Notable New Orleanians: A Tricentennial Tribute

Fourth-generation New Orleans native
Judy Weitz was disappointed at the way her
beloved city was portrayed to the world. She
cringed every time mainstream media
reduced Mardi Gras to snippets and clips of
people boozing, brawling and bead-catching
along Bourbon Street.
“Partying on Bourbon Street is absolutely a
part of Mardi Gras, but it’s just a small part;
just as New Orleans is more than one block in
the French Quarter,” said Judy, owner and
CEO of Compucast Web, Inc., and Experience
New Orleans. “To those of us who live here,
Mardi Gras is a family celebration with kids
catching stuffed animals at larger-than-life
parades and elegantly-dressed grown-ups
attending balls just as their parents and
grandparents did. I wanted the world to see
the real Mardi Gras and was determined to do
something about it.”
That something turned out to be the catalyst
of a new business for Judy and her tech-savvy
husband, who had spent the early 1990s building
and customizing computers. Although
Marc Weitz called it a hobby, his innovative
computer works not only won many industry
awards, but was also featured in national magazines
such as Fortune. This “hobby” combined
with their love of New Orleans was the origin
of their family business.
Compucast Web/Experience New Orleans
was founded in 1994 and soon unveiled its
first website, ExperienceNewOrleans.com, a
site which continues to showcase New Orleans’
unique culture, architecture, jazz music,
world-famous restaurants and attractions. Well
ahead of its time, the site captivated millions of
Internet surfers from the start, including a local
Mardi Gras Krewe, who asked its creators to
live stream Mardi Gras in 1995.
Though never before done, the Weitzs
accepted the challenge.
“The fact is, even before webcast was a
word, we were computer-casting Mardi Gras,”
said Judy. “As a result, we were finally able to
show another side of Mardi Gras and also
scored our company’s name and some new
clients—clients such as a hotel manager who
asked us to promote his hotel online in
exchange for a Mardi Gras bathroom pass. We
couldn’t turn that down!”
Today, Compucast/Experience New Orleans
is one of New Orleans’ leading hospitality
marketing and web design firms, featuring
local businesses through both active social
media channels and popular websites–from
the original www.ExperienceNewOrleans.com
to www.MardiGrasNewOrleans.com and
www.WeddingsinNewOrleans.com.
A Google Partner and TripAdvisor Premium
Partner, the company is also the creator of the
robust CompuRez system. An Internet booking
engine providing digital marketing for New
Orleans properties, CompuRez was developed
for smaller hotels to allow them to compete
with larger chains at a time when only corporate
hotels could take online reservations.
Word-of-mouth advertising, personal
service and commitment to excellence are
the keys to the company’s growth as well
as the many accolades garnered by the company–awards
such as the Small Business
Association’s “Small Business Champion of
the Year” and Judy’s designation as one of the
nation’s top five women business owners
awarded by the National Association of
Women Business Owners and honoring the
company’s work keeping New Orleans online
after Hurricane Katrina.
As for the future, Judy promises to continue
serving New Orleans by staying on top of
the industry, providing digital marketing and
web design and development services as well
as keeping the company’s many popular websites
alive and representative of the city so
adored by herself and her staff of highly-experienced
and New Orleans-loving employees.
For more, visit www.compucast.com.
COMPUCAST
WEB, INC./
EXPERIENCE
NEW ORLEANS
Owner and CEO Judy Weitz.
THE MARKETPLACE
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