With a huge attendance boost this year, big businesses from GM to Microsoft continued the trend of coming to Austin to get in front of hip influencers.

By Elisabeth Long, contributor

A happy shopper at Apple’s SXSW popup iPad 2 store in Austin

Now in its 15^th year, the South by Southwest Interactive conference has taken off like the handle of the ubiquitous hockey-stick growth model that startups at the conference aspire to. The 2011 conference saw a spike in attendance – up about 40% over last year’s interactive festival – and an increase in the presence of large corporate sponsors.

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