It's that time of year again when thousands of the world's most creative digital minds descend on Austin, Texas for networking, inspiration, and a little bit of BBQ. I'm talking, of course, about SXSW, the conference that brings like minded people from the worlds of digital, music and film together each March to commiserate over thousands of panels, screenings, and live performances covering a whole wealth of different topics.

I'll be joining a small team of AOLers who will be in Austin for the Interactive portion of the conference, and we'll be posting dispatches from the event here and on our Advertising blog as well. (We'll also be hosting an Artist Showcase for AOL Music on March 15th, but we will share news around that event soon!)

Before we get started, if you're lucky enough to attend, I'd recommend that you utilize a scheduling tool like Sched's Unofficial SXSW Guide, presented by our friends at MapQuest Vibe, the native SXSW Go App, available for iPad, iPhone and Android, Blackberry and Windows Mobile 7 or Lanyrd, which helps you figure out which panels your friends are attending. All of these apps will help keep track of where you need to be, and when, as you bounce around all 15 different SXSW campuses spread throughout the city of Austin. If you're attending for the first time, check out SXSW's First-Timer's Guide to SXSW, and buddy up with someone who has gone before. It is extremely helpful!

Without further adieu, here are my suggestions for panels to check out to get you started (all require a SXSW Interactive badge unless otherwise noted)!

March 8th | March 9th | March 10th | March 11th | March 12th | March 13th


March 8th:

March 9th:

March 10th:

March 11th:

March 12th:

March 13th:
  • 11:00am at Sheraton Austin: Media professionals from The Week, New York Observer, Ad Age, and Slate discuss a key question of our time: Is Aggregation Theft?

There are tons of other events that are worth attending (I am still filling up my calendar), so I encourage you to view the full SXSW schedule by clicking here and adding your favorites!

Stay tuned to updates from SXSW Interactive 2012 by following me on Twitter, following #aolsxsw, @AOLAdvertising and @AOLPR on Twitter for the latest content updates from panels, and daily updates during SXSW Interactive on this section of the blog. Hope to see you there!