The South by Southwest (SXSW) Conferences & Festivals kicked off last week and is nearing its end.  The Interactive portion is already over, with Film and Music concluding over the weekend.

So what was in store for attendees at SXSW 2013?

Tech goodies

Google’s Talking Shoe was one of the most talked about appearances at the event.  Many were expecting Google to brandish Google Glass, but a talking shoe is just as interesting.  Though it’s weird to have a shoe motivate your game or trash talk your opponent, it’s a pretty cool concept.  There’s no word on whether or not the talking shoe will be commercially produced, but I know a few people that would be interested in purchasing a pair.

That’s not to say Google Glass didn’t get any love at SXSW this year.  The search engine giant revealed a string of apps designed for the augmented spectacles, making the potentially revolutionary gadget even more of a reality.

Outside of the Google camp, there’s the Motion Leap Controller, which makes using your computer or laptop much more interesting.  It fuses reality and virtual reality by allowing natural gestures to be translated into movements on your PC screen.

Big Data at SXSW

SiliconANGLE Senior Managing Editor Kristen Nicole was invited to moderate a panel regarding Big Data at SXSW.  Topics touched during the panel discussion included whether it would be wiser to build or buy Big Data solutions, data integrity being “coded” into the algorithms underlying a Big Data solution, the challenges solution providers face in educating and servicing clients, and why expertise is so important for executing a successful Big Data deployment.

Apps, apps and more apps!

Ambient-aware apps were big at last year’s SXSW and the hype hasn’t subsided.  More ambient apps made their way to the event.

Speeker, Zamp and Tinder were just some of the apps that mixed social and content discovery at SXSW.  Speeker lets you discover things happening around you, and shares content in real-time or to to others who will be in the vicinity at a later time.  Zamp is a travel companion app that lets you meet people at airports or in flight, supposedly without looking like a fool.  But the most interesting ambient-aware app may be Tinder’s dating app.  It lets you discover people near you and if you both like each other, the app acts like your wingman.  If the person you like doesn’t like you back, no harm no foul.

Startup haven

Startups feel at home at SXSW and the conference has even added Startup Village to show its official support to the heart of its Interactive segment.

Kiip, CardFlick, Belly, Fake Grimlock and SweetLabs are just some of the startups that caught the attention of attendees.  Some of them have great gimmicks while others just let product or service speak for itself.

How was your SXSW experience this year?