Is it really called work when so much of what you're doing involves bar-hopping and barbecue? It is when you're in Austin, for South by Southwest.

This week, the annual South by Southwest Interactive conference -- the five-day extravaganza where techies congregate to opine about social media by day and socialize over beer and brisket by night -- kicks off. And it looks like it's shaping up to be as big and busy (and boozy) as ever before.

Over the next few days, thousands of geeks will head to the heart of Texas to attend more than 900 keynotes, panels and workshops on everything from "hacking YouTube" and how to "game online dating" to Web privacy and the future of almost everything. (Clicking through the online schedule itself is an exercise in exhaustion.)

The conference is nothing if not comprehensive, but every year a few

trends seem to generate the most chatter. To get a sense of what to expect, Adweek talked to a few techies making the annual pilgrimage to SXSW. Whether you're Austin-bound or just wishing you were, here's a look at what they say could be ahead.

1. Social Discovery/Ambient Awareness

So far, the biggest startup action seems to be centered around this trend. In time for SXSW, a handful of startups, such as Sonar, Highlight, Glancee, Banjo and Kismet, have launched new or upgraded apps meant to help users discover the people around them who share friends or interests. Some apps alert users to connections after they check-in to a location, others more passively ping users when their phones spot a contact nearby.

Jalak Jobanputra, managing director at RTP Ventures, said she’ll be testing the emerging social discovery apps this week. And,...(Read more)