Could your startup use more exposure? Apply for the SXSW Interactive 2011 Accelerator [UPDATED]

[HTML3]For many startups and entrepreneurs, there is no shortage of good ideas. No shortage of lines of code. And no shortage of sweat equity. But getting attention for those efforts? That can be a challenge.

That’s why the folks at SXSW Interactive have created the Accelerator, a program underwritten by Microsoft Bizspark that gives promising new startups the opportunity to take the stage at one of the most popular tech events around.

What kinds of companies are the seeking? Well, they’re looking for products that fall into these buckets.

Innovative Web Technologies – This category pertains to applications and technologies that have the ambition to change the Web as we know it. Some examples include: real-time search, augmented reality, the “Web Wide World”, artificial intelligence and the Semantic Web, recommendation technologies, personalization technologies, and “big data”.

Social Media and Social Networking Technologies – This category pertains to applications and technologies that help people connect. In this category we’re seeking for new and interesting uses, cases, as well as technologies that push the boundaries of how we find, follow and share information with others.

Entertainment Technologies – This category pertains to applications and technologies for film, television, and gaming, as well as new and hybrid forms of entertainment that are reinventing the ways in which we relax, unwind, and have fun.

News Related Technologies – This category pertains to applications and technologies to support the dissemination of news and information for communities, both on the content side or on the underlying business model side (an example is advertising). This could include technologies related to data, text, documents, mapping, engagement, among other areas.

Who can apply? The Accelerator was designed to launch new and exciting stuff. So products can’t have been launched before March 15, 2010. Or the product must be ready to launch by June 15, 2011.

So what are you waiting for? Oh yeah. The application info. Well, it costs $150 to apply. And the deadline has been extended is this Friday, December 10, by end of day.

[UPDATE]
Companies now have until 11:59 pm (CST) Sunday, December 12 to enter the http://sxsw.com/interactive/accelerator 2011 SXSW Accelerator Presented by Microsoft BizSpark. This gives you a couple more days to register for the event that provides an unparalleled showcase for companies from around the globe to present new online products and services. Conceived to showcase the internet’s most cutting-edge creations before a live audience of industry professionals, venture capitalists, and tech trendsetters, SXSW Accelerator enables entrepreneurial visionaries to unveil their innovations one step ahead of the game.

So get going on that application for the SXSW Accelerator.

And locals Ray King of AboutUs and I are on the advisory board. So please let us know if you apply, and we’ll keep an eye on your application. And if the $150 price tag is too steep for your company? Ping Ray or me and we’ll see what we can do.

For more information, visit the SXSW Interactive Accelerator.

Published by Rick Turoczy

More than mildly obsessed with the Portland startup community. Founder and editor at Silicon Florist. Cofounder and general manager at PIE. Follow me on Twitter: @turoczy View all posts by Rick Turoczy