10 Reasons to Register for SXSW 2018

The Forrest Four-Cast: September 8, 2017

Get the deepest discount for SXSW if you register by the end of the day on Friday, September 8. The ten top reasons to invest in a badge for March Magic 2018 are as follows:

1. Cross-Industry Learning. With 24 different tracks covering everything from brands to food to startups, SXSW empowers you to discover all the most innovative new ideas in all the areas that you need to know to stay ahead of the curve in the 21st century.
2. Incredible Networking Opportunities. Where else can you meet so many of the worlds most creative thinkers? SXSW makes the networking process easy via Meet Ups, Mentor Sessions as well as dozens and dozens of receptions, parties, and other events. Connect before March via SXSW Social.
3. Ta-Nehisi Coates. Join the best-selling author (pictured above) of “Between the World and Me” and “We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy” plus other exciting keynote speakers like Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Esther Perel (relationship guru) and whurley (quantum computing expert) who will set the big-picture tone for the 2018 event.
4. Dr. Fei-Fei Li. The Chief Scientist of Google Cloud headlines a stellar lineup of Featured Speakers that also includes Mark Cuban (investor), Joseph Lubin (Ethereum), Tim O’Reilly (author), Amy Webb (Future Today Institute) and numerous others.
5. The Trade Show. Scheduled March 9–13 at the Austin Convention Center, this high-energy exhibition space features hundreds of forward-thinking companies. You’ll also meet dozens of international delegations who are eager to cultivate new opportunities.
6. The SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event. The world’s top startups show their skills at this competition, which runs Saturday, March 10 and Sunday, March 11. If you are an entrepreneur, then get your application into the mix before the Friday, November 10 deadline.
7. Workshops. In addition to the full array of Keynotes, Featured Speakers, solo presentations, and panels, SXSW attendees learn new career-enhancing skills via assorted in-depth, multi-hour workshops.
8. The SXSW Film Festival. All badge-holders now have access to the SXSW Film Festival (March 9–17), which screens feature-length narratives, documentaries and shorts from the industry’s top up-and-coming (and established) talent.
9. The SXSW Music Festival. Over the course of six nights, SXSW registrants hear 1500+ bands and solo artists from across the US and around the world at more than 100 of Austin’s best live music venues.
10. And There’s Always More More More. In addition to the many other benefits of SXSWeek that are outlined above, all badge-holders gain free admittance to the SXSW Comedy Festival (March 9–17), plus SXSW Gaming (March 15–17).

Finally, don’t forget that SXSW has special registration rates for students and for groups. See you in Austin in March!

Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.

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