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DDD is LIVE On the Road Again for SXSWi Conference!

DDD team members are part of a group of representatives from the New Orleans' tech community and are live on the ground at South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) engaging the worldwide digital media, film and music industry audience. The group of 30� New Orleanians are here evangelizing the "New" New Orleans--one that is open for business and Industries of the Mind.

Just last year, this group of entrepreneurial Net2NO members hatched a plan to take the annual SXSWi conference by storm. Again this year, the group’s mission is to support local entrepreneurs participating in a panel at SXSWi, to promote New Orleans as a viable tech/startup community, and to showcase Louisiana as a great place to expand or start a business.

Taylor Davidson, a talented travel, landscape and documentary photographer says of last year's trip: “the group of New Orleans delegates changed my image of the area.” Influenced by his experience with the group, Taylor recently moved to New Orleans. “I knew about the deep history, the strong culture, the great food, the struggles of recent history; but I had no idea about the business opportunities, the emerging entrepreneurial community or the efforts by the State to energize local businesses. Maybe I would have learned about it from a website or a newspaper, but I wouldn’t have felt it if I hadn’t met New Orleans at SXSW; I wouldn’t have been invigorated by the spirit, the warmth or the “we’re doing this” attitude. And if I hadn’t met the people leading these efforts, I wouldn’t have decided to move to New Orleans.”

Another recent addition to New Orleans, Sloane Berrent, echoed Taylor’s sentiment. “I was awestruck by how ambitious and driven they were to build their community…Meeting the New Orleans crew at SXSW changed my life and in fact by year’s end I had moved to New Orleans permanently.”

Kurt Weigle, President & CEO of the Downtown Development District expresses his enthusiasm about the trip: “We are very excited to be a part of this group and for the opportunity to be a sponsor of the trip again this year. We feel the trip presents the perfect opportunity to raise awareness of the business and cultural opportunities in New Orleans We want the world to know of the momentum and synergy we’re building as an entrepreneurial and digital media community and that Downtown is at the center of this movement.”