Update on the (Silicon) Bayou

Molly Oehmichen is the Editor In Chief of Silicon Bayou News. Photo by Tyler Kaufman Photography

Hello world! My name is Molly and I have a problem. I’m addicted to change. Fast paced work, non-stop learning, new technology, and entrepreneurship are a few of my vices. Luckily, I live in one of the greatest tech & start-up hubs in the whole world: Silicon Bayou, Louisiana.

In March of this year, Zach Kupperman was working on an exciting start-up, Poll Bob, and attending an endless stream of entrepreneurial events all over New Orleans. He knew there was hardly any limitation to the activities, resources, and talent available to anyone in the region who wanted to start a new business. The real problem was that people outside of the action didn’t know about it. No one was spreading the good word about the big shift in the way we do business in Louisiana.

Louisiana isn’t all about oil, fishing, farming and shipping anymore. We still dominate in many of those industries with our hundreds of years of experience and vast natural resources, but we also are using our entrepreneurial spirit and technical knowledge to solve some of the biggest problems we face as a region.  Water management, coastal restoration and education are some of the big problems our community is tackling head on.

In the past year, Louisiana has committed to supporting and increasing the technological and entrepreneurial advances happening every day. Through the Angel Investor Tax Credit, Digital Media Tax Credit, Research & Development Tax Credit and Film Tax Credit, new and existing businesses are booming. Companies are moving here from California, Seattle, New York and other tech-savvy regions to be a part of our very own Silicon Bayou revolution.

So Silicon Bayou News was launched by Zach to provide a soapbox for everything good, tech-y, and ‘treppy happening around Louisiana. In July, Zach contacted me about stepping in as Editor In Chief of Silicon Bayou News. In late August, I took over the daily management and editorial duties of the site and we’ve been steamrolling ahead ever since.

  • Right before I came on board, Zach secured content partnerships with NOLA DefenderNolavie.com (which posts to Nola.com), and FSC Inter@ctive.
  • We refreshed the look of the website to provide easier interaction, navigation and content sections that are more readable.
  • We launched a call for nominations for the #SiliconBayou100 – a list of the 100 coolest people in tech and entrepreneurship. Nominations are due October 15th, so nominate someone today!
  • We’ve brought on several new writers and we continue to seek out anyone who wants to get in on the action. We’re especially seeking regular, weekly series writers and writers in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, Alexandria, etc.

Our community is passionate about tech and entrepreneurship and we’re passionate about our community. If you ever have questions, comments, suggestions, or general rants please feel free to contact me directly by email: molly@siliconbayounews.com. I’m surrounded by a great team and we’re excited about where things are headed for Silicon Bayou News and Silicon Bayou, Louisiana.

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