The Causemopolitan

SXSW Recap from 2009

Sloane Berrent — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:43:32 +0000

LA Tech in 2009

Well friends, SXSW is here! It’s hard to believe a year has gone by since the last one. Before I move forward talking about all the goodness and goodies in store for this year, I thought I would first highlight my posts from last year’s SXSW. You know, reflecting back before I move forward. Here we go.

SXSW Core Conversation: How LA Has Built A Sucessful Tech Community

Los Angeles has become a hub for tech startups with new ones popping up every day. Relationships are being formed and VCs are paying attention. Universities are showcasing developer opportunities unique to the city. So how did this happen? Welcome to networking 2.0. From Lunch 2.0 to Interactive Community Coalitions, BarCamp to Twiistup, LA is a great case study of how to build a successful tech community in your city. Join the organizers of the city’s most popular networking events for tips, advice, the how to’s and what-not-to-do’s to make your city’s community pop.

SXSW Fan Girl

Life just doesn’t really get much better than those 9 days in Austin each year when your mind is blown, your heart is full and your feet ache from exploration.

The Cause-Filled Life: A Socialbrite Interview

Click here to view the embedded video.

Five Tips on How to Rawk SXSW Music

3) PROXIMITY

Proximity from one venue to the next is HUGE. Next year I’d like to think I’ll scoot out to Scoot Inn, Continental Club, Playboy Party, Fader Fort…but the truth is, I can’t guarantee that. I’m not going to sacrifice hours to get to a party too far away from the main strip. Even La Zona Rosa becomes a trek by the last day. The pedi-cabs are awesome and if my friends had bikes we could roll that way too. Be aware of where each place is you want to go. Some days I created an almost circle going from one place to the next.

Music Monday: The SXSW Edition

Click here to view the embedded video.

And then shortly thereafter…

Living In Los Angeles

Sloane Berrent — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:20:04 +0000

“I know what you mean,” she says. “I lived in New York City for such a long time and when I go back I miss it more intensely than when I’m here thinking about it. That’s the way life is.”

“I just find myself crying randomly at stop lights or while on a run at how absolutely comfortable I feel, at how many memories come washing back over me, about how much of my life happened here.” I say, “It still feels like home. I remember all the shortcuts, I’ve randomly run into people at half the places I go.”

“All of that doesn’t go away because you’ve moved away. Who knows? You’ll always have friends and professional relationships and ties here. You’ll always have a reason to visit. Life might bring you back here, you just never know and the amazing thing about you is that you know that. You allow yourself to stay open to the experience.”

The wisdom of friends…

Walking along the bluffs of Palisades Park in Santa Monica overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the breeze and the sun mixing together like sand and suntan lotion on a summer day, my heart feels just about to burst as I talk with one of my closest friends who I’ve missed so terribly since I left LA in December, 2008.

Everything about Los Angeles comes flooding back to me. When I first arrived in the fall of 2003, October 16th to be exact, I was in love and felt like LA was this place where opportunity grew on trees and you could make your own path and create your own existence. I felt like anything was possible and moving into a one bedroom apartment two blocks from the beach in Venice, my (then) boyfriend and I were struggling to figure out what to do with our lives, what our mission was. We both felt like we had a greater calling, something spectacular beckoning us, we just weren’t sure what it was.

After my five exceptional years in Los Angeles, I still felt that way. That hope and excitement for the future. I created a full, rich and deep life. Not just the friends that crossed my path, or the rocks I overturned discovering and defining a city on my own terms but in my understanding of who I was in a city that would just as likely chew you up and spit you out as it would embrace you and call your name. It’s not an easy place to live, LA challenges you. The traffic alone is enough to send some people running back to where they came from.

However, like anyplace I’ve ever been, it’s about the people and the experiences you create. One of my favorite activities when I had visitors was to show them how big LA was from a vista point. But everyone is different so I had three varieties. One was to hike Temescal Canyon (canyon side first not ridge) for when you hike that last bit and look out, on a clear day you can see to the South Bay and Downtown and out to Malibu and the Pacific Ocean’s blues layer on top of each other deep into the distance.

The second option for the less athletic or more culturally inclined is to visit the Getty Center. Arguably the best art collection in Los Angeles, taking the tram (or walking) up to the Richard Meier designed buildings, you see the same view and it’s spectacular.

The third is to drive deep into Hollywood and up, up, up Laurel Canyon Blvd to Lookout Mountain Drive to Wonderland Avenue and there’s a hidden little spot where when you go at night the lights just shine and play off of each other until they blur together into spots deep into the distance.

I suppose, thinking about Los Angeles now, it’s not surprising that the views come to mind, the expansive and world-opening view of the city. After all, it’s that world is your oyster gut-feeling I get every time I see them. I look out to the roofs of houses and think about the people inside, their families, their struggles and I think about my own life experiences, my struggles and my triumphs and I feel a tug from the Universe to not go quietly into the dark night but to keep pressing and pushing forward, regardless of who thinks what or what happens where, because I know there is more out there for me. LA helped make me that way and I owe her credit for creating both the calm mindfulness and the ambitious drive, the two complimenting each other instead of battling for first place.

It’s people that make any experience come to life. It’s the people in Los Angeles, the friends I’ve made, that make my heart ache a bit when I’m not here and missing them so terribly. And then, it’s the magic of California, the way it’s always made me feel alive and alert and thoughtful of my surroundings in a place that some people dismiss without really knowing it.

I don’t try to predict the future. I love my life in New Orleans and the people I’ve gotten to know there in a few short months, some of whom have come to mean quite a lot to me. And New Orleans has been incredibly good to me. But I guess what I really want to say, is don’t think for a minute that I’ve forgotten anything or anyone in LA, and don’t think that because it seems like it’s all roses in one place, that quite frequently, my heart and my mind are wistfully looking off into the distance thinking about a chapter of my life that I never ever want to shake.

Los Angeles, I’m Yours (to visit next week)

Sloane Berrent — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:30:24 +0000

Lalalalala…that’s right. Get ready Los Angeles, I’m coming for a visit! I’m thrilled to have been asked to speak to students at CalTech about how they can use their technology skills to help nonprofits on the night of Tuesday, March 9th (open to the public! full details on my speaking calendar to be updated soon) and I’m buffering a few days because, well, I just plain MISS YOU TO DEATH!

After five glorious years living there, I want to go to all my old haunts, hike my favorite trails, shop my favorite vintage stores and drink PBR in my favorite indie rock haunts and most of all do it all with FRIENDS!

Let me add girls brunch and geek bbq to the list. So let’s start the bidding at…KIDDING…I’m going to pack it all in tight but really really really excited. It’s been too long and I want some of that sunshine California sun on my face.

Dates: March 4th – 11th (then to Austin for SXSW!)

Updated to WHAT I’ll be doing exactly to come, but please drop me a comment, note, a text, anything to put something on the books to catch up. You know who you are!!!

Can’t wait to see you, wrap my arms around you and SQUEEZE!

Love,
Sloane

BlogHer Panel, Please Vote!

Sloane Berrent — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:13:43 +0000

BlogHer’s annual conference is coming up in New York City from August 5th-7th and I have a panel submitted and need your vote! Here’s our panel topci:

Can brands be a vehicle for amplifying our message and extending our reach for greater impact in the real-world? This is a strategy session and conversation with brands and bloggers about creating triple-win partnerships that support your authentic passions, brand interest and the causes you care about. Come join the conversation with brand leaders and folks turning online action into real-world change including:

Karen Bantuveris, Founder and CEO of VolunteerSpot
Sloane Berrent of The Causemopolitan
Jyl Johnson Pattee from Mom It Forward
Jessica Shortall, Director of Giving of Toms Shoes
Discussion moderated by Stephanie Schwab, SVP of Digital Services at Kaplow

Here’s what you do.
1) Visit the BlogHer panel page

2) Click “Triple Wins for the Greater Good”

3) Click “I’ll attend”

4) Tell your tweeps and friends! THANKS!!

What is the BlogHer Business Conference?

The BlogHer Business Conference will take place on Thursday, August 5. Details, including the agenda, speakers and sponsors, are updated frequently.

Now in its fourth year, the BlogHer Business Conference is an annual “crash course” on best practices for reaching the most influential and powerful consumers — women online — in the quickly evolving social media world.

Attendees find themselves on fertile ground for innovative ideas, interacting with a mix of social media experts, business bloggers, and brand marketers who have experience building campaigns and working in social media environments.

The BlogHer Business audience is comprised of several key groups:
* Brand marketers working within corporations * Communications/PR professionals * Media buying executives * Business bloggers/social media consultants

This event is kept at a smaller size (150-200 attendees) to facilitate deeper discussion and more valuable networking.

Looking for 2-3 Web Designers for Quick Turnaround Projects

Sloane Berrent — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:00:36 +0000

Two of clients of the marketing agency I’m contracted with here in New Orleans, FSC Interactive are looking for a quick turnaround to redesign their websites. I want to help them out because first, their products and companies are awesome, second because we all know that a clean slate on a new website can make all the difference for growth. For the right candidate this is an amazing opportunity to get involved with fast growing companies in the growing New Orleans entrepreneurial atmosphere. Web designers can be located anywhere, being on-site is not a requirement.

Brief details are below, for more specifics email me at sloane@fscinteractive.com and I’ll reply back to candidates that would be a good potential fit.

Project 1 is for a growing ethical retail company with a product being sold in multiple states to redesign a site with e-commerce including a log-in system for wholesalers. Web site turnaround time is under 1-2 months with a decent budget.

Project 2 is for a fast-growing technology solutions company to redesign a 5-7 page website to be built in wordpress or drupal. The budget is reasonable and the project deadline is 4-6 weeks from now.

Both companies are looking to make fast decisions, so if you have bandwidth, contact me ASAP for more details. Proposals are due MONDAY and decision will be made by Wednesday next week.

Lagniappe –> Looking for an intern for summer 2010 for FSC Interactive. Position and responsibilities could range from college student to MBA depending on candidates. Please email me for the job description.

Contest to win a SXSW Interactive Badge on NOLAlicious!

Sloane Berrent — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:30:37 +0000

Photo courtesy of Mickipedia on Flickr

NOLAlicious is giving away a free SXSW Interactive badge, and this week’s newsletter explains how. It’s simple! Tweet this message to enter to win.

As we wrote in the newsletter:

It’s our first giveaway at NOLAlicious and we wanted to make it spectacular for you, our amazing readers.

We have ONE SXSW Interactive Badge to give away. That’s a value of $550! For anyone on the fence about SXSW, having the pass paid for can be the make or break you need to make SXSW 2010 from March 12th – 16th a reality for you. It’s not too late to get housing and once you’re registered, you’re able to access rooms for badge holders not released to the public.

So how do you enter? It’s simple! Simply tweet this message:

Sign up for NOLAlicious, your weekly guide to New Orleans and tweet this to enter & win a #SXSWi Badge: http://bit.ly/NOLASXSW

Here’s the deal. The tweet is your entry. So it doesn’t matter if you’re already signed up for NOLAlicious or this is your first time hearing of us, your entry is your tweet. Everyone may enter the contest only once and the contest ends next Monday at 5:00 PM CST. We’ll be announcing the winner in next week’s NOLAlicious and across our networks so enter NOW for you chance to win a badge to SXSW Interactive.

What all do you get with a $550 SXSW Interactive Badge? Access to:

* Web Awards and Pre-Party
* 5 Days of Panels, Keynote Speeches, and Feature Speakers
* Interactive Core Conversations and Book Readings
* Film + Interactive and Music Trade Show and Day Stage Programming
* Registrant Lounges
* ScreenBurn at SXSW Arcade
* ScreenBurn at SXSW Panel Programming
* Online Registrant Directory, Productivity and Networking Tools
* Interactive Registrant Big Bag
* Interactive Program Book/Registrants’ Directory
* Annual Subscription to SXSWorld Magazine (normally priced at $20)
* Official Interactive Festival Parties including the Opening & Closing Parties
* Unlimited Networking Opportunities

Cool huh? So sign up, tweet this and then we’ll put all of the entries into a list and use Random.org to pick the winner and announce it in next Tuesday’s newsletter. Contest ends MONDAY at 5pm CST, enter now!

Tweet: Sign up for NOLAlicious, New Orleans weekly guide & tweet this to enter & win a #SXSWi Badge: http://bit.ly/NOLASXSW

Hope to see you in Austin!

Note: I’m a NOLAlicious founder, but you knew that already right?

The Causemopolitan’s First Birthday!

Sloane Berrent — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:40:44 +0000

Please join me in wishing a very happy first birthday to The Causemopolitan. A year ago, all I knew was that it was time. Blogging for others always had its merits, using social networks and microblogging sites connected me with people, but I wanted a space to call my own. I had all these thoughts and ideas and things I wanted to share about the future of philanthropy, social entrepreneurship, what it meant to build cause into your life and stories about experiences I was going through.

I had owned The Causemopolitan’s domain name for awhile, and with the help and support of friends, I got her up and running in a just a few days.

The Causemopolitan was born with the post, It’s About Time, and in a lot of ways, I was reborn. Over the past year, I’ve come to be known by some as The Causemopolitan, and as a name takes on meaning of its own, having that moniker reminds me daily about the kind of person I want to be in the world. I have never wanted to change my name, the way a friend from middle school Katie is now known as Cate. I never knew nicknames as Sloane was never short for anything the way Jennifer becomes Jenn. A few close friends have terms of endearment that I got by, but nothing in my life could have prepared me for what it would be like to take on another name. The Causemopolitan has taken me quite by surprise. A wonderful, full of life, amazing surprise.

I know that blogs are like post-it notes on a gigantic wall, but that my little post-it just means the world to me.

I’ve thought a lot about how I want to celebrate the one-year anniversary and birthday of my blog. Who I want to thank, how I want to spend the next year, but as the past few days have gone by I’ve realized I want to just most sincerely say thank you. Thank you to everyone for reading, for reaching out in the comments, contacting me, saying hi, making donations to my campaigns, asking me to participate in panels, at conferences, involve and include me in the midst of what was at times, a turbulent and tumultuous and at other times a serendipitous and miraculous 2009. Through the clouds and smoke and the uncertainty of what was around the next bend, I always found solace in writing a blog post and putting myself out there, sometimes a little and sometimes a lot.

Here’s to another dynamic year of growth, both for The Causemopolitan blog and for me.

Ever yours,
Sloane

I’m Staying, Just Can’t Stay Here

Sloane Berrent — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 20:25:06 +0000

So it goes. My first three months after moving to New Orleans (3 already really?!) have gone by and my current furnished sublet is coming to a close at the end of February. It’s been the perfect spot in the Lower Garden District, a cute little creole apartment of an artist and art curator. Walking distance to a few bars, restaurants and coffee shops. Walking distance to the CBD (Central Business District) and French Quarter and Uptown. Has a small home office I can work out of. Has a balcony I can walk out onto in the mornings with my tea look towards the Mississippi River. It’s been comfortable and felt like home about an hour after moving in.

The terms of the sublet were through February and as Mardi Gras was coming to a close, I knew the time was coming to look for another place. I’ve been looking at Craigslist, but I find much more in life with targeted asks to friends. So I have an email going out to friends and I’ll utilize my blog and social networks to find a new place in the next 7 days.

Here’s what I’m looking for:

1 bedroom furnished apartment
3-6 month lease or sublet
Starting March 1st
Rent between $700-1000

I’m more flexible this time on location because I know it’s harder to find a furnished place than unfurnished, but I’m still just a few months off from being able to afford and have the time to bring my stuff from storage in California and Pennsylvania.

Location might be French Quarter, Uptown or Mid-City. It’s really more about the vibe of the place than the location. It would be nice to be near a park or running trail and have a nice neighborhood to walk around in with a few local spots nearby. And safety is a concern so I have to keep that in mind as well.

About me, for potential landlords…
My personal blog (here duh)
Website
Twitter (daily digest of what I’m up to)
Facebook

Thanks for any apartment/housing leads in New Orleans or e-introductions to friends. My email is sloane@thecausemopolitan.com

Round two of New Orleans on the way,
Sloane

P.S. I already know of one person looking for a new place in New Orleans too. I’m happy to share places that get sent to me so if you’re looking too, just let me know and I’ll forward places along to you too.

My First Mardi Gras

Sloane Berrent — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:24:16 +0000

Photo Courtesy of Taylor Davidson

This is my first Mardi Gras ever. As a new transplant to New Orleans this means I have the dubious pleasure to experience it as both a local and a newcomer, a feat that is leaving me (a few days in) exhausted. Yes I know, Red Bull is my friend. Yes I know, power through. Yes I know, take breaks when you need to but soak it all in because it’s peoples’ favorite holiday of the year.

All of these things are true. But I have the added esteemed pleasure to be documenting it for you courtesy of My Mardi Gras Experience. A site dedicated to rebranding Mardi Gras as the family-filled event it is. The creation of Tom Martin and the Zehnder Communications team, last year it was a stream on Twitter spreading the joy of Mardi Gras to people everywhere. This year it’s bloggers from around the country brought into town to blog, take photos and videos and capture all that is Mardi Gras courtesy of Tabasco and hotels provided by Sheraton.

As a shout out to my fellow bloggers in My Mardi Gras Experience, I created a Twitter List with all of them that you can subscribe to HERE.

You can also follow @MyMardiGras and visit the website HERE.

More on the genesis of My Mardi Gras from Tom Martin:

MyMardiGrasExperience.com is an outgrowth of a Twitter experiment I ran last Mardi Gras. I was curious to see if by inviting a bunch of folks to follow me in exchange for the promise of great Mardi Gras content, I could then change their perception of Mardi Gras by only sending up family friendly content. You can read all about the experiment and see the social media case study at my blog.

So this year, I thought I’d make it more fun by inviting a few fellow bloggers to play along. And then they invited a few of their fellow bloggers. And now we have about 10-15 of us that will be spread out all over Mardi Gras and sharing in real-time via Twitter and this blog our 2010 Mardi Gras experience. We’ll be sending up pictures, videos, tweets and posts and doing our best to make sure you don’t miss anything.

Lastly, you’ll want to make sure you tune in to see our live coverage of all of the big Mardi Gras parades. We’re going to stream them live right here on MyMardiGrasExperience.com and on Fat Tuesday (February 16) we’re even going to give you a live stream from a float. So for the first time in the history of Mardi Gras, you’ll be able to see Mardi Gras from the vantage point of a Mardi Gras Float Rider — but remember, you have to mask if you’re on a float. So get yours ready and tune in Tuesday, February 16 around 11am to see what it is like to be a rider in the famous Rex Parade.

Enjoy Mardi Gras! I know I will. If we’re not covering something you want to know more about, just drop me a line and let me know at sloane (at) thecausemopolitan (dot) com or on Twitter.

Who Dat Nation Takes Over!

Sloane Berrent — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:12:50 +0000

Can you spot me in this picture?

The Saints won the Super Bowl and the city of New Orleans has barely taken a moment to breathe since. It’s been parade and celebration and second line and high fives and hugs and everything you could imagine and more here in The Big Easy ever since Sunday night.

In honor of the true excitement of the big win, here is little video (part 4 of 4 videos I did on Sunday) right after the big win, on Bourbon Street, in the madness. See the bottom of the post to more videos leading up to and including the mayhem.

(You’ll never see Katie Couric get this excited)

Click here to view the embedded video.

There’s more. Have you heard about all of the 44 craziness from Sunday? Check this out:

Sunday was Super Bowl 44
Obama is the 44th president
There are 44 days from Christmas to the Super Bowl
The Saints franchise is 44 years old
Sunday was 4 years and 4 months since Katrina
Saints won NFC Champ in 4 minutes and 44 seconds in overtime with a 40-yard field goal

Crazy, right?

To start from the beginning and see how we got to video 4, let’s go in order. See the day progress!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Big thanks to the easily-swayed Taylor Davidson for taking the videos and a great partner-in-crime going all through the French Quarter with me on game day and celebrating well into the night. For two newbies, we’re not doing so bad here in New Orleans!