Dear Net2NO Friends,

If you've ever doubted the sheer awesomeness (or, heaven forbid, the mere existence of!) the New Orleans/Louisiana tech community, tonight shall forever rid you of such heresy and doubt. Many of you have waited, with varying degrees of impatience, for tonight's mystery topic to be revealed. At last, here it is:

The April Net2NO meetup is all about YOU. And by "you", I mean US. The fantastic Louisiana--New Orleans/Baton Rouge/Lafayette--tech and startup community.

We've spent the last several months talking (and talking and talking and talking) about the SXSW Road Trip, which was a HUGE success thanks to everyone's participation. Tonight we'll take a moment to show you exactly what happened, and introduce you to one of the many talented, ambitious people we met in Austin. Namely, Sloane Berrent.

We'll screen a 5 minute video from SXSW, which is the last you'll hear about it. Until we start planning for next year, of course. Then we'll hear from Sloane, who recently moved from L.A. to New Orleans, and will discuss her experience with building a tech community over five years in the L.A. area, as well as the very exciting work she'll do in New Orleans while she's here.

Next up we'll hear from a group of Net2NO members who are speaking at this weekend's WordCampNOLA, so be prepared to hear from several of our very own social media experts, and come prepared to ask questions. The format is a panel discussion, all Net2NO members who are speaking at WordCampNOLA are welcome to participate, and the conversation will be moderated by Chris Schultz.

Possible speakers include David Link of Gatorworks in Baton Rouge, Marc Juneau of NOLAgraphics, Tiffany Starnes with Fabre Smith Coco, Damien Lamanna from Morgan + Co., Zymeaux and Net2NO itself, plus Will Scott, whose company is Search Influence and is the largest SEO company in New Orleans.

As always, 6-7 will be networking and "wobbly drinks". The presentations will begin at 7, and last until 8 p.m. And the final hour--or longer, if you care to stick around--will be more "wobbly drinks" and discussion with Net2NO members, new and old. We'll welcome our newest members, and have several exciting announcements to make about the 504ward business competition and other upcoming opportunities and events to get involved in the community.

If you have anything you'd like to share with the group, please don't be shy. Reply to this email so we can add you to the list, or find Damien or Jessica when you get to the Bridge Lounge and let us know that you'd like to have 30-45 seconds to address the group.