South by Southwest, the tech-music-movie conference getting under way here Friday, isn't typically a place for big newsy announcements. The indie ethos of SXSW is more about discovering the hot emerging thing -- a new mobile app, a bold filmmaker, a brilliant set by an undiscovered band.

It's hard to predict what everyone here will be talking about by the time SXSW wraps on March 18. The festival is too huge and fractured for that, and tastemakers often disagree.

But based on early chatter, here are some guesses about what will make headlines at SXSW 2012:

South by Southwest (SXSW) 2012 will take place from March 8th to March 18th. SXSW is a company that plans and executes conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Current roster of events include SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco, which take place every spring (usually in March) in except SXSWeco, which takes place in October, all in Austin, Texas. The company began its operations in 1987, in an event at Austin Convention Center. In 2011, the conference lasted for ten days, with SXSW Interactive lasting for five, Music for six, and Film for nine days. The company organizes SXSW Music, which is one of the largest music festivals in the United States, with more than 2,000 performers playing in more than 90 venues. SXSW Music offers artist-provided music and video samples of featured artists at each festival via their official YouTube channel. SXSW Film is a film festival, focusing on new directing talent. Similarly, SXSW Interactive is focused on emerging technology, a focus which has earned the festival...