Next week sees the start of SXSW, the hotly anticipated technology ‘conference’ in Texas. Two years ago this is where Twitter really started hitting the headlines.

This year it is set to be the battle of the location based services Foursquare and Gowalla. Both companies are buffing up their apps with new features, new platforms and new badges for Foursquare.

With such attention on these services, it is not suprising to see a lot of related companies launching or announcing just before and during SXSW. Some are direct competitors to Foursquare, others are offering additional services to improve the way you use Foursquare, Gowalla and others. Whilst many others are polishing their pitch to start with “it’s like Foursquare…”

These are truly exciting times. The attention afforded to this sector will continue to drive new startups, refocus fledgling companies and inspire new ideas which in turn will stimulate further development and push the industry on ever further and ever faster.

As Editor of TNW Apps, I get the opportunity to see a lot of these new startups, get to play with them and talk to the inspiring minds behind them. This is fun.