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Spring is definitely here in New Orleans. You could look around to see all of the blooming plants, or enjoy the lovely weather. But the true confirmation of warmer days in New Orleans? The Crawfish Boil.

The staff and families of Compucast enjoyed a nice afternoon unwinding with some expertly cooked crawfish, potatoes, corn, mushrooms, and garlic. The weather was even nice enough for some time in the pool.

After a full week of work, Compucast knows when to let the good times roll.

Luckily today was a beautiful spring day, as it provided a perfect setting for French Quarter Festival’s annual press conference and jazz brunch.

Held at the Court of Two Sisters, press, patrons and friends were able to take in great food and some illustrious company, while presenters such as New Orleans City Council Vice President Jackie Clarkson, CVB representative Mary Beth Romig and French Quarter Festival’s Executive Director Marci Schramm set the stage for what to expect from this year’s festival.

If the excitement of the crowd foreshadows the fun to come, we will certainly be in for a ride. Headliners for the festival include some of New Orleans’ favorites, and that’s not even mention the food. There’s even a crawfish eating competition!

The team at Compucast, along with locals and tons of visitors alike, cannot wait for it to be festival time. Can you?

On Saturday, February 20, 2010, a few of he crew at Compucast took part in New Orleans’ own funeral to lay rest to that loathing era of the “Aints.”

Complete with a faux coffin, musicians, and a neighborhood of people, we lined up in the Treme – a neighboring area of the French Quarter – and walked up and around to the Marigny to celebrate the Saints’ rise to the Superbowl.

It is truly an electric time in the city, and everyone from Lenny Kravitz to neighborhood children took part in the celebration.

We had the best time, smelling the yummy food cooked for the festivities, viewing the crowd in their black and gold saints costumes, and dancing our butts throughout the city to celebrate many things, but one thing most importantly – the city of New Orleans and its people.

On Saturday, October 24, 2009, a few of us on the team had a chance to ride in New Orleans’ annual Halloween parade – Krewe of Boo.

With amazing throws, ranging from skull beads to flashing beads, stuffed animals and more, we certainly had a devilish time pleasing the crowds of people lining the street from Elysian Fields to Convention Center Boulevard.

We know what it means to truly love New Orleans, and how more New Orleans can you get by riding in a float made by none other than Mr. Blaine Kern Sr. himself?

..next time, we plan on even more elaborate costumes and a great deal more throws.

Hooray for New Orleans in holiday season!

In a recent article, New Orleans CityBusiness explored the importance of having one’s business present on the web. The story, penned by Craig Guillot, illustrated how many small businesses in the area have managed to stay offline, some still conducting business via pen and paper.

Still, a new era is quickly approaching, (in fact, we at Compucast believe that it is already here), where it is imperative to have a face online. Notes Judy in the publication, “In two ways, (a lack of a Web site) might throw up a red flag. No. 1 is if they don’t have a site at all, and No. 2 is if their site is old and not very professional.”

The article goes on to say “Because consumers do their research on the Web, companies that don’t have a Web site could turn customers away, [Judy Weitz] said.”

It’s true. There are opportunities online that are both affordable and easily tracked. It is important to take advantage of these changes as soon as it fits within your budget, and during these long summer months, it is easier to start small.

Give us a call if you feel we are talking to you.

Read more at CityBusiness.

If you have a business and want to get the maximum amount of recognition, no doubt you’ve heard the latest buzz surrounding what is called “social media”. It seems like everywhere you turn, people are talking about Facebook and Twitter. Even Conan O’Brien has a segment about Twitter on The Tonight Show:

Of course, Conan is making fun of how some people use Twitter (and it’s a pretty funny segment usually) – but Twitter has some legitimate value as a way to promote your business (or any other sort of website). So…if you want to use Twitter but don’t want Conan to make fun of you, here are my five tips:

1. Pick a good handle. Your username should be your business or site name. If it consists of multiple words, separate them with an underscore. The handle should readily and easily identify you to people searching for your business.
2. Make a good profile. Completely fill out your profile, and include a picture. Link to your site from within your profile as well. When people read your Tweets, you want them to want to view your profile and then visit your site.
3. Tweet on a regular basis. Every day or couple of days is fine. You need to Tweet more than a couple times a week (so your profile doesn’t look “dead”) – but you don’t need to Tweet multiple times per day! It’s probably impossible for you to actually provide that much valuable info, anyway – which brings us to the next point…
4. Don’t “junk Tweet”. If you look at the Conan segment, you’ll see that he’s mostly making fun of how “empty” most Tweets are – because that’s the big problem with the way most people use Twitter. To differentiate yourself, make sure you actually post things that your readers will find valuable. (Best case scenario – they’ll look forward to your Tweets because of the cool info you provide.)
5. Promote your Twitter address. What you want are “followers”. It will help people to find you on Twitter (and connect your Twitter account with your site) if you link to your Twitter profile on your site, on your Facebook, in your email signatures, etc. Tell everyone, “Follow me on Twitter” and you’ll find that people WILL.

So, we can all enjoy Conan’s segment – but also we can learn from it, and not fall into the pitfalls of “typical Twittering”. Use Twitter wisely, and to your advantage. By following these five easy tips, you’ll find that Twitter can actually provide some extra value and additional (free) promotion to your website!

Yes, we at Compucast have found our way onto Twitter.

Now you can see what’s “in the mix” each and every day… from the sites we launch, to the inside jokes, to our (hopefully) growing friends list.

You can find it all here.

Hey, if you found it on our blog, you are already interested.

We couldn’t have had a better Mardi Gras season here at Compucast.

To start out, we had the absolute pleasure of sampling the legendary king cakes at Cannata’s King Cakes. Throughout the days after, we advised several news and media crews during their stay here in the Crescent City.

When it was time for the parades to roll, we made sure to catch the fun go by at Michaul’s and the balcony at the Royal Sonesta. Be sure to catch our photos and fun Read the rest of this entry »