Back in January we launched version 1.0 of the my.SXSW iPhone app. Never in our wildest dreams could we have guessed it would be so popular months before the big event. Thousands of SXSW friends and fans have downloaded the app and many have taken the time to give us feedback as we continue to improve the app in anticipation of SXSW.

The latest release of the my.SXSW app (version 1.2, pictured here), is chock-full of some cool, new features and many significant improvements since 1.0. Here’s a quick snapshot of what we’ve got so far. Keep the feedback coming. While the clock is ticking, we’ll keep coding for as long as we can. Who knows, even if we can’t get to your suggestion this year, we may include it in next year’s app!

A handy feature you may not have known about is that my.SXSW works offline, too. So, even if the network is busy or unavailable, you can still see your schedule and find events near you in the app.

Schedule

Did you know SXSW is made up of almost 4,000 events? Pulling down all these events and viewing them in your iPhone or iPod Touch is a massive undertaking for your little device.

We preload the app with the latest schedule. When you open the schedule, the app looks for changes. The early adopters among you are likely to notice significant, shall we say, pain upon opening the app after considerable time away. Why you ask? Because as our schedules are firming up there have been so many updates, your iPhone probably struggled processing the onslaught of new data.

With Version 1.2, we’ve completely re-architected the download processes (cheers for the feedback, Isaac in London!). So, as long as you have the newest version, the schedule download process will handle all the updates much more smoothly.

Downloading the events to your phone, however, is just the first step. The fun part (building schedules and picking shows and sessions to attend) can only happen when you view those events. Truth be told, it’s real hard to make viewing all 4,000 events in any smart-phone screen pleasant.

With version 1.2, we gave it our best shot by adding a filter for you to select your track the first time you come to the schedule (you can always change it later). The Music track alone still has over 2000 events, but browsing through these is much faster than going through the entire list. Once you pick your track, you’ll still want to use the “Refine” filter in the top right hand corner of the schedule for an even faster experience.

Maps

Since our v1.0 release, we’ve updated nearly all of our events with locations so you can view them on the map and on floor plans for specific venues. For venues that have multiple events at one time, you can click into the balloon and see a list of the events and click through to get details.

If you go to the Map section of the app you can toggle through the dates, via the time selector on the top right corner, and start to check out what’s happening hour by hour within a seven-block radius.

We make it easy for you to find events around you with a little map pin. Initially, all our map pins were the same color; we improved that now (thanks so much for the suggestion Jim M. from Billings, MT!). With the all new techni-color pins, you can easy see the track for each event. By clicking on the pin for an event, you can get the full event details including the ability to read a description, add the event to your schedule, and even listen to an mp3 or watch a trailer (for events that have them).

My Card

Do you get this whole “My Card” thing? It’s actually probably the coolest feature in the app. It’s like a paperless (aka GREEN!) business card for SXSW. To get started, fill out your My Card (which is basically just a typical profile but you can add a picture and some social sites, etc, etc).

Meet someone cool while listening to Tuvan Throat Singers? If you’re a badge holder, just open the my.SXSW app, type their name into the search box in the app and once you find them, click the action button in the upper right hand corner to send them your card. You can see the contact info right away but once they accept your card, you’ll get their info in your phone’s address book (in a SXSW group) and vice-versa.

What’s great about this is that sending someone your card “Follows” them as a friend on my.SXSW, which means (assuming they have their privacy setting open) you’ll be able to direct message them through the Messages module.

Even if you aren’t a badge holder, My Card offers a lot of perks. To connect with someone, just go to My Card, type in his or her email or cell phone number and hit send card. They’ll get an email or text message with your request (they’ll need to download the DUB or my.SXSW iphone apps to accept).

Once your card is accepted, they’ll have your contact info up to date throughout the show and beyond. If you hit it off with that 17-year-old wunderkind CEO and take a job in San Jose, just update you’re my.SXSW My Card once and everyone you connected with will have your most up to date info. (But don’t call support line if your contacts keep asking you to get them a job, k?)

Messages

If you’re a SXSW badge holder, you’re in an elite group. Make the most of it…

Enjoy the exclusive, badge-holder only functionality in the “Messages” section of the app. With my.SXSW messaging you can send messages about events by clicking the compose icon on the top right of any event detail screen.

Enjoying the DJ Jester the Filipino Fist show? Let everyone in the room know. Or chat privately with SXSW connected friends. No hash tags needed. Your messages will go to the people who care most about them without any extra effort from you.

Info

It’s a lot to take in, we know. Thousands of events. Tens of thousands of new potential friends. And let’s face it, maybe an alcoholic beverage or two.

We want to make it easy for you to get the most out of the show and our app, so the new “Info” tab gives you a one-stop shop for FAQs, support contacts, and our my.SXSW app blog.

If you can’t find the answer here, we probably don’t know it, but contact us and ask away, we’ll do our best to get you the 411 you need.

These things time to build, and there are still some usability kinks, we know! Here are a few of the trigger buttons we’ve been hearing about. Maybe this will help you out if you’re stuck.

Hey! How come the event times in the app different than what I see on the my.SXSW site?
The my.SXSW app localizes all event times based on the timezone set in your phone. So, if you’re in Austin everything should be consistent; otherwise, you’ll see the correct time where you phone is located when you view the events in the app.

I thought this thing was in sync with the website! Why aren’t my schedule events from the my.SXSW site in the app’s map?
Synching between the site and the app only occurs when you enter the Schedule module. So, if you don’t see your newly added event on the map, go to the Schedule module to get the latest info.

Who is DUB and why do they keep prompting me to log in?
The app uses Powered by DUB for exchanging contact info and keeping it up to date in your address book via the My Card feature. If you didn’t register for the app from the Web site and you deleted and reinstalled the app, the app needs your DUB password to verify who you are.

If you forgot your DUB password, please go to https://www.dubmenow.com/private/account to reset it using the email address you originally used to create the my.SXSW account.