SXSW Is Bringing Texas to the World

As expected, South by Southwest is all digital this year. It’s bringing Texas to the world, instead of bringing the world to Texas.

Singer/ National Treasure Willie Nelson is a SXSW keynote speaker, as is possible future Texas political leader and actor Matthew McConaughey.
Seeing all of these Texans prominently featured at SXSW makes me wonder about the role SXSW has these days in the creation/ promotion of the concept of Texas in the world. Especially as people can’t exactly really travel right now.

For so many people around the world, their idea of what Texas is, and what Austin is, is formed by SXSW. (How many people have moved to Austin after first meeting the city at SXSW?) How good of a job will this year’s festival do in presenting Austin & Texas to the world,  while the world is sitting at home? 

In this new and unchartered territory, we will see how important a sense of place is to a digital festival.  What will it mean to be a Texan at digital SXSW, when the world isn’t coming to Texas for the festival?

How important is the local flavor of Austin to what is now a global event, and, this year, one that is taking place all around the globe?

We’ll see how this year’s digital festival unfolds, and maybe get some answers to these questions. Maybe some of these will be sorted out on the new app Clubhouse, which I think might play a big role in this year’s SXSW.

If you’re curious what’s going to happen at this year’s SXSW, you can still grab a ticket here.