Survive SXSW this year by checking in to the Underground on Whrrl

You’ve read all the blog posts, seen the tweets, received the party invites and feel there’s something in the air (and no, it’s not smog). People are beginning to converge in Austin, starting today and it’s not for the world-famous BBQ or to hunt down Oscar-winner and resident Sandra Bullock – it’s to attend the technology conference of the year, SXSW Interactive.

Now I hate to call myself a SXSW Veteran, but if you can survive one year of this conference and make it back the following year in one piece, you’re doing pretty good in my book. The rumors you here are true: don’t expect much sleep, because between the panels, networking, parties, chasing down “tech celebs” and business opportunities, you’re going to be exhausted fitting it all in.

That’s why the team at Whrrl decided we’d make it easy on you. When you land in Austin, just check in on Whrrl. Why? Because we’ve taken the guess work out of what’s cool to do at SXSW and created the Austin Underground Society to do all the work for you.

Quite simply, The Austin Underground Society will provide you with at-your-fingertips access to the hottest parties, events, and other fun things to do at SXSW. Let our hostess, Velma Underground, save you from all the work as she recommends what the cool kids will be doing at the conference. Follower her on Whrrl and on Twitter. You can view and then save her recommendations in your “want to do list” (new in Whrrl 3!) so you don’t forget.

While the Underground has some “official SXSW parties” listed, we’ve learned that folks often go rogue and throw their own events. So, we’ve focused on providing you the insiders guide on what’s cool – not what’s official. If you want to know where Guy Kawasaki is throwing back some ribs at a boot barn outside downtown Austin, or Jeff Pulver is hosting the twitter elite for cocktails, the Underground Society is your place.

But that’s not all – we got deals for ya, too! Whrrl has partnered with over 50 merchants in the downtown Austin area to provide Underground members with exclusive offers. Simply check into the locations listed within the Underground Society and redeem your offer by showing your phone to merchants. The Four Seasons Hotel Austin, Outback Steakhouse, Cool River Cafe, Chuggin’ Monkey, J Black’s, Red Fez and Third Base are just some of the awesome local business participating.

But wait- there’s really more! Whrrl has some other fun surprises in store for you, too. We don’t want to say what they are, because we think it’s more fun for you to stumble across them… like this logo which made some noise on Twitter today (it’s just chalk guys… really!)

Finally, we’d love to meet you in person! Whrrl is proud to be a sponsor of the “State of Now” cocktail party on Friday, March 12th from 6-8 pm at Lanai. Underground members will receive a limited edition Whrrl t-shirt and free drink when you check in. Hurry- not only is there limited availability, but the party has over 1,000 registered guests- we don’t want to miss you!

See ya’ll in Austin- safe travels!

Look for our team in Austin – Jeff Holden, CEO & Co-Founder, John Kim, V.P. of Product Management and Marketing, and Heather Meeker, Director of Marketing & Corporate Communications.