Return to Real: What SXSW 2026 Kept Telling Us
Heading to back to SXSW this year, I went armed with an official badge, a Google Sheet event tracker, a playlist (obviously)— and my wing woman (and sister) Holland Saltsman of The Novel Neighbor. For those of you who've been following along, Holland, among many other things, is the person who makes movies, books and generally everything significantly more fun when she’s around.
Year Two felt different from the first moment. Partly because I knew where I was going. Partly because the format has changed — no convention center this year, which meant the whole event was spread across Austin in a way that required real planning and rewarded flexibility in equal measure. We stayed in town this time, which made everything more walkable and, honestly, a bit more of an adventure.
Being human is our greatest advantage right now.
From the keynotes to the panels to the conversations happening outside of events, the message kept arriving from different directions. Trust. Authenticity. Real connection. Showing up in person. Caring about people.
Susan McPherson said it most cleanly in her talk on connection: "The algorithm can't predict what happens next when humans really connect." She talked about the shift from a scarcity of connection to an abundance of isolation — and how friction, the kind that requires intention, is actually what makes connection meaningful.
Mike Kim and Ryan Levesque in their co-talk built a whole framework around it: analog by design. Don't build the brand — become the brand. The dissonance between who you are and how you show up is what people sense. In a world of AI-generated everything, what differentiates you is the thing that can't be replicated: your specific point of view, your scars (not wounds), your circuitous route to this exact moment. Check out their framing for a personal POV — what pisses you off, what breaks your heart, what problem you're trying to solve. There is emotion here that AI cannot duplicate.
Jamie Lee Curtis took center stage -literally-and said what many of us were feeling: "We need each other. We are in a society that tells us we don't need each other." And then, for good measure: "AI bots don't care about you." We need to be reminded of this!
Rohit Bhargava's keynote introduced a sharp new vocabulary for what's happening right now — credentropy (the believability crisis), sloptimism (trying to tell if something is AI-generated), shallowing (outsourcing things we used to know how to do). His through line was simple: the people who understand people always win.
And then there was Harvard-educated neuroscientist Vivien Puppa Kocsis, who walked us through the brain science behind creative breakthroughs. Your best ideas don't come from staring at a screen. They come from doing human things like: doing the dishes. Taking a walk. Sleeping on it. The unconscious brain — the thing that fires when you're not trying — is where real creativity lives. In a room full of AI content tools, someone was onstage reminding us how our own dynamic brains actually work.
Turns out I wasn't the only one noticing. PwC sent a team of specialists to over 100 sessions at SXSW 2026 and JUST released their official insights report. Their headline theme? "The Future Belongs to the Deeply Human."
The right room isn't always the planned room
Here is what I didn't fully appreciate last year: SXSW rewards flexibility as much as planning.
This year I ended up at a live recording of On with Kara Swisher’s podcast because I got the hotel wrong and suddenly had time to fill. I also ended up spending much more time at Cate Luzio's Luminary Live event rather than Create & Cultivate’s pop-up, and found some of the best content and conversations of the whole trip there.
And sometimes the best moments weren't in any room at all. A few of our most fruitful times happened outside — in lines, over meals, in transit between venues — when Holland and I were just thinking out loud together.
There's a sign somewhere at SXSW that sums it up perfectly: "Make room for chance encounters." That might be the whole survival guide right there.
A few notes for 2027 planners
The dates are set: March 15-21 and badges are on pre-sale through May 3rd - the lowest they will ever be. If you are thinking of speaking, I’m hoping they will offer their panel picker again this year. But also don’t be shy to think about speaking at some of the unofficial SXSW events hosted by the likes of: Female Quotient, Google, Fast Company, She Wellness, just to name a few.
And yes, you can still do SXSW without a badge. I said it last year and I'll say it again — the energy and programming spill well beyond the official events even for attendees. There are loads of people and SXSW gurus to help track ALL of the events. Shout-out to the team at blueprint who have mastered the art of curating and organizing events.
If possible, I would advise staying close to downtown if you can. The walkability changes everything. (Though Holland and I have committed to testing out scooters next year).
Plan carefully, then let the plan go a little. The serendipity isn't accidental — it happens when you show up with intention and stay open to what's next.
What about you?
Are you thinking about SXSW next year? Have you been — or is it still on the list? I'd love to know what draws you there, or what's holding you back. If you want more insight, let’s chat.
And if the theme resonated — being human as a competitive advantage, trust as a strategy, showing up for real — I have a feeling we'll be experiencing this for quite some time. And I’m here for it.
Live wisely. Love well. — Jamie Lee Curtis said it. I'm stealing it.