Today we're launching my.SXSW, the official social networking and scheduling tool for the 2009 conferences and festivals. Whether you’re a filmmaker looking for distribution, a band looking for producers, a small business looking to develop its brand or a digital collaborator looking for a new collaborator, my.SXSW.com provides a unique opportunity for people from all corners of the globe to get together and communicate before, during the event.

Here are some of my.SXSW's features:

Messaging: Talk to other registrants and network before you get to Austin.
Personal Schedules: Make your own schedule, or see a friend’s schedule.
Schedule Notifications: Elect to get notifications when details for an event you’re attending changes.
Event Pages: See which of your friends is attending a specific panel, showcase, party or screening. Leave comments or feedback about the event.
Interest Groups: Find attendees with similar interests.
Twitter and Flickr Integration: Update your Twitter from my.SXSW.com or tag Tweets and Flickr photos with tags for each event (you can find the tags on event pages).
Build a contact list and follow users: Want to know what another user is up to? Follow them!
Upload Badge Photos: Upload a photo before you arrive and save yourself some time.
SXSW Text Alerts: Sign up for badge specific SMS messages from the SXSW organizers.

On top of all that, you'll be able to make your own schedule or see a friend's schedule. We're still programming events, so expect lots of changes between now and mid-February when a more finalized version of the schedules will be available on sxsw.com. We just wanted to enhance the registrant experience by giving you a sneak-peak of what's in store this March.

We really think that my.SXSW.com will be a wonderful tool for registrants. Thanks go out to The Social Collective team for working so hard on this with us. Go check it out at http://my.sxsw.com