Paul Hudson / Flickr CC
Not at South by Southwest this year? No problem—here are some of the highlights for tech industry watchers:
- Ride-hailing woes: Uber and Lyft left town last year over a fingerprinting regulation, but the alternatives didn't hold up on Saturday night when rain and thousands of visitors created a massive spike in demand.
- Policy: Among the many topics on display this year, policy issues seem to be getting extra attention, which is not surprising given the recent election and subsequent White House transition. Among the standouts, a talk by Texas Competes chief Jessica Shortall on her advocacy for LGBTQ rights.
- Nick Denton: Gawker's founder had to sell his media company last year, and now he's finally spoken publicly about the ordeal, the future of media, and what he'll do next.
- Joe Biden: The former VP took the stage on Sunday to talk about his cancer moonshot, and encouraged the tech industry to use its talents to help cure cancer. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker spoke on Friday.
- Mark Cuban and Chris Sacca: The investors separately took the stage to chat about investing and politics. Sacca also addressed the recent Uber sexism scandal.
- Tumblr and Planned Parenthood team up: The two announced an initiative to rally the tech industry behind the health organization.