South by Southwest is a rockin’ good festival in Austin, Texas, best known for music and film.

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SXSW
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Arguably the hottest new part of it is SXSW Interactive (March 13-17), dedicated to interactive design, consumer technology, social media, the whole gig.  This year’s is titled “The Brightest Minds in Emerging Technology” and Eliza is there speaking.

This is not your grandmother’s (no matter how cool she is) tech conference — certainly not a healthcare conference.  In fact, healthcare has been rarely seen there (but is starting to get hot).  

Think blue hair, not blue blazers.  Sponsors include Miller Lite and Fuze, rather than the typical cast of wonks.  Keynoters are folks like the founder of Facebook.

Did we mention it’s a rockin’ good time?  Wired Magazine’s party (enchilada and margarita bars) at Austin City Limits stage (the PBS music series from UT) is just the tip of the iceberg.

Even their format is cool.  Less linear and authoritative, more conversational.  Their Core Conversations format (big room full of different folks leading various conversations — you just drift through and stand around whatever catches your attention) has been their hottest setup and Eliza is leading one at this year’s called “Killing Us Softly: The Failure of Technology in Health Care” (Tuesday March 17, 11:30am).

So why should YOU go (did we already say it’s a rockin’ good time)?  

Travel dollars are preceious today - don’t waste them on the typical stuff.  Do something new, expand your horizons, learn about your users — or people who could be.

Or maybe don’t carve out a full vacation but kill two birds with one stone.  Take some time for yourself and learn something new.