to see our familiar monkey mugs bouncing around these SXSWi events, and don’t be afraid to say hello!

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Still recovering from over a week of sleep-deprived days this month, but it was worth it. Attendance was up this year for Interactive, rumors have been flying that perhaps it was up around 30% over last year. There were so many events and panels this year that some even spilled out of the traditional convention center to neighboring hotels, as far as 6+blocks past to the Sheraton. Which as it has also been stated is where the “real” technology panels and talks happened, away from the fray of wild crowds and parties that surrounded the convention center.
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I have to say that after a semi chaotic and uninspiring day on Friday (Day One), Saturday (Day Two) was MUCH better.

I have come to the conclusion that I prefer the solo sessions as opposed to the panels because the material is much more focused, providing quality information and demonstrating tactical action items as opposed to debating opinions and/or talking about projects & clients that very few attendees will ever have the opportunity or budget to work on.
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South by Southwest Interactive starts tomorrow! Are you ready for a unique convergence of emerging technologies, original music, and independent films?! Well let us not forget to mention the amazing SXSW parties…

Here are a few helpful SXSW 2011 tidbits from our very own Social Monkee:
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