South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, TX, starts on Friday, March 8! If you’re not familiar with this event, or if you want to test your trivia knowledge, then check out this interesting infographic from Rocksauce Studios, which Guy Kawasaki shared earlier this week.

There are so many exciting sessions and speakers that it’s hard to choose which to attend. Even if you’re not attending SXSW, you can follow along on Twitter by searching #sxsw. You’ll be able to join the conversation and share what you see with your followers.

One session that looks incredible is Tina Roth Eisenberg’s keynote on March 10. She’ll be talking about social’s impact on design.

As the mother of a tween daughter, two other sessions have caught me eye:

Digital Drama: Growing Up in the Age of Facebook With Bill Keller, Danah Boyd, Emily Bazelon and Jason Rzekpa.

Is Women’s Media Too Girly? With Anna Holmes, Deborah Schoeneman, Margaret Johnson, Rebecca Fernandez

IBM will be involved in several SXSW speaking sessions:

I Know Where You’re Going: Location as Biometric With Jeff Jonas, IBM Fellow & Chief Scientist, and Jennifer Lynch from Electronic Frontier Foundation

The Large Enterprise of Social Media – Meet Up Hosted by Noah Kuttler, Market Segment Manager, IBM Enterprise Content Management

Mentor Session With Rawn Shah, Social Business Strategist, IBM

Engaging Government for Fun, Profit & Meaning With Gadi Ben-Yehuda, Innovation & Social Media Director – IBM Center for the Business of Government, Amanda Eamich from USDA, Mary Krakowiak from National Archives & Records Administration,  and Tammi Marcoullier from US General Services Administration

Making Accessible Transportation Modern & Cool

With  Bill Curtis Davidson, Accessible Transportation Solutions & Business Development Lead, IBM , James Pol from US DOT, Kamiar Kordari from TRX Systems, and Mohammed Yousuf from DOT.

I will be participating on a panel that is not on the SXSW schedule but will be fun and informative:

Just Add Followers – The Key Ingredient to Telling Your Brand Story and Getting Results

Panel Discussion with Shoutlet, Bare Escentuals & IBM, Moderated by TechCrunch       

Gone are the days when brands used a brochure or static website to tell their story. Today, social media provides a platform where brands can communicate their story through the way they engage and interact with followers. And often, those interactions shape the brand in new ways, too. Join TechCrunch, IBM, Bare Escentuals and Shoutlet as we take a look at social storytelling and provide practical tips and tools for the job. You’ll hear a robust discussion on how to effectively manage online communities, listen to fans and impact buyer behaviors and preferences. More details here.

When:             Saturday, March 9 from 2:00 – 4:30 pm

Where:            Lambert’s Downtown BBQ

IBM is planning an extensive presence at SXSW. Please stop by and say hello!

Mix at 6 Happy Hour

Date:               Saturday, March 9, 6-8pm

Location:        Haven Bar

5th Annual SXSW Interactive Accelerator

Date:               Monday, March 11 and Tuesday, March 12

Location:        Hilton Austin

What: New technologies and start ups presented at SXSW. IBM is sponsoring Social Technologies track

SXSW Trade Show

Date:               Sunday, March 10 through Wednesday, March 13

Location:        Austin Convention Center, Exhibit Halls 3 & 4

What: IBM booth will showcase solutions for Social Business, the Mobile Enterprise, Digital Marketing & Analytics, and Global Entrepreneurs

Last but not least, the famous Grumpy Cat from Twitter and Facebook will be doing meet & greets and “signing” autographs. That’s just the type of event that you expect at SXSW!

See you in Austin!   Sandy