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look at my bead bling!
riding a mardi gras float to tipitina's
talk about southern hospitality – WOW – New Orleaneans have their fair share. if anything will stick with me from this trip – it’s the warm welcome i received consistently while visiting NOLA – thank you! known as the Big Easy – New Orleans does have a laid back easy-going attitude & gentle pace of life. it made the charms of the city that much more charming. even the quintessential float ride with bead tossing & catching and free-flowing hurricanes didn’t seem trite amongst the street revelers and friendly locals cheering us on.
yes – there was devastation (80% of the city was under water during Katrina) but they are rebuilding toward a brighter future with a culturally rich past (at the current rate of rebuilding it will take 17 more years to fully recover). besides rolling up your sleeves and helping to rebuild – one of the best things we can do for New Orleans is be a frequent tourist & enjoy the wonderful place it continues to be.
one of the reasons i visited NOLA this trip was to attend compete’s digitalCMO summit – whose theme was ‘the connection project’. i enjoyed learning more about digital leaders building brands to better connect with consumers & communities. isn’t life about personal connections & your experiences along the way? in this digital age – as we are more connected to our devices it’s extremely important to remember to still connect with each other AND to know when to disconnect! Arianna Huffington, President of the Huffington Post Media Group, shared her thoughts that “self-expression is the new entertainment” – story telling leads to engagement & connection. She stated that Drew Patterson’s company, Jetsetter.com, is onto something big with this idea – gaining trust through expert travel story telling leading consumers to purchase trips online. i agree – talk about connecting us to the world by day dreaming vacations – if you’re not a member of Jetsetter – become one TODAY!! and if you do purchase a trip through them your end result will be to DISCONNECT, unplug and recharge by using personal travel as a way to connect with yourself, your vacation companions & the locals in the destinations you visit! HUGE fan of this.
