7 must-have apps to help you get the most out of SXSW

This sponsored post is produced in association with Life360.

So you already have the SXSW Go and Twitter apps on your phone — these absolutely necessary for navigating the week’s maze of panels and parties. But if you really want to elevate your game, here are seven more apps that will not only help you get the most out of the event — but also dazzle the people you meet who may not have heard of them before.

LiquidSpace helps you book office and meeting space on the fly — and it can score you a reservation in the Courtyard @ SXSW mobile pod set up outside the Courtyard Austin Hotel across from the convention center. It’ll include six work areas so you can snag a fun place to catch up on email or host an impromptu meeting. You can download it for iOS or Android.

Followup is launching just in time for SXSW, giving you the capability to follow up on the business cards you collect instantly. Basically, you write up a few canned email to serve as templates, and whenever you take a picture of someone’s business card, you simply choose which template to send with one click. You can get early access if your sign up on their site now.

WillCall has launched a site specifically for SX to RSVP to all of the events you want to go to in one swoop. When you connect via Facebook, you’ll automatically be RSVP’d to more than 100 parties for free. And the site will continue to update as new events pop up so you don’t have to worry that you’ll get stuck at the door or turned away from the pop-up parties that everyone will be talking about.

FaceFeed is the newest app that helps you meet the people who are around you. Capitalizing on the selfie trend, with a friendlier spin than Tinder, FaceFeed shows you people’s pictures and gives you the option to chat with them and stats so you know who you might want to connect with nearby.

HotelTonight is an ideal choice if you need a place to crash and have nothing lined up. A surprising number of people go to SXSW every year looking to bounce around without undefined plans. Now that might be the best plan when you have the power to book a last-minute hotel room right from your phone on iOS or Android.

Urbanspoon has set up a microsite you can access from the app’s main page featuring editor’s picks, “best of” suggestions, and guides for Austin’s best live music, barbecue, boozy brunches, and more. Content created specifically for SXSW will help conference-goers find spots with free Wi-Fi and discover which spots are open 24/7.

Life360 for Android or iOS lets you and your friends privately share your locations with each other, eliminating the need for the customary flurry of “Where are you?” texts. And if you really want to go off the grid, you can turn off location sharing at any time.

On top of being great for the SXSW scene, Life360 is running a “Pitch a VC” contest, giving 10 winners the chance to spend 15 minutes of 1-on-1 time pitching their startup ideas to investors while being chauffeured around downtown Austin in a BMW i3. Not yet available in the U.S., the BMW i3s are coming to Austin thanks to Life360, which is previewing its in-dash app integration in the cars. Enter the contest today through Wednesday, 11:59  p.m. Pacific, by tweeting to @Life360 and @BMWiUSA with the hashtag #PitchaVC why your startup should be selected.

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