NOLAbound Extends Application Period to Midnight on December 31, 2011 Due to Overwhelming Demand

NEW ORLEANS, LA--(Marketwire - Dec 15, 2011) - Due to overwhelming demand, NOLAbound today announced that the deadline for applications has been extended by two weeks until midnight on December 31, 2011. The program is designed to give 25 qualified individuals the opportunity to experience, document, and share their unfiltered impressions of the "new" New Orleans as one of the best places in the country to live, work, and play. The online application can be found by visiting benolabound.com/apply.

In the month that the application has been live, thousands of individuals from around the world have visited the site, and applications have flowed in from individuals in four focus sectors: arts-based businesses, biosciences, digital media, and sustainable industries. NOLAbound will choose 25 key influencers from the final pool of applicants. All 25 participants will be invited to New Orleans in March 2012 to help assess the city as a model for entrepreneurial growth and innovative business development.

"The response to NOLAbound has been tremendous, and we're happy to extend the deadline to accommodate a number of requests for participation in the program," said Curry W. Smith, a spokesperson for NOLAbound. "But we encourage people to apply as soon as possible, in order to have more time to share their applicant profiles among their social networks to drive interest and actively support their application in the selection process."

One important aspect of criteria for selections will be an applicant's social network and influence. NOLAbound will consider the number of page views, tweets, and Facebook "likes" received by each application before January 1, 2012 as measures of social influence.

As part of the program, participants will share their observations about -- and insights into -- New Orleans and its entrepreneurial community through the NOLAbound website and via their own social media networks during their time in the city. The five-day program will be filmed, and a documentary will premiere in October 2012.

NOLAbound Details:

The NOLAbound program will take place from Wednesday, March 14 to Sunday, March 18, 2012. Specific components include the following:

• The call for applications has been extended until midnight on December 31, 2011 at benolabound.com;
  
  
• 25 total selected participants within four targeted industry sectors -- arts-based businesses, biosciences, digital media, and sustainable industries -- will be announced in January;
  
  
• Invited participants will receive free airfare, ground transportation, meals, and room and board;
  
  
• Invitees will have access to certain New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW) events; meet with leaders in the city's growing arts, biosciences, digital, and sustainable sectors; be granted VIP access to select activities in the city; and will be encouraged to experience the unique neighborhoods, people, and culture of New Orleans;
  
  
• The experiences of participants will be captured as part of a documentary feature film highlighting the emergence of New Orleans as an entrepreneurial hub;
  
  
• Participants will be asked to share their activities in New Orleans and their impressions of the city through the NOLAbound website, Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, YouTube, and/or their own blogs;
  
  
• NOLAbound followers will vote for the one participant they feel is best able to communicate their impressions of the city and its business environment;
  
  
• One winner will be tabulated from Twitter votes during the program to return to New Orleans for the documentary's world premiere in October 2012.

For more information on NOLAbound, including selection criteria for interested applicants, please visit benolabound.com. NOLAbound can also be found on Twitter @benolabound and on facebook.com/benolabound. NOLAbound is made possible with generous funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

About NOLAbound
NOLAbound is a joint project of the Downtown Development District, Greater New Orleans, Inc., and The Idea Village. NOLAbound is made possible with generous funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration. This unique program will find 25 individuals to experience, document, and share their unfiltered impressions of New Orleans as an entrepreneurial epicenter. This bold program will focus on professionals within four industry sectors: arts-based businesses, biosciences, digital media, and sustainable industries, and will leverage the power of social media to both gather applicants and enable them to share their experiences in New Orleans. Timed to coincide with the 4th annual New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, NOLAbound will give participants the opportunity to interact with the people, culture, and businesses in New Orleans that are driving its growing reputation as a center of entrepreneurial excellence. The entire one-of-a-kind experience will be documented on film.