South by Southwest Interactive has always been seen as the hip place to go to learn about the next big Silicon Valley startup, but the tone and focus has changed a little this year. The festival is toning down the "trendy" and enlarging its international focus, along with taking on some serious issues in technology.

The lineup for this year's South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi), a tech expo in Austin that precedes the SXSW music and film festival, reflets some of these changes in focus. Social media companies that customarily schmooze attendants and spread the word about their original take on the mobile internet are not as prevalent this year, according to a New York Times report. You won't find Twitter, Foursquare, GroupMe, Path, or Highlight there, for example.

Some of the changes are not by design. Hugh Forest, director of SXSWi told the New York Times that it was "frustrating and disappointing" that many of the star companies who got their start at the tech conference in previous years -- when it was considered hipper in the media and technology world -- are not returning for this year.

And while there's always the possibility that the next Path or Banjo will be attending, and just hasn't made a splash yet, the schedule of events -- including a pre-conference of Latinos in tech taking place over this weekend and a conversation with National Security Agency secret document leaker Edward Snowden -- reflects the changing emphasis of SXSWi, as well as the changing wider world of technology.

Forrest said that attendees from 74 different countries signed up for the festival this year, which totals 20 more than the previous SXSWi, and the presentations are also reflecting the global focus. "Seizing the Mobile Opportunity in Latin America," "43 Tongues: Emerging Market Apps for iOS and Android," "How South America is Redefining Internet Democracy" and "What Would Cesar Chavez Tweet? Latinos and New Media" are the kind of sessions at SXSWi this year that demonstrate the increased importance of Latin American and global voices, as well as the less exuberant and more earnest tone of the conference.

The fact that both Glenn Greenwald, the former Guardian journalist who helped publish the first (and ongoing) Snowden leaks, is speaking at the conference, along with Edward Snowden himself (from a remote location, despite U.S. Government complaints at his inclusion) shows the presence of the heavier, darker side of internet technology at the conference as well.

The tech world -- or at least what we know about the tech world -- has changed a lot since last year's SXSW. Starting with the Snowden revelations mid-year 2013 and ending with a series of massive hacking attacks on everyday consumers, the world of technology looks a lot less utopian and limitless -- the kind of mood previous SXSWi conferences have had. In addition, Facebook's $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp and forecasts from market research groups saying that emerging markets are the only place left for IT companies to grow early this year has drawn attention to the wider world outside of the confines Silicon Valley and Austin.

SXSW Interactive may not be perceived as "hip" anymore, but perhaps its maturing and seeking to tackle the bigger issues this year.

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