SXSW:

The main theme of the news from the past week was SXSW, which makes sense because it has officially started! The Interactive festival kicks off today, and was featured by the Austin American-Statesmen on Monday because of how much it’s evolved in the last few years.

Some of these changes include the lack of big name celebrities as keynote speakers and the use of ‘iBeacons’ for the SXSW Go app. A lot of things will still be the same, so don’t worry. And remember, change can be a good thing.

Another new aspect of the SXSW festival is the SXSW On channel for Roku players. The channel will provide “on-demand access to live performances, interviews and talks from the SXSW Music, Film and Interactive Conference.” There will also be some Roku-exclusive SXSW content.

And it’s available not only in the U.S., but also in Canada, U.K. and Republic of Ireland.

Apple:

Aside from all the SXSW coverage, the biggest news this week in the tech world was probably Tim Cook’s presentation at the Apple Watch Event. Cook described the Apple Watch as “the most personal device we have ever created. It’s not just with you, it’s on you.” Apple also revealed the new MacBook and a $15/month HBO subscription, sans cable service.

I think we’re going to start seeing a lot more wearables in the near future.

Snapchat:

If you’re a sports fan who loves Snapchat, you’re going to enjoy this. Keeping with the tradition of using their “Our Story” feature for live events, Snapchat is working with sports organizations to broadcast certain games live. They’ll start with the Final Four, and have plans to move on to other NCAA sporting events in the future.

 Gigaom:

The business and technology news company that “was widely regarded as one of the world’s most crucial sources of industry news” announced Monday they were shutting down. It was a very sudden move, with very little explanation.

The following cryptic message now appears on the About page of Gigaom’s website:

Rest in peace, Gigaom.