The start-ups that were so eager to get the word out about their companies through the distribution of free grilled cheese and the hosting of wild parties are now going to have to get real about running companies.

More than ever, the South by Southwest Interactive Festival was a marketing showcase. Here are some of the most interesting--and weirdest--uses of marketing dollars at this year's confab.

Getting used to the once-indie SXSW as a big, corporate-sponsored industry event is a bitter pill for some entrepreneurs and digital thinkers to swallow.

The annual South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSW) has gotten massive this year. One way to measure its growing influence: the number of celebrities who have been showing up at the Austin Convention Center and surrounding venues.

Microsoft demonstrated the new browser by showcasing of high-speed, app-like browsing experiences from big-name partners like Foursquare, Pandora, and eBay. Also, a game with cartoon stars.

The news network's head of digital strategy previewed some new additions to its online platforms that will see video commenting and a new viewing interface coming to the Web, iPad and elsewhere.

U.S. Sen. Al Franken urged the tech savvy entrepreneurs at South by Southwest not to sell out or let their government sell them out, and to stand up for Net neutrality.

Lugging around a MacBook is totally passe at this year's installment of the annual geek fest--but don't worry, PC makers, it's going to be awhile before the rest of the world follows suit.

With thousands of people overwhelming Austin and hundreds of events to choose from, how can a savvy SXSW attendee manage to find their friends and the best things to do right now?

One of the first presentations at SXSW was called The Sexual Survival Guide for Geeks." Apparently, geek sex is different.

A report claims Google might use a SXSW event this evening, co-hosted by the ACLU, to launch a new social network--purportedly called Circles--that will have privacy at its heart.

At the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, the team behind the wildly popular effort to re-imagine George Lucas' all-time classic with hundreds of 15-second community-created scenes delighted their audience with examples of how the crowd helped them win an Emmy.