SXSW Interactive 2012

Keynote speaker Baratunde Thurston revels in the power of satire and humor online.

Embracing the free-flowing spirit of SXSW, two attendees raise a beer inside the keynote auditorium while listening to Baratunde Thurston speak.

SXSW film posters on display in the Austin Convention Center.

Events throughout the town of Austin leave lines of SXSW attendees popping up all over the city.

Interactive design expert Dave Hogue shares his expertise about simplicity and complexity in building websites and interactive projects.

A SXSW attendee writes on a Plexiglas wall, part of a booth sponsored by Dell, showing how the "interactive" part of SXSW isn't relegated to just technology.

Video game players compete in the Game Pavilion at SXSW.

Two players team up for an arcade cabinet game of Deer Hunter.

What game expo would be complete without at least a few live characters?

In the SXSW Interactive Games Pavilion, tiny fingers manipulate an iPad game of Stickman.com.

Throughout Austin, sponsored food trucks dot the streets, attracting groups of SXSW attendees.

A chalk board welcome sign to the SXSW Interactive Tradeshow is symbolic of how "interactive" was embraced in all its low-tech glory this year. Many booths and demonstration spaces utilized real-world forms of interaction, often in the form of collaborative drawing and writing on shared spaces, to encourage people to socialize.

An Austin-themed booth at the 2012 SXSW Interactive Tradeshow.

A young woman demonstrates Beautecam, an iPhone app that uses a small magnifying glass, which attaches to the phone's camera lens to take a close-up picture of your skin. The image is analyzed so that your skin can be rated according to certain factors, and then the app suggests beauty products to improve your skin.

Otter protective cases for smartphones, were put to the test with a giant game board. A woman dropped phones in Otter cases into one of the slots at the top, and attendees would guess where they would land at the bottom, in numbered slots, to win prizes.

Small business was in full swing at the SXSW Interactive Tradeshow official meet-up area.

SXSW attendees were pretty biserk about Glomper on Monday at the Interactive Tradeshow. Glomper is a new social mobile app that helps people find and create live events.

A SXSW attendee mixes his own music.

As people created their own music, it was pumped out of these enormous speakers in the rear of a hatchback.

Another boot at the SXSW Interactive Tradeshow that saw a lot of love was Mophie, which makes battery "juice packs" for smartphones.

In an international aisle of booths at SXSW 2012, a few attendees take a break for Japanese ceremonial tea… and a photo opp.